Operations Management

  • Amazon warehouse workers carry signs in a picket line in front of an Amazon supply chain facility. The signs read: "Amazon is Unfair" and "Amazon: Obey the Law."
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Amazon warehouse workers on strike amid holiday rush

    The e-commerce giant said work stoppages at seven facilities have not impacted operations.

    By Daphne Howland • Dec. 20, 2024
  • People walking by stores and crossing the street in a city, with a small red car in a wide crosswalk.
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    Daphne Howland/Supply Chain Dive
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    Deep Dive

    Nordstrom and Macy’s abandoned the ‘retail inventory method’ after using it for decades. Here’s why.

    The accounting practice can interfere with merchandising and pricing decisions while also muddying the picture on inventory shrink, experts say.

    By Daphne Howland • Dec. 19, 2024
  • Explore the Trendline➔
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    Adeline Kon/Supply Chain Dive
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    Trendline

    Peak season management

    Higher peak season surcharges are one risk for shippers to manage this year.

    By Supply Chain Dive staff
  • Federal Reserve Chair Powell Holds A News Conference Following The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting
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    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Fed trims main interest rate, signals prospect of less easing in 2025

    Policymakers reduced the benchmark interest despite signs that their nearly three-year fight to push down inflation to their 2% target has stalled.

    By Jim Tyson • Dec. 19, 2024
  • A Duluth Trading Company store in West Fargo, North Dakota.
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    "Duluth Trading Company Store - Fargo, North Dakota" by Tony Webster is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Duluth Trading ramps up automated fulfillment center usage

    The workwear retailer is leaning more on its Georgia facility during the holiday season after closing a location in Iowa.

    By • Dec. 18, 2024
  • A medium-skinned person joins a protest, with pro-union signs in Spanish behind them
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    Stephanie Keith via Getty Images
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    Amazon faces Senate probe, strike threats over warehouse safety allegations

    “Our employees’ safety is and always will be our top priority,” an Amazon spokesperson said Monday.

    By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 18, 2024
  • Babybel cheese in red wrapping
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    Retrieved from Flickr.
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    Babybel cheese producer improves supply chain planning with AI

    Bel Group deployed Kinaxis Maestro software across its operations to improve disruption mitigation, shelf-life management and distribution optimization.

    By • Dec. 17, 2024
  • Shipping containers sit stacked in the Port of Newark.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    How FLOW impacted supply chains in 2024

    The Freight Logistics Optimization Works program now has 85 members, including Best Buy, True Value, BNSF and CMA CGM.

    By • Dec. 17, 2024
  • Couche-Tard
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    Retrieved from Couche-Tard.
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    Couche-Tard to service 1,600 US c-stores via new ‘hybrid’ distribution centers

    The retailer plans to contract many operations at these three centers to third-party logistics companies.

    By Brett Dworski • Dec. 17, 2024
  • The outside of a Best Buy store.
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    Bruce Bennett / Staff via Getty Images
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    Best Buy leans on distribution upgrades for faster delivery

    The electronics retailer opened a new distribution center in Texas and upgraded technology at a New York facility.

    By • Dec. 16, 2024
  • A truffle sits in the center of a wooden table surrounded by pasta, truffle shavings, basil and oil.
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    ValentynVolkov via Getty Images
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    Truffle company expands Connecticut distribution center

    Italy-based Sabatino’s new hub will handle production, packaging and shipping of goods like oil and seasonings.

    By • Dec. 16, 2024
  • Exterior shot of a Dollar General store.
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    Courtesy of Dollar General
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    Dollar General names exec to oversee distribution center strategy

    Kevin Pinchon, a former supply chain leader at HD Supply, joins other recent executive hires made by the retailer.

    By Howard Ruben • Dec. 12, 2024
  • A package on a doorstep.
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    Tetiana Soares via Getty Images
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    Need a de minimis strategy? Here are 4 questions every shipper should ask.

    Shipping using Section 321 is not a good idea for every e-commerce company, logistics experts say.

