Category: Technology

Fulfillment and Supply Chain Trends to Watch For in 2020

supply chain trends for 2020

January 16, 2020

At this time of year, it’s not uncommon to see various predictions pop up around what’s happening in our industry and expectations for the next twelve months. However, this change of calendar is more consequential than most, as it marks not just another year but a new decade dawning. 

There’s no denying that things have changed significantly over the last ten years (this blog didn’t exist, for one thing!) The retail world has been disrupted in almost every sector, primarily by Amazon but with new brands and digital startups also shaking things up.

Meanwhile, technology has evolved to such a degree that consumers can shop almost anywhere, any time, and expect to see their purchases within a couple of days, if not hours in some metropolitan areas.

Against that backdrop of consistent disruption and game-changing technology, what can we expect to see around the supply chain, retail, and eCommerce spaces as we move into 2020? Continue reading Fulfillment and Supply Chain Trends to Watch For in 2020

Why Investment in Technology is Crucial to eCommerce Competition

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October 30, 2019

Analysis by Bain & Company recently highlighted that, when it comes to investment in new technology, Amazon will outspend its average retail competitor by a factor of ten over the next five years. At their current rate of investment, that equates to every one of its ten closest retail competitors allocating an estimated $100 billion less than Amazon for information technology by 2023.

Why does this matter? Isn’t Amazon simply spending far more because its core business is delivered online?

While underpinning its dominant eCommerce platforms is clearly a factor for Amazon, such reasoning overlooks some crucial aspects of the retail landscape that are helping Amazon become even more dominant. Continue reading Why Investment in Technology is Crucial to eCommerce Competition

As Financiers Argue Over Bitcoin, Others See Potential for Blockchain in the Supply Chain

blockchain in the supply chain cityscape

October 18, 2017

By now, most of us have heard about Bitcoin, a digital currency that divides opinion in the finance sector. But while Bitcoin is alternately being hailed as the future or decried as a fraud, its underlying blockchain technology is the real treasure for other industries.

So what are the potential applications for blockchain in the supply chain environment?

That’s one of the questions we’ll explore in this article, as well as the potential restrictions and downsides of the technology.  Continue reading As Financiers Argue Over Bitcoin, Others See Potential for Blockchain in the Supply Chain

Fulfillment Technology: How Sophisticated Should Your Tech Get?

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March 24, 2016

If you’re anyone other than Amazon, it might feel like you’re constantly behind the curve of advances in fulfillment technology. Whether it’s robots and drones or Big Data and cloud computing, the rapid evolution of supply chain tech makes it tough to keep up with your reading on the subject, let alone actually taking action that could benefit your business.

Thankfully, not every headline has to mean a new headache for your fulfillment team. Continue reading Fulfillment Technology: How Sophisticated Should Your Tech Get?

Fulfillment Fundamentals: Appropriate Technology

July 1, 2015

We recently held a webinar to explore the fundamental elements of order fulfillment. Capacity’s co-founder and CSO Thom Campbell identified five key areas to focus on if you truly want to develop a fulfillment process that keeps customers coming back to your business time and time again.

To follow up on that event we’re unpacking each of these elements in more detail. Today we look at the importance of using the most suitable order fulfillment technology to ensure that you can deliver on your fulfillment promises to customers. You can read the rest of the entries in this compelling series under the tag Fulfillment Fundamentals. Continue reading Fulfillment Fundamentals: Appropriate Technology