Of all the challenges e-commerce fulfillment operations face (diminishing delivery windows, unpredictable fluctuations in order volumes and items ordered, stabilizing operating expenses in an unstable production environment), perhaps the most challenging of all is the need to accommodate unpredictable fulfillment windows. One of the great unknowns for ecommerce operations is …
In a previous blog, we discussed the numerous operational benefits that omnichannel retailers gain by switching inventory strategies from one that maintains separate inventories for each sales channel to one that enables processing retail, ecommerce, and wholesale orders from a single stream of inventory. In serving as the cornerstone of …
More than a decade ago when omnichannel retailers first began adding ecommerce fulfillment to their distribution operations, they typically set up separate material handling systems to process retail, wholesale, and ecommerce orders. In doing so, they also set up separate inventories dedicated to each channel. But having separate fulfillment operations …
Many retailers are considering investments in automated fulfillment systems today because of the strategic benefits and competitive edge automation can bring — especially to retailers facing omnichannel distribution challenges. But when it comes to actually investing in automation, some retailers shy away from the level of change that will net …
In the era of Intralogistics 4.0, companies will turn to “big data” analysis to find ways to fix problems and improve productivity in their distribution centers (DCs.) Big data analysis is the process of examining large data sets to discover hidden patterns, unknown correlations, and obscure connections. By identifying relationships …