    By • Dec. 12, 2024
  • Inside a Chewy fulfillment center.
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    Retrieved from Clayco on December 09, 2024
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    Chewy peak season aided by automation

    The pet e-tailer’s automated fulfillment centers improved productivity during its highest order period.

    By • Dec. 10, 2024
  • A Dollar General storefront with a sign that reads: "Dollar General".
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Dollar General scales back on temporary warehouses

    The discount retailer plans to rely more on self-owned distribution centers to boost performance and capacity.

    By • Dec. 10, 2024
  • An image of the Utz Brands Rice Distribution Center
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    Courtesy of Utz Brands
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    Utz Brands opens Pennsylvania logistics hub

    The 650,000-square-foot facility is able to handle more than 1 billion pounds of product annually, the company estimates.

    By • Dec. 9, 2024
  • Woman shopping in store with cart
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    iStockphoto.com/onuma Inthapong

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    Sponsored by SPS Commerce

    Navigating promotional pricing for increased customer engagement

    For better promotional pricing, technology matters. Navigate different strategies from SPS Commerce.

    Dec. 9, 2024
  • An outside view of an retail distribution center.
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    Permission granted by S&S Activewear
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    S&S Activewear deploys over 200 distribution center robots

    The autonomous picking solutions aim to increase production output at two facilities in Nevada and Pennsylvania.

    By • Dec. 6, 2024
  • A sign reading "Cargill" is seen at the entrance of a parking lot to a factory building
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    Spencer Tirey via Getty Images
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    Cargill cuts 5% of global workforce after profits decline

    The move, which will affect approximately 8,000 jobs, comes as the world's largest private company plans to streamline operations in the face of lower crop prices and challenges in beef.

    By • Dec. 5, 2024
  • A worker organizes packages at a FedEx facility on December 21, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    FedEx plans North Carolina layoffs in Network 2.0 rollout

    The delivery giant is closing one ship center and trimming its workforce at another, impacting 341 employees.

    By • Dec. 5, 2024
  • Shoppers walk through a Macy's department store on Black Friday. A sign reads, "Give Love."
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    Kamil Krzaczynski via Getty Images
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    How retailers prepped their supply chains for 2024’s holiday crunch

    Companies adjusted inventory and marketing strategies to accommodate the shorter Black Friday to Christmas timeframe.

    By • Dec. 5, 2024
  • Gatik's autonomous box trucks will move Georgia-Pacific shipments to 34 Sam's Club locations in the Dallas Fort-Worth area as part of a multi-year commercial partnership.
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    Courtesy of Gatik
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    Walmart to close New Jersey Sam’s Club fulfillment center

    Operations at the Swedesboro center will be relocated to other facilities within the retailer’s fulfillment network, a spokesperson said.

    By • Dec. 3, 2024
  • A red Burlington storefront says "ladies, mens, kids, baby, home, coats," as clouds billow overhead in a bright blue sky.
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    Daphne Howland/Supply Chain Dive
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    Burlington credits distribution center investments for Q3 cost reductions

    The discount retailer aims to own more of its facilities while pushing for greater productivity through automation.

    By • Dec. 3, 2024
  • A Verity-manufactured drone hovers nearby boxed inventory in a warehouse.
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    Courtesy of Verity
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    UPS deploys Verity warehouse drones for inventory tracking

    The technology is helping the company's Velocity facility identify stock discrepancies and reduce "high-reach tasks" for workers.

    By • Dec. 3, 2024
  • Shoppers buy groceries at Morrison's in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.
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    Hollie Adams via Getty Images
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    Blue Yonder moves closer to full recovery after November ransomware attack

    U.K. supermarket chain Morrisons says its operations are mostly restored, while Blue Yonder is working with other customers to recover operations.

    By David Jones • Dec. 2, 2024
  • A large orange wall features the words The North Face printed in white.
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    Vittorio Zunino Celotto via Getty Images
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    The North Face parent company to lay off 242 employees at Virginia distribution center

    The facility’s closure, announced earlier this year, comes as VF Corp. faces declining earnings and a recent S&P downgrade.

    By Lara Ewen • Dec. 2, 2024