Supplier Enablement

The fast-changing demands and whims of consumers are perhaps most apparent in the retail industry: One week, an item may be in style or trending – and then what seems like just days later, sales fall and consumers have moved on to something new. To keep up, retailers need a supply chain that helps...

To serve large retail customers and grow the business smoothly and profitably, small-to-midsized (SMB) manufacturers need an efficient order fulfillment process that includes electronic data interchange (EDI). To save on procurement costs, nearly all major retailers now mandate that their suppliers...

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has become a necessity for doing business in today’s retail marketplace. Many companies leverage EDI solutions to streamline their business processes and make their supply chains flow more smoothly.  It is imperative that every stage of the fulfillment cycle is...

As in other manufacturing supply chains, grocery manufacturers, wholesalers, distributers and food retailers are increasingly collaborating to enhance supply chain efficiency, reduce costs and strengthen the bottom line. A key way to drive down costs and improve communication for both suppliers and...

Industry Week has reported on consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies’ constant need to adhere to the changing demands and specific expectations for supply chain management. In order to keep up, CPG companies must anticipate market changes and consumer preferences while seeking cost-reduction...

  Food Logistics reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has used its power granted by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to shut down a peanut processing plant. This is the first time the FDA has exercised such authority since the passage of the FSMA on January 4, 2011. As...

Hurricane Sandy’s destructive power nearly brought East Coast business to a halt, including the Internet economy and the effectiveness of supplier enablement software. An Oct. 30th article notes that although online commerce is becoming increasingly popular, a virtual economy is not stable enough to...

A Logistics Viewpoints blog post by Adrian Gonzalez reports that the lack of lower-level supply chain and logistics talent is the biggest concern for 3PLs and supply chain shippers. According to the “2012 3PL Provider CEO Perspective Survey” conducted by Dr. Robert Lieb and presented at the CSCMP...

With online and catalog sales comprising an ever-greater percentage of total retail sales, drop shipping is fast becoming the preferred order fulfillment approach for a growing number of online retailers. Drop shipping reduces inventory, warehousing, packaging and shipping costs for retailers by...

DC Velocity recently reported on the results of an insightful study of supply chain executives, presented at the 27th annual Material Handling and Logistics Conference that covered a broad range of topics around warehouse management systems. The study was conducted by the Aberdeen Group, which found...