OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Online giant’s fulfillment network enters new territory
Amazon is once again expanding its distribution fleet — this time in the Beehive State. The online giant will open an 855,000 sq. ft. fulfillment center in Salt Lake City — the company’s first warehouse in Utah. The facility, which will employ 1,500 full-time hourly associates, will pick, pack, and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and toys.
Walmart installing automated vending machines for online order pickup
Walmart continues to explore new ways to make it easier for customers to pick up goods purchased online. The discounter is expanding its deployment of a giant self-service kiosk, which it calls a Pickup Tower, that spits out online orders to users of Walmart's buy-online-pickup-in-store service. Walmart debuted the technology last fall, in a store in Bentonville, Ark., close its headquarters.

Online giant plans to open robotics-based facility in South Florida

Amazon is once again bolstering its warehouse fleet in the Sunshine State. The online giant will open an 850,000-sq.-ft. facility staffed with robots and more than 1,000 workers in South Florida. The depot will reside in a vacant property that is currently being transformed into a 97-acre commercial center adjoining the county’s Opa-locka airport, according to The Miami Herald.
Study: Majority of shoppers favor ‘next-gen' payments

Consumers are ready to leave paper-based checks behind. In fact, 80% of Americans are in support of "futuristic" payments technologies and currencies, including tools like sensor fingerprinting, facial recognition, retinal scanning and voice control, as well as currencies like bitcoin. This was according to research from Viewpost, a B2B network provider for invoicing, payments and cash management.
Another grocer launches same-day delivery

Regional supermarket operator Shnucks is the latest grocer to offer customers same-day delivery.
Specialty retailer steps up unified commerce efforts

Vitamin World’s commerce and supply chain operations are undergoing a digital transformation.
Study: Social media key to July 4th sales

Plenty of consumers will be shopping for deals over Independence Day— and they plan to use social media to find them. Forty-three percent of consumers plan to shop for deals on Independence Day, according to a survey by ChargeItSpot. When asked what resource they will use to hunt down deals and sales, the majority of respondents (37%) said social media, followed by online deal sites (17%) and mobile coupon apps (17%) – meaning in-store shoppers are finding their deals online.
Study: Consumers' shipping expectations higher than ever

There is a major disconnect between retailers and consumers when it comes to shipping expectations. Retailers understand that consumers want free shipping. But they are challenged by and grappling with the rising costs of shipping online orders, according to “The State of Shipping in Commerce,” a report from Temando, a shipping and fulfillment software platform provider.
Fast-fashion giant steps up POS game with new partnership

Eager to improve customer service and security at the front end, Forever 21 is converting its point-of-sale (POS) fleet to a single solution. Through a partnership with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, the fast-fashion retailer is adding the vendor’s hardware, equipment and services across all its corporate stores around the globe. The agreement makes Toshiba the chain’s single point of contact for all POS systems, peripherals and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) front and back office retail store technology.
Winn-Dixie Case Puts Spotlight on Website Accessibility/Compliance

A much-anticipated ruling on website accessibility has been issued out of the Southern District of Florida. The ruling in Juan Carlos Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores (case no. 16-23020-civ-Scola; S.D. FL 2017) requires the attention of businesses across the country that host websites.