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Multi-Channel is Here. Be Prepared.
The signs are everywhere: Retailers are living, more and more, in a world where managing multiple channels is critical for meeting customer expectations while reining in costs, especially when it...
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Kitting 101: What Retailers Need to Know, and How to Find a 3PL to Do It
One of the secret weapons that a 3PL, and thus a retailer using a 3PL, has at its disposal is the ability to put items together in kits. The process of doing so is called “kitting,” and it is usually...
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Should Your Vendors Be Specialists, or Comprehensive Providers? Why You Might...
There is a lot of blurring of traditional lines of business these days. Web designers are advertising content, SEO, and more; tech companies are selling themselves as eCommerce experts; marketing...
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Outsourcing to a 3PL, Scalability, and the “Goldilocks” Problem
Can a business be too big to outsource to a 3PL? Or too small? Technically, yes. This is what you might call the “Goldilocks” problem: A lot of organizations don’t even consider using a 3PL because...
View ArticleDoing Business with FDA-Regulated Products
Do you sell, or plan on selling, products that are regulated by the FDA? If you sell anything meant to be consumed internally by a person or a pet, then the answer is probably “yes.” The FDA regulates...
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How to Creatively Avoid Backorders if You Sell Online
Let me just say it: Backorders really are the bane of eCommerce. Here’s why. Suppose a customer orders an item, and you happen to be out of the item. It is on back order. Now you might have to explain...
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How 3PLs Are Helping Provide Visibility for Shippers
Here’s a little dose of honesty for you: Visibility is a good thing. But like so many other positive trends in business, the term has become overused. People are now asking for greater visibility...
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5 Myths About 3PLs Exposed
Every year, a significant number of organizations plan to move their logistics and fulfillment operations in-house. One study of this phenomenon found that, on average, 35% of outsourcing companies...
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The Secret to Managing Inventory is Never Running Out
Being out of stock is one of the worst positions to be in, from an inventory management perspective. Anticipating this situation when stock is low, and then triggering the right actions, helps keeps...
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How Do You Manage Inventory When Multiple Channels Are Involved?
If you are selling across multiple channels, managing inventory and shipping can be a real challenge—unless your 3PL partner has invested in the right kind of technology. More and more, merchants are...
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DIM Weight: Updates, Surprises, and Tips
Because shipping and logistics are a core competency at Materialogic, we keep abreast of industry changes that might affect how and when people ship items, including how much they are likely to pay....
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4 Ways to Drive Freight Savings
Increased competition makes little things count. If you have competitors from all over the world, you need to find ways to keep prices low even as you efficiently deliver your products. This is...
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Getting the Most Out of Your Holiday Post-Mortem
The holiday shopping season has come and gone, and now is the time of year when merchants of every stripe take a hard look at their reports and processes, vowing to make improvements in the coming...
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Our 2017 Predictions: 4 Silly, 4 Serious
Still dealing with the tail-end of the holiday rush? Take a break to reflect with us on what 2016 brought…and what the future will hold. Predictions are tricky, of course. They take not only a...
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Information Levels the Playing Field: How New Technologies for Warehousing...
There are long-standing problems that any warehouse or fulfillment center commonly faces. In the past, operational changes have just chipped away at the problems, allowing a little more efficiency...
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Everything Old is New Again in the eCommerce World
Since the advent of eCommerce, there have been many new models for how to sell things…although “new” might be a stretch. As it turns out, many new models—like flash sales and subscription...
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Why Delivery is Now the Fulfillment of a Brand Promise
A pattern we’ve noticed over the past decade is that many retailers worry about the “intake” side of their business. With good reason, of course: No retailer wants to miss the opportunity for a sale....
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It’s Busy Season…But Take Notes, And Plan Ahead
The holiday season is about to get into full swing for most retailers, both online and offline, and it promises to be a busy one. eMarketer is predicting a 3.3% increase in overall holiday retail...
View ArticleSome Companies are Opening Shop Without Stock—Good Idea, or Risky Trend?
It might seem obvious: If you have a traditional brick-and-mortar store, or a chain of stores, those stores will have to carry enough inventory to supply shoppers until their next shipment arrives. But...
View ArticleA Cautionary Tale for U.S. Retailers: What Hanjin Means
One of the bigger stories to hit the shipping world recently was the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co., one of the largest shipping companies in the world. While some in the industry are hanging on the...
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