OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Warehouse club chain’s new digital tool drives in-store engagement
Sam’s Club associates now have the information they need to improve shoppers’ in-store experiences in real-time.
Walmart is banking on e-commerce sales growth to hit 40% by 2019
Walmart is stepping up investments related to the “connected customer,” efforts that will drive strong e-commerce growth for the next fiscal year.

Study: Global digital payments headed to 726 billion transactions by 2020

Emerging economies continue to drive global digital payment transactions — and momentum shows no signs of slowing.
Q&A: Boxed co-founder talks warehouse efficiency—via robotic automation
Study: Gens Y & Z prefer credit cards over other forms of payments

Following suit of older generations, younger shoppers want to pay for purchases with credit cards. Specifically, Gen Z (ages 18-24) and Gen Y (ages 25-34) are comfortable using credit to make purchases, and overwhelmingly prefer credit cards to monthly payment options, according to new data from Vyze, a provider of cloud-based financial technology solutions.
Report: Online giant testing its own delivery service

Amazon’s new program could give carriers like United Parcel Service and FedEx a run for their money. The online giant is experimenting with a program that rivals services handled by longtime partners UPS and FedEx. Specifically, it is dabbling in a program designed to make more products available for free two-day delivery and relieve overcrowding in its warehouses, according to Bloomberg.
Survey: Retailers are missing out on a big opportunity

For all the buzz about buy-online-pickup-in-store, not that many retailers are actually deploying the service.
Popular eatery to open cashless location—with kiosk-only ordering

Shake Shack, the burger chain founded by famed restaurateur Danny Meyer, is taking a high-tech approach to its newest site.
A Gap brand reaches for the cloud

A specialty retailer is streamlining its merchandising operations. Gap's Intermix division has become the company's first brand to transition to the cloud. The upscale specialty retailer is leveraging Oracle’s cloud-based platform to drive efficiencies across merchandising and inventory management. The platform supports end-to-end operational efficiencies and empowers the business teams among specialty apparel company Intermix.
Study: Store managers’ roles evolve in the unified commerce era

To effectively service shoppers at store-level, managers need to evolve beyond their sales roles and become “problem solvers.” This means store managers must learn to master the combination of order fulfillment, inventory visibility and staffing to keep up with customer demands, according to the “Voice of Store Manager Survey,” a study from JDA Software Group. The second annual study is based on responses from 252 US-based retail store managers compiled in August.