Supply chain

Much talk these days in retail supply chain circles revolves around the ‘omnichannel’ – basically, a commercial environment where manufacturers and suppliers seamless meet consumer demand for products and services, whatever purchasing channel they use: whether products are bought in-store, via the internet on PCs, or through their TVs or via people’s mobile phones.

New smart technologies
As brands seek to recapture their relationship with consumers by cutting out retailers and other third parties, new smart technologies – both within supply chains and on-pack to enable semi-automatic replenishment – are emerging.

Meanwhile, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are becoming more important intermediaries and partners between the factory and retail distribution centres. They often extend their services to include co-packing services and backhauling to reduce the number of empty trucks on the roads. Behind the physical infrastructures are supply chain software systems that have become increasingly critical in avoiding stock-outs on retailer shelves.

Technology Writers have long written about all these fields, both as journalists and in a PR capacity, so they have a good understanding of the latest developments in the supply chain and logistics.

Automated warehousing
The future is set for radical change: from the growth of ‘lights out’ automated warehousing using advanced guided vehicles and other automated handling systems, to the prospects of driverless trucks on our roads and Amazon’s experiments with drones and unmanned delivery vehicles. Technology Writers understand the changing supply chain world.