Hy-Vee moves online order fulfillment back to stores | UNFI takes customized approach to serving grocers | Medline to open national sales support center in Ill.
Hy-Vee says it plans to transfer its online fulfillments from its four Aisles Online distribution centers to its retail stores later this month, joining a growing number of grocers that have opted for the microfulfillment model. "We are listening to our customers, and they are wanting a full assortment of products, personalized shoppers and same-day pickup at the store, which we are unable to fully provide when we process orders at a fulfillment center," said Hy-Vee spokeswoman Christina Gayman.
United Natural Foods is helping grocers improve operations with guidance from its region presidents, who help provide customized solutions, says President Chris Testa. "The way we approach it is, we're going to find the sweet spot or come up with a custom set of solutions for every customer, depending on their needs," he says.
Medline Industries will be opening a 140,000-square-foot national sales support center in Libertyville, Ill. within the year, relocating almost 600 employees from two other locations in the region, including its Northfield, Ill., headquarters.
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State of the Wholesale Supply Chain Industry in 2020 The wholesale supply chain industry continues to look for ways to solve challenges around predicting shifting consumer preferences, volatility with suppliers and long lead times, and e-commerce growth that's increasing price transparency. Despite these obstacles, the industry collectively posted year-over-year sales growth of 8% in 2019, similar to the prior year. Get the key findings for Blue Ridge's wholesale supply chain industry 2020 survey.
Workers in the "courier and messenger" category increased from 690,000 to 850,000 between January 2018 and January 2020, making it the fastest-growing segment of the US job market during that period, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase is attributed to the rise in e-commerce, which is also fueling an almost 9% increase in warehousing jobs and a 4% increase in trucking positions.
A proactive inside sales team can help distributors cover all their bases by taking care of mid-market accounts, writes Debbie Paul. Such teams encourage underserved accounts to grow and support smaller clients that often provide higher margins.
B2B marketers who want targeting, measurement and addressability should tap into the popularity of advanced TV, writes Brienna Pinnow of Blinc Digital Group. She notes there are tools available to tackle the technology, data and account-based marketing to move beyond traditional social networking and email campaigns.
Scheduling initial meetings might seem like a clerical task, but leaders who delegate it miss opportunities to jump-start relationships, writes serial entrepreneur Steve Blank. "The key difference with this approach is in understanding that the dialogue in setting up the meeting is actually the first part of your meeting," he notes.
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