Analyst Insight: Retail continues its massive digital evolution; we no longer should look at e-commerce as a separate activity for retailers. Consumers are only concerned about commerce. The lines between different retail channels have blurred, consumers expect retailers to service their demands and needs regardless of which path they decide to leverage with the retailers. Retailers' supply chains must keep pace with these digital changes. -- Guy F. Courtin, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Beijing is crawling with motorcycle-mounted deliverymen, one sign of the rapid growth of China's service industries. Services grew 8.3 percent last year and for the first time generated more than half of gross domestic product, or 50.5 percent. Manufacturing rose only 6 percent. "If it hadn't been for the service sector, China's economy would be in a much worse state today," says Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. He notes that all kinds of services have expanded quickly in recent years.
Many eyes may be gazing toward the sky in anxious anticipation of new drone delivery systems, but an increasing number of intelligent robot systems is already on the ground, in warehouses and manufacturing facilities, helping to manufacture and move products across the globe.
Pilot Freight Services has added Retail Services to its repertoire of transportation and logistics solutions. These services involve managing and coordinating the logistics requirements associated with store planning and design, as well as visual merchandising. Under its Retail Services offering, Pilot will expand its work with brick-and-mortar retailers on projects, including opening new stores, rolling out new seasonal displays, and remodeling stores.
Analyst Insight: E-commerce continues to grow by double digits and many companies are striving to achieve omnichannel success. A successful omnichannel strategy means having the capability to meet customers' increasingly high expectations by enabling them to buy anywhere, take delivery where they want to take delivery, and make returns where they choose. While today's leading retailers understand the need for omnichannel success, the majority are falling short of meeting their objectives. – Kelly Reed, Executive Vice President, Tompkins International
Analyst Insight: When it comes to supply chain management, logistics has long been something of an afterthought. As companies look for more ways to win in the marketplace, and customers step up their demands for better service and delivery transparency, superior logistics is becoming a competitive differentiator. – Brett Cayot, Principal, PwC Advisory Practice; Sandra H Gosling, Director, PwC Advisory Practice; Thornton Hughes, Principal, Strategy&
Consumer goods suppliers can save millions of dollars by evaluating and improving direct store delivery (DSD) operations — the way that products are ordered, sold, delivered and merchandised — according to a report from Honeywell.
