Lot and expiry tracking for retailers selling perishables and cosmetics
If your products expire, lot tracking is not optional. Here is the minimum system that supports FEFO picking and a fast recall.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics, shipping, last-mile delivery, fulfillment, warehousing, and supply chain in commerce.
Delivery exceptions: what to do when a parcel stalls in transit
Most delivery complaints start as an exception scan. Acting on the right day, with the right message, saves the order and the margin.
Why Amazon’s AutoStore deal points to modular automation by Q1 2027: 3 signals
Three signals from a single fortnight of August 2026 earnings point to modular, non-exclusive warehouse automation displacing bespoke single-vendor builds. The call resolves by the February 2027 reporting round.
Why holiday 2026 retail hiring is likely to set a new low: 3 automation signals
US retailers are likely to announce fewer holiday 2026 seasonal jobs than in 2025, a year that already marked the weakest peak hiring since 2009. Three signals from late July and early August point to peak capacity being bought as automation capex rather than temporary staff, with the first checkpoint due when the seasonal outlooks publish in late September 2026.
Micro-fulfillment centers versus dark stores: which fits a grocer
Both put stock closer to shoppers, but the capital profiles are nothing alike. Here is how grocers should compare the two models.
Rider batching and drop density: the math behind rapid delivery promises
Cost per delivery is mostly a density problem. This is how batching, delivery radius and rider utilisation drive the number.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd Route Another Gemini Service Back Through Suez
Two of the world’s largest container carriers are steering more of their fleet back toward the Suez Canal. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said on August 10 …
Returnless refunds: when writing off a return is the cheaper option
Keep-it refunds can be the cheaper decision on low-value returns. Here is how to set the threshold and guard against abuse.
Address errors at checkout and the delivery costs they create
Address correction fees and failed deliveries are avoidable. This covers validation at checkout and the cost model that justifies it.
Cycle counting versus annual stocktake for growing retailers
How to replace the annual stocktake with cycle counting, including how to segment stock, set count frequency and hold an accuracy target.