OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Cincinnati – Retail real estate services provider Phillips Edison & Company has named Thomas L. Drake, CPA to the role of VP of tax. In his new role, Drake will be responsible for leading all aspects of the tax functions for the organization.  

Arlington, VA - Retailers on Friday criticized the National Labor Relations Board decision that gave the go-ahead to new laws to expedite the union election process. The amendments, to go into effect April 14, provide for electronic filing and transmission of election petitions and other documents; eliminates or reduces unnecessary litigation; and allows parties to consolidate election-related appeals to the board into a single appeals process, the NLRB said in a statement.  

By Joe Majka, Verifone   President Obama’s BuySecure Initiative sets the U.S. Government on track to adopt chip and PIN payment security, parallels - and seeks to encourage - a commercial industry shift toward EMV card technology.    

By Patrick Bannon, Rebecca DeGroff,  Noah Finkel, Richard Alfred (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)    The Supreme Court has unanimously that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to pay employees for time spent passing through post-shift security screening.  

GAINESVILLE, Fla - More than 40 major retail chains, including The Home Depot, Walmart, Kroger and Target, formed a specialized research council to facilitate the use of science to curtail theft and violence. As part of this effort, A specialized University of Florida research team has been formed to interviews offenders, analyzes large datasets, and conducts field experiments to adapt and devise new crime control methods and technologies.  

San Jose, Calif. – EBay Inc. is reportedly considering cutting up to 3,000 jobs early in 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, the staff reductions would primarily occur in the EBay Marketplace unit as the company prepares to spin off its PayPal unit.   

New York - Back in the fall, reports were rampant that Amazon would open a physical store in mid-town Manhattan in time for the holiday rush. The online giant had rented space across from the Empire State Building,  according to reports, with plans to open a space that would double as a store and mini-depot where select orders could be picked up and returned.  But with the holiday season in full-swing, there is no Amazon storefront on West 34th Street—and it doesn’t appear any is likely in the near future.  

CINCINNATI — David Dillon, who led Kroger's development of the company's successful Customer 1st Strategy, will retire as chairman of the board on Dec. 31 after 38 years of service.   As expected, the Kroger Board of Directors on Thursday elected Rodney McMullen, Kroger's CEO, to the additional post of chairman, commencing Jan. 1, 2015. McMullen has served on the board of directors since 2003.