The Senate recently advanced a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that, if signed into law, will include major investment for the nation’s transportation, water, and power infrastructure. It also allocates funds for expanded broadband internet access, research and development for clean energy technologies, and much more.
The IPCC just released their 2021 report, and the biggest takeaway is that we should be acting right now to work toward zero-emissions goals. As consumers and businesses internalize these revelations, more are looking seriously into their supply chains for ways to improve their carbon footprint.
AI and automation in the trucking industry have come a long way in a very short period of time. While full hands-free automation is still somewhere on the horizon, technology is already improving efficiencies and creating better working conditions for drivers on the road.
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This past year and a half has been unprecedented on many, many levels. The earliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic ground production to a halt in some segments, while creating rushes on other consumer goods that strained supply chains around the globe.
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Amazon Prime Day, which kicked off June 21, gave the shipping industry a bit of a preview of the upcoming holiday season. The big takeaway: Everyone needs to do their homework and prepare.
Supply chain disruptions — including global shortages of labor, shipping containers, air freight capacity, and materials like semiconductors and plastic — as well as restrictions due to COVID-19 outbreaks in China’s Guangdong Province greatly limited the ability of many companies to participate in this year’s Amazon sale.
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Thanks to e-commerce giants like Amazon, lightning-fast fulfillment has become the standard in much of the U.S. and Europe. Free or low-cost next day and same day delivery options have shifted the window of customer expectations, putting pressure on competitors to employ an efficient and cost-effective delivery system in order to stay relevant. Speedy turnaround is the expectation now — not just an add-on.
While e-commerce continues to thrive and companies pour investment into last-mile to keep up, the hidden environmental costs of rapid delivery are becoming more apparent. As more businesses, activists, and government oversight agencies examine the entire supply chain for carbon efficiency, last mile sustainability increasingly faces scrutiny.
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Last mile delivery has long been one of the toughest challenges for ecommerce retailers. That hasn’t changed, but now that more buyers than ever are turning to online shopping channels to get the products they want consumer expectations for delivery speed and service are increasing rapidly. Even some of the biggest big box retailers are having difficulty keeping up with mounting demand.
Innovative retailers are coming up with creative hybrid ecommerce solutions to offer customers same-day service without managing a fleet of couriers. Click and collect last mile represents one such fulfillment option that is growing in popularity.
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A widespread truck driver shortage is one of the more impactful results of 2020 for supply chain companies. A full 71% of the total freight tonnage handled in the U.S. is moved on the highway system, and while recent investment into intermodal infrastructure has improved opportunities for rail transport, shortfalls in the trucking industry will lead to substantial impacts to overall outcomes.
Unlike other COVID-related impacts, labor shortages in trucking aren’t easily fixed. Carriers will need to accept that driver shortages will likely become a part of the “new normal” for a period, and prepare strategies to deal with this uncertain future.
That’s not to say there’s nothing carriers can do to mitigate the wider impact of shortages in the near term. Identifying efficiencies in shipping and finding technologies to improve turnaround can build a more agile infrastructure that produces long term benefits (and profits for forward-looking firms).
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Maximizing fulfillment efficiency is an ongoing process and a major goal of every successful warehouse operation, particularly in a consumer landscape shaped by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consumers have increasingly turned to eCommerce for their purchasing needs, and understandably so, as they sought to avoid spaces where virus exposure was a risk. As such, the shift from shopping brick-and-mortar to digital has accelerated by almost five years – with both orders and returns experiencing a significant boom.
To keep pace with these changes, warehouse managers must identify opportunities for growth in both their fulfillment & reverse logistics processes and implement optimizations that achieve speed and efficiency. Let’s cover some basic ways that fulfillment efficiency can be maximized to meet consumer demand.
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The shift toward sustainable warehousing is still accelerating despite the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19. External pressure on companies to adopt greener practices continues to rise alongside the need to balance costs and operational efficiencies. It’s anticipated the call for sustainable action will increase demand for strategic warehousing, automation, and eco-friendly packaging, among other currently unforeseeable needs. But sustainable warehousing can do more than help the environment – there are efficiency and cost gains to be had as well. In light of these environmental factors, we’ll discuss the ways in which the industry is inching toward a more sustainable future with greener warehousing solutions.
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