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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor's note
View From 50,000 Ft.
Zooming In On Tactics
This issue of O&F Advisor is sponsored by Escalate, Inc.
About Escalate
Escