Logistics

Lost in the crush of holiday related news this week was a supply chain visibility related announcement involving Walmart and an obscure company called I.D. Systems, Inc.

Walmart uses I.D. System’s trailer and tracking management services branded as VeriWise to manage a range of logistics assets. The new development this week involved a three year contract extension whereby Walmart will continue using I.D. System’s services.

San Jose, Calif. - Cross-border shoppers (those for whom more than 10% of their online spend is cross-border), spend approximately twice as much as consumers who only shop domestically. New research from PayPal and Ipsos, which investigated the online and cross-border shopping habits of more than 17,500 consumers in 22 countries, shows 30% of U.S. online consumers shop across borders.  

NEW YORK - Best Buy on Thursday reported unexpectedly strong and better-than-expected profit and sales for the third quarter, gaining new momentum as it heads into the holiday shopping season.  It was the first time since the third quarter of last year that Best Buy reported positive comparable store sales.

Amid an ongoing exploration of strategic alternatives, PetSmart said third quarter sales grew 2.6% thanks to the addition of 36 new stores as same store sales were flat.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has extended its contract to use wireless I.D. Systems Inc. VeriWise trailer tracking and management services for its fleet or cargo trailers. The contract extension, which runs through October 2017, has a maximum aggregate value of approximately $14 million.

Buckinghamshire, U.K. – Omnichannel U.K.-based mass merchandise retailer Argos has selected Paragon’s advanced home delivery (HDS) software solution as part of a large-scale project to revolutionize its home delivery operation. Paragon’s HDS software enables Argos to offer optimized time windows to customers at the point of order.

Brentwood, Tenn. - Tractor Supply Company plans to build a new distribution center in Casa Grande, Arizona. Located in the Central Arizona Commerce Park, the facility is expected to begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will be approximately 650,000-sq.-ft., with the potential to create more than 250 local jobs.
Tractor Supply Company's new distribution center will have the potential to service approximately 250 stores in the Southwest region. Currently, the company operates more than 1,360 stores in 49 states across the country.

Mississauga, Canada -- Canadian shoppers are off to an earlier start with holiday shopping. UPS Canada's annual Black Friday survey conducted by Leger shows that one-third of Canadians plan to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.    The findings forecast that 20% of Canadian consumers will travel to the U.S. to shop for Black Friday deals and 32% of Canadian consumers will make online Cyber Monday purchases from U.S. retailers.