How Tractor Supply is adjusting to supply chain delays | Watch an interview with Hal Lawton from NRF Supply Chain 360 | Walmart adds fleet tech to support drivers, stores
Supply chain challenges have retail buyers and inventory teams that used to plan as much as six months out taking a moment-by-moment approach, Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton said during a keynote at NRF's Supply Chain 360 conference this week. "You're constantly not only prioritizing ports and containers and moving them, but then sometimes canceling an order and then creating a new order from a different vendor or a different manufacturer, perhaps sometimes even a whole different category, to take advantage of capacity," Lawton said.
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Walmart has installed computer tablets in its fleet of 9,000 tractor trucks to provide drivers with scheduling and navigation data in near real time. The tablets, part of a partnership with Daimler Truck-backed Platform Science, also send automatic notices to store associates' handheld devices so they know when goods will be delivered and can prepare accordingly.
Kroger is continuing its e-commerce expansion with a nearly 300,000-square-foot customer fulfillment center in Aurora, Colo., to serve the Denver metropolitan area. The facility is part of an ongoing partnership between Kroger and UK-based tech provider Ocado Group that includes opening 17 fulfillment centers across the US -- four of which are operational in Ohio, Georgia, Florida and Texas.
The Giant Co. has brought 30,000 honeybees to a 7-acre solar field at its corporate headquarters in Carlisle, Pa., after 60,000 bees were stolen from the site earlier this year, continuing the grocer's participation in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's InSPIRE study to track pollinator-friendly ground cover for solar energy projects. This week, Giant Co. announced a partnership with Planet Bee Foundation to award $10,000 in grants to five local beekeepers to help build beehives and continue research.
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Competing retailers and brands have opportunities to collaborate to serve growing consumer demand for order consolidation to cut shipping costs and reduce packaging waste, American Eagle Outfitters Chief Supply Chain Officer Shekar Natarajan said at the NRF Supply Chain 360 conference. Implementing the idea on a large scale could save retailers $40 billion annually and cut the carbon footprint for order deliveries by 30%, Natarajan said.
Liz Lange bought luxury fashion brand Figue last year and took over as CEO of the 10-year-old brand, which sells direct-to-consumers online and through wholesale deals with retailers including Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Lange, who had previously created and sold her namesake maternity line, talks about buying a brand she had been a fan of, expanding the team to grow sales through both channels and serving consumers the latest in fashion trends.
Inflation has more global consumers opting not to spend extra money on sustainable products, according to a Deloitte survey of 1,000 people in 23 countries in March. In the survey, 41% cited higher costs as the reason for not spending on a sustainable purchase over the past four weeks and one-third of those who had made such a purchase said they had paid "significantly more" than they would have for a less-green alternative.
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Tractor Supply Co. President and CEO Hal Lawton discussed the unified planning and execution initiatives that TSC has developed to mitigate the effects of inflation at NRF Supply Chain 360 with CNBC's Lori Ann LaRocco. Reducing your carbon footprint and establishing clear product priorities are key to optimizing the supply chain and progressing the industry forward, Lawton said. Learn more.
COVID-19, geopolitical factors, inflation, unpredictable changes in weather and regulatory pressures have left today's supply chain fragile. At NRF Supply Chain 360, Vice President of Product for IBM Joe Berti and Varadheesh Chennakrishnan, CIO of Joann, discussed how their companies are working to overcome such challenges through operationalizing and finding ways to maintain sustainability to meet the needs of their customers. Learn more.
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is on track to report its first year of sales growth in 15 years, a result of steps taken over the past two years to reverse years of austerity measures and upgrade the menu. In addition to menu changes, the chain also invested in technology tools, including a digital waitlist for dine-in customers and improvements to its online ordering system to feed growing demand for off-premises dining.
