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Ralph Lauren, with this offering, won’t generate the scale needed to make the model work at this price.

It seems that centralized buying and local product discovery are polar opposites. How can Whole Foods centralize buying and get better at the local level?

Amazon’s yearslong foray into health care still hasn’t upended the industry, and it’s unclear if the recent steps will change that pattern.

Experts told lawmakers in a hearing last week that adding geographic diversity and careful planning could strengthen the health care supply chain.

Amazon confirmed its annual Prime Day event will be held in Q2 (likely June), as it seeks to improve on a record Q2 2020, when revenue grew 40%. But there’s also major supply chain reasoning behind the decision.

The headlines are touting Target’s store fulfillment numbers, but Home Depot’s right behind, fulfilling 55% of online orders from stores. This is particularly advantageous for Home Depot, which sells goods that are more often heavier and bulkier than its retail counterparts.

The best-in-class retailers navigated well, and managed to grow inventory considerably in the first months of the year.

Truck Talk is a weekly newsletter from FreightWaves that adds perspective and context to happenings in the trucking world.

The chip shortage has been going on long enough to generate some survey data, and there are some positive things to be found there, but overall the picture is bleak. The general trend seems to be that the impact will be massive and it will last at least through most of 2021, but there are […]

This is an excerpt from Monday’s (5/13) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest. There’s a startup that was first created to deliver essentials to college kids but is quietly capturing the imagination (and venture capital) of the tech world, and it’s time the logistics world took notice. Gopuff, founded by two friends at Drexel […]

With most CPG companies already having reported first-quarter earnings, the CPG-related news this week centered around descriptions of consumer strength from their retail partners. In addition, the largest CPG companies, such as Unilever, are making bigger pushes into sustainable packaging. Finally, Oatly shares soared in their debut on Thursday.  To sign up for The Stockout, […]

Logistics is the name of the game when it comes to getting health care supplies to patients in disaster zones or places experiencing disease outbreaks.

Consumers reversion to services has not come at the detriment of durable goods spending. Over the past four weeks, the mix of durable goods-to-services spending has remained stable.

In addition to improving margins and boosting brand image, cutting ties with retailers simplifies Under Armour’s supply chain at a time when its needed most.

Companies in the health care supply chain are preparing to change gears as COVID-19 cases fall and health care utilization returns to normal levels.

On the Transmission show this week, we speak with Dan Hearsch, managing director at AlixPartners, about the difference between a shortage and a crisis. In the auto supply chain world, that distinction means a lot as automakers continue to scramble to source the semiconductor chips they need to keep building cars. Hearsch told us that […]

The semiconductor chip shortage continues to be the dominant news item in the automotive supply chain world. Not that anyone is surprised by this anymore. The NTEA, the association for the work truck industry, said in its May 2021 edition of NTEA News that it expects the semiconductor chip issue to cause some sort of […]

The evolving automotive supply chain — and it is evolving, perhaps more than casual observers are aware — is forcing companies to rethink best practices when it comes to getting cars out of the factory and into customer hands. Some are focusing on making their supply chains more independent while others are trying to find […]

Truck Talk is a weekly newsletter offering perspective and context on happenings in the industry.

Health care distributors ramped up distribution of PPE and vaccines during the pandemic but normal health care usage fell.