Data & Analytics

Effectively managing an end-to-end supply chain is a tricky proposition for most retailers.

No matter where a retailer is located or what products they sell, their supply chain likely extends across the globe, exposing them to a wide variety of potential issues. In a new report, “Is Your Luck Running Out? Managing Supply Risk in Uncertain Times,” A.T. Kearney identifies 12 specific risk trends, most negative but some with mixed or even positive impact that will affect the supply chain through 2025.

The warehouse is shifting from a building where you keep stuff to an intelligent hub that supports order management, customer service and general productivity.

Plans are being finalized for a new 100,000-sq.-ft. retail re-development in Enid, Oklahoma, across from the city’s Oakwood Mall, according to developer GBT Realty Corp.

Despite their tech-savvy reputation, millennials are not above reducing their retail spending with the help of good old-fashioned print coupons.

Regional grocer Raley’s Supermarkets is upgrading its omnichannel customer experience with an eye toward mobile convenience and personalized service.

West Sacramento, California-based Raley’s, which operates 122 stores under four banners in California and Nevada, is launching a new e-commerce platform called E-Cart. Based on technology from Unata, E-Cart includes features that aid the web, mobile and in-store shopping experience.

Ace Hardware Corp. is best known for selling home improvement merchandise, but also operates a growing grocery channel.

Using technology from ProLogic Retail Services, a provider of loyalty marketing solutions specializing in independent grocers, the retail cooperative is enabling its Ace Rewards loyalty program in co-located grocery stores. Ace operates grocery in both “store-within-a-store” configurations and adjacent storefronts with grocery partners.

More retailers are suffering data breaches, but the industry is also feeling an increased level of capability to deal with them.

According to a new study of more than 200 IT professionals from security technology provider Tripwire Inc., 33% of retailers say they have experienced a breach where intruders stole or gained access to personally identifiable information, This is more than double the 14% who had experienced this type of breach in 2014.

Office Depot put the blame for disappointing first-quarter financial results on its delayed buyout by Staples.

"The protracted regulatory review of the pending Staples acquisition continues to have a substantial disruptive impact on our business," stated Roland Smith, chairman and CEO, Office Depot. “Our North American Business Solutions Division and International Division are more impacted by this disruption and accordingly, both failed to meet our sales and profit expectations this quarter.”

Payments are no longer a means to an end for accepting money and finalizing a transaction.

According to a new global survey of senior retail executives responsible for payments strategy and/or payments IT strategy from payments company ACI Worldwide and technology analyst firm Ovum, “2016 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants and Retailers,” up to 81% of retailers view payments as a clear part of their business strategy.

East Coast Wings & Grill’s ambitious growth plans are poised to benefit from a data-driven approach to site selection made possible by the Buxton Analytics Platform.

The casual dining chain currently has 31 locations and has signed agreements to add 80 new restaurants across the country within the next five years. To ensure those restaurants are in the optimal locations, East Coast Wings & Grill partnered with customer analytics firm Buxton.