It would be an understatement to say the coronavirus pandemic has upended the retail industry. In the first quarter of 2020 alone, U.S. e-commerce showed 10 years worth of growth, according to McKinsey & Co.As e-commerce continues to rapidly replace physical channels, it may be ti

As we approach the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains in the U.S. are still struggling to operate confidently and efficiently with essential supplies.According to data from the nonprofit Get Us PPE, personal protective equipment (PPE) requests in October increased for the first ti

As the fog of hype that accompanied the early days of blockchain begins to lift, the technology is beginning to yield tangible results in a variety of industries, most notably worldwide agribusiness.That industry’s adoption of blockchain recently took a big step forward with introduction of th

The modern supply chain is an intricate animal that incorporates many different organizations, people, processes and technologies. Add the word “global” to the equation, and those complexities become even more difficult to manage. Moreover, with disruptions like the global pandemic wreak

With the first winter weather of the coronavirus pandemic bearing down across the U.S., shippers are looking to ensure their supply chains aren't further disrupted by freezing temperatures.Shippers may face challenges protecting vulnerable products from freezing this winter, with predictions cal

Despite all of the unforeseen challenges of 2020, the retail industry was expected to have a strong finish for the year. Retailers scored huge successes during Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season. E-commerce grew at an unprecedented pace, as retailers and consumers were forced to go digit

As we forecast demand for warehouse space in 2021, staffing needs to take center stage.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), despite employment regaining momentum in June ,2020, the number in transportation and warehousing is still significantly lower than the pre-pandemic results we sa

Businesses have been working fast and furiously since March to pivot or transform their operations. But whether that has meant struggling with supply-chain disruptions, work-from-home woes, cost containment or payment delays, their responses to date have likely been reactive in nature. With the comi

In the 1980s and ‘90s, at the outset of the digital age, every industrial software application was a point solution — a product focused on one specific aspect of the company’s back-office work, such as accounts payable, payroll and taxes. Over time, newer software packages began ve

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended retail and accelerated digital transformation: Online retail surged in 2020, and U.S. holiday e-commerce sales rose a whopping 49% from the previous year.With so much volume, retailers’ digital presence must be robust and secure. Web applications need to meet

If 2020 was the year of the brick-and-mortar retail shake-out and the supply-chain crunch, 2021 will be the year when digital gets real. Companies both in and out of the fashion industry have been content in keeping new digital processes and the traditional analog mode of business separate, but the

In the best of times, the procurement process can be daunting. Navigating thousands of vendor contracts, NDAs and negotiations while staying compliant to multiple industry regulations and simultaneously appealing to numerous stakeholders and decision makers, is not a simple task. When the COVID

We've reached the vaccine distribution threshold of the coronavirus pandemic — where manufacturers, logistics companies and healthcare providers must consider new safety measures for everyone involved. Businesses have taken several precautions to help protect workers from an infection from

To safeguard against this year's volatile market and maintain profits, the container shipping industry adopted certain capacity management measures like restricted services, blank sailings and re-routed vessels — leading to severe disruption in the normal repositioning of empty c

So much e-commerce effort goes into holiday sales prep, from the website and marketing through warehouse and fulfillment, that it can be easy to think the work is done once your orders are out the door. However, the surge in e-commerce during 2020 is likely to mean an associated increase in returns

Amazon.com has been heavily criticized for undercutting third-party merchants with its own line of branded products and direct selling from its extensive fulfillment network. But one industry observer predicts that the e-commerce behemoth will make a radical change in that strategy in the coming yea

When we think of the logistics industry and the structure needed to make modern supply chains run smoothly, we often overlook the importance of the computing technology used. As the importance of our global supply chains is thrust into the spotlight in the midst of the pandemic, it may be surprising

As global markets have expanded, supply chains have become increasingly complicated. Even the most basic ones involve numerous moving parts, each tied to specific times and locations. Managing these complex systems is an art unto itself, but it all comes down to one fundamental principle: transparen

In the nine months since COVID-19 drastically changed the way humans and organizations interact with one another, digital transformation has accelerated at an unprecedented rate. On a recent earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated the company witnessed about two years’ worth of digit

Throughout 2020, companies have faced unprecedented challenges, in the form of constant unpredictability and operational headwinds related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting shutdowns have deeply affected the global economy and workforce, disrupting business continuity and in some cases making