Logistics

CommerceHub debuts last-mile delivery solution for big ticket items

Active Delivery Management is expected to streamline last-mile delivery of large merchandise for the supply chain platform and its retailer clients.

By Dan Alaimo • Sept. 20, 2018
Tariffs on $200B worth of imports from China start Sept. 24

The duties will start at 10% and rise to 25% at the beginning of 2019.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 18, 2018
E-commerce shoppers expect free shipping, branded giveaways

Nearly all shoppers now say free shipping and returns make them more likely to become a repeat customer, according to a survey from Dotcom Distribution.

By Dan O'Shea • Sept. 14, 2018
Overstock inks warehouse lease to fulfill 2-day shipping orders

The company, which unveiled private label furniture lines in recent months, is looking to unload its e-commerce business.

By Daphne Howland • Sept. 14, 2018
Amazon adds Whole Foods delivery to 10 new markets

The company is also expanding door-to-door service in three existing cities — New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 13, 2018
Deep Dive
Is NYC's garment district unraveling?

City officials have a plan to revitalize Manhattan's struggling Garment District. But as some brands decamp to the outer boroughs, and still others shift their manufacturing overseas, fashion may have to cede its stronghold.

By Lara Ewen • Sept. 12, 2018
Toys R Us clashes in court with Asian business partner

The retailer is trying to block a move to arbitrate with its co-investor in the joint venture comprising its Asian business, which Toys R Us is trying to sell in bankruptcy.

By Ben Unglesbee • Sept. 11, 2018
Think fast, think small: How Kohl's rode the omnichannel wave

For the retailer, a smaller store footprint was the first logical step to cost reduction.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 10, 2018
Trump threatens tariffs on another $267B of Chinese imports

If all proposed duties are implemented, tariffs would affect $517 billion of goods — more than the U.S. imported from China last year.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 07, 2018
Zara parent aims to sell online everywhere by 2020

CEO Pablo Isla noted that Zara stores are already proving to be instrumental in filling online orders.

By Daphne Howland • Sept. 06, 2018
Amazon orders 20K vans for last-mile delivery program

The order is more than four times the e-commerce giant's originally anticipated order of 4,500 vans.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 06, 2018
WSJ: Walmart.com shoppers finding out-of-stocks amid fulfillment revamp

The retail giant is experimenting with ways to more efficiently fulfill bulky or heavy orders, executives at Walmart suppliers told the Journal.

By Daphne Howland • Sept. 04, 2018
Urban Outfitters cuts lead times by a month

A customer with fast-changing tastes has led the fashion group to tighten every part of its product development to keep inventory moving.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 30, 2018
Post-purchase firm Narvar raises $30M

The $30 million funding round shows more retailers are embracing the importance of post-purchase customer care.

By Dan O'Shea • Aug. 29, 2018
Deep Dive
Burned by Toys R Us, will suppliers ever trust a bankrupt retailer again?

Vendors gave the toy retailer hundreds of millions of dollars in trade credit to help it rebound from Chapter 11. Then the unthinkable happened.

By Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 28, 2018
21% of oversized online purchases arrive damaged

Not even Amazon has solved the challenge of shipping oversized items, creating a logistics opportunity for other retailers, according to a report from uShip.

By Dan Alaimo • Aug. 27, 2018
The rise, fall and return of RFID

Fifteen years after Walmart launched a costly pilot project, the sensors are coming back in style thanks to proven benefits for retailers and their suppliers.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 22, 2018
Nordstrom tackles its 'last frontier' with new omnichannel hub

Executives said the company will open a new distribution center in California next year as it vies to create a 'seamless ecosystem' for shoppers.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 21, 2018
Walmart reportedly pushing beauty suppliers to source outside China

Threats for even more tariffs on Chinese goods are throwing retailers and their suppliers off balance as the holidays loom.

By Daphne Howland • Aug. 20, 2018
Kohl's brings Amazon returns to 21 more stores

The unlikely partnership has turned out to be a boon for Kohl's, and makes the expensive problem of online returns much more efficient for Amazon.

By Daphne Howland • Aug. 16, 2018
Sam's Club to retrofit closed store into e-commerce fulfillment center

The retailer plans to convert a total of 12 shuttered stores into online distribution hubs, as it continues to expect e-commerce sales growth.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 15, 2018
Has e-commerce changed back-to-school shopping?

The second-largest shopping season of the year requires retailers to adapt their logistics and fulfillment strategies.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 15, 2018
Retailers bring in record imports to beat tariffs

With good sales so far in 2018, retailers would rather order early than miss out on end of year sales opportunities, according to the NRF.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 13, 2018
Walmart to pilot Alphabot robotics for grocery pickup

The robots will operate in a 20,000-square-foot supercenter addition that will serve as a mini-warehouse of grocery products and an order pickup point.

By Dan Alaimo • Aug. 06, 2018
Starbucks, Alibaba scheme to expand coffee delivery in China

The coffee giant is working with one of the world's biggest e-commerce companies again, this time on a broad strategy to enhance its market position in China.

By Dan O'Shea • Aug. 03, 2018