OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Tech Guest Viewpoint: Steps to Implementing RFID Successfully
Careful planning with clear, set goals will better your chances to get the most out of any vision. When considering RFID in retail, it’s no different. If you start with the results you want and identify a pathway toward achieving them, you’ll set yourself up for success.
Nike creates new digital executive position
In a sign that omnichannel is becoming more important to Nike’s business, the vertical specialty athletic retailer has named Adam Sussman as its first chief digital officer.

Sussman will report to Trevor Edwards, president of Nike brand.

Prior to joining Nike, Sussman held multiple positions in the interactive gaming and entertainment industries, including EA Mobile and Disney Interactive. He has worked in areas including general management, marketing, strategic planning and digital product commercialization.

Cabela's names new president

Cabela’s executive VP and chief commercial officer Scott Williams has been elevated to the role of president and given additional responsibilities in a move that positions him to succeed longtime CEO Tommy Millner.

Williams will continue to report to Millner. Williams will take on additional responsibility for U.S. retail operations and all operations in Canada.
PayPal names company veteran CTO

Global technology platform and payments provider PayPal Holding, Inc. has appointed VP of global payments infrastructure (GPI) Sri Shivananda as the company’s new senior VP and CTO, effective April 1.

Shivananda’s appointment follows the decision by current CTO James Barrese, to step down to take time off. Barrese will remain with PayPal for a period of time to support a smooth transition period.
Tandy Leather Factory names interim CEO

Shannon Greene, CFO of Tandy Leather Factory, was named interim CEO of the Fort Worth-based operator of more than 100 stores after CEO Jon Thompson resigned after more than two decades with the company.
Specialty retailer fulfills omnichannel potential

Advanced omnichannel retailing is not just for big chains anymore.

Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply, a Bozeman, Montana-based specialty retailer with 30 stores in the upper Midwest, has implemented Kibo’s order management platform to provide real-time local inventory availability and omnichannel fulfillment capabilities within its new retail website.

With an existing e-commerce presence, Murdoch’s saw Kibo’s solution as an opportunity to better serve its customers and create a seamless online and offline experience.
Burberry shakes up fashion

Burberry is going its own way — and it’s not alone. Reflecting the consumer’s demand for instant gratification, the high-end fashion brand is moving to a new system whereby it will show its new collections on the catwalk the same time they are available for sale in the stores — as opposed to six months beforehand, the New York Times reported. Shortly after Burberry’s announcement, designer Tom Ford said he would show both his men’s and women’s fall collections together next September, at the same time as the clothes were available to buy.
Commentary: These are the type of stores Amazon should open

It makes no sense for Amazon.com to open the type of physical bookstores it helped obliterate, not when the online giant already has the physical infrastructure in place to support a large scale rollout of another type of store in one of retail’s hottest sectors.
Game Stop talks about its newest initiative

GameStop Corp. has entered into a partnership that will expand the retailer from selling video games to video-game publishing, the Dallas Business Journal reported. “As we’ve said many times before, GameStop will continue to invest in new and exciting innovation and strategic opportunities that will grow our video game business and deliver better and better entertainment experiences for our customers,” Mark Stanley, GameStop VP of strategic initiatives, said in the report.
Publix expands specialty pharmacy in new deal

Publix and AmerisourceBergen on Thursday announced a long-term agreement encompassing the distribution of branded, generic and over-the-counter health and pharmaceutical products. The agreement also enables Publix’s network of more than 980 pharmacy locations across the southeast to expand patient access to specialty medications.