Chinese online commerce provider JD.com made what Supply Chain Matters views as a noteworthy announcement, namely that the E-commerce provider will leverage its own deployed logistics capabilities to offer parcel delivery services across select areas of China to a broader population of consumers and businesses.
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News of the eventual bankruptcy, perhaps liquidation of what once was one of the most iconic brands in retail is anti-climactic. This was an outcome that has been long anticipated somewhat painful to watch, especially from a supply and demand network capability perspective.
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The United States Postal Service (USPS), bowing to political headwinds, is proposing a 9 to 12 percent increase in shipping rates for the agency’s Parcel Select services that cater to parcel delivery providers Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and others.
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Consumer confidence remains strong and forecasts for the upcoming holiday period remain positive. However, B2C and B2B online fulfillment will face added challenges in the coming weeks recruiting added labor, implementing new online fulfillment processes, and securing added resources. This may well be a period where investments in advanced technology can pay dividends.
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Walmart has declared yet another supply network technology mandate and the open question is whether prior learning, technology maturity and needs for industry buy-in have provided necessary learning. In this industry analyst editorial commentary, Supply Chain Matters explores the purpose, actions, industry governance and technology considerations that involve such mandates.
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The long-term race of major online retail platform providers positioning for global dominance made a potentially subtle turn last week. Jack Ma, the founder of China-based online services and E-Commerce provider Alibaba announced his pending departure. Supply Chain Matters explores what the announcement could imply going forward.
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These past weeks, there have been a lot of not so flattering news concerning Amazon and its work-related management practices. As a supply chain management focused blog, we are compelled to highlight the concerning as well as any positive trends.
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Amazon has once again initiated a thunderbolt action that has implications for B2C/B2B online customer fulfillment and last-mile delivery capabilities. The online retailer announced it is ordering 20,000 Mercedes parcel delivery vans to build-out its own independent contractor last-mile delivery fleet.
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Technology serves many new applications related to fulfilling online customer needs, and Supply Chain Matters has been informed a rather unique use of drone delivery of food and beverage on the golf course.
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It has been a little over one-year since Amazon disrupted the natural and fresh food industry with its acquisition of Whole Foods. While many current one-year hence commentaries focus mainly on online customer impacts, Supply Chain Matters is of the belief that the evolving strategy thus far is one of augmenting supply network and distribution capabilities.
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Consumer product industry and business media has been absorbing the news that Tyson Foods has agreed to acquire Keystone Foods, a key supplier to global restaurant chain McDonald’s Corporation. This development and indeed the unfolding strategy has both strategic and supply chain leadership storylines and implications.
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Global retailer Walmart reported fiscal Q2-2019 financial performance that reinforced positive consumer sentiments in Q2, while reaping the benefits of stepped-up investments in store associates and in Omni-channel customer fulfillment capabilities.
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