Coming out of the Retail Value Chain Federation Fall Conference, it was clear that retailers, merchandise suppliers and even service providers are facing a do-or-die situation. It's a simple choice – adapt to meet the needs of today's consumer or become obsolete. Period. That means optimizing drop ship and direct-to-consumer operations, practicing strategic trading partner relationship management, expanding into untapped markets, and increasing face-to-face collaboration. -Kim Zablocky, Founder and Chairman, Retail Value Chain Federation (RVCF)
Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. is trying to remove the pain from growing online sales that trigger big, bulky items and high financial stakes for the retailer.
Amazon is the great disruptor, in part because innovation is built into their culture. It’s in their DNA to try new things knowing some of them will fail, and they are experimenting and learning all the time. This cycle of innovation has enabled them to disrupt retail by raising customer expectations – anticipating what customers want and responding with new products and services before anyone else. Amazon is resetting customer expectations around convenience, speed, price and selection. -Robert Dold, Retail Industry Leader, Fortna
Online mattress start-up Casper is opening its first permanent store, a 3,000-square-foot location in New York, where shoppers are invited to not only look at the company’s mattresses, pillows and bedding, but also to use them. Dozing off is encouraged, executives say.
In 2012, a Los Angeles start-up named Club W set out to help millennials find and buy decent wine on the internet. With bottles from a few boutique vintners, a slick web platform and a simple recommendation algorithm, the company had a propitious plan.
Retailers still celebrating their strongest holiday sales in years now face the less-pleasant task of disposing of billions of dollars in returned merchandise.
The parcel industry is projected to grow 9 percent annually to more than $343bn globally by 2020, according to Accenture, thanks to the increase in e-commerce orders, which are forecast to surpass $600bn by 2021 in the US alone. Parcel carriers are challenged in this era of explosive e-commerce growth to maintain historic profitability as the number of stops per delivery and the size of packages increase, while customer expectations for speedier deliveries continue to heighten. -Dan Clark, Founder and President, Kuebix
The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the e-commerce/omnichannel industry — which consists of companies engaged in internet retailing, including those with auxiliary brick-and-mortar stores. Learn how e-commerce/omnichannel companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.
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