Supply Chain & Merchandising

Supply chain visibility is important in omnichannel success. The Internet of Things could be the perfect tool to keep inventory hiccups throughout the demand chain to a minimum.

“While many retailers have a mind-set that IoT is about satisfying customers and not moving product, supply chain IoT use cases still interest retailers,” said Steve Rowen, managing partner at Retail Systems Research.

The Home Depot to modernize with next-gen handheld devices in DCs

For The Home Depot, supply chain efficiency is about getting product from vendor partners down to store level, or directly onto the front porch of its shoppers — all without increasing overhead costs.

With an eye on modernization, the retailer is leveraging its mobile device management platform to ease its upcoming transition to a new fleet of ruggedized handhelds across its supply chain.

Intelligent lighting can help improve back-of-the-house retail operations

While a lot of emphasis is placed on optimizing the front-of-the-house retail experience, improving back-of-the-house operations can also help retailers better meet customers’ evolving expectations — and intelligent lighting systems may be the key to improving those operations.

Walmart gave a lackluster profit outlook for next year, and said it will slow new store openings as it invests in remodels and digital initiatives.  

Do we come to bury Jeff Bezos, or to praise him?

When I was a boy, my Cioci Mary (cioci is Polish for aunt) would occasionally treat me to a trip downtown in the small city where I grew up. We’d get a burger at Pappas’ diner and then head to W.T. Grant’s and she’d buy me candy, a comic book and a small toy. I mist up a little just thinking about it now, more than 50 years later.

You think a child of today, decades hence, will recall his aunt buying him a pair of sneakers on her laptop as fondly?

Move over Black Friday.   The biggest shopping day in terms of holiday sales is expected to be Friday, Dec. 23, while the biggest day in terms of store traffic is expected to be Saturday, Dec. 17, according to RetailNext Inc. (See lists at end of story.) It’s the first time in many years that Black Friday failed to top either of the lists.    

Just two years after leaving the company, Tom Kiler has rejoined Edens as senior VP in charge of the company’s 20 Texas properties.   Kiler will be responsible for management of the current portfolio in the Lone Star State and will direct acquisitions, development, and operations of Edens properties in Dallas and Houston. These include Houston’s Uptown Park and Dallas’s Preston Royal.  

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is merging its sustainability-focused conference with Sustainable Brands.     Beginning in 2017, the two will produce a single conference together than includes a retail-specific program track, in addition to Sustainable Brands’ usual program, which covers sustainability-led brand innovation across multiple consumer-facing industries.