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Traditionally, retail and e-commerce sellers must accommodate increased order volumes toward the end of each calendar year—especially between Black Friday and the end of December, when American consumers purchase most of their holiday gifts. This event is something that most retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers have learned to handle in their fulfillment centers after years of experience, often by hiring temporary warehouse workers to help out with the higher volumes. However, peak season has now become more difficult to manage thanks to the pandemic ... Read More

Beginning slowly in the 1970s and picking up pace in the 1990s, businesses from numerous countries started outsourcing manufacturing to China to benefit from a ready and affordable workforce. As this trend picked up speed, the country eventually gained the nickname “The World’s Factory.” Consequently, for most of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, you could find “Made in China” stamped on virtually everything from consumer electronics to furniture to athletic wear. Things change, however. For various reasons, China has begun to lose its ... Read More

Some of the issues various supply chain stakeholders have had with keeping items on the shelves trace back to their inventory management practices. Though inventory management is critical to successful supply chain management, many businesses struggle to scale their inventory management capabilities with their sales growth. As a result, such organizations find themselves reliant on insufficient processes long past the point where they should’ve implemented technology and automation. Some signs that your inventory management capabilities need work may include: Experiencing frequent stockouts Regularly discovering stockouts ... Read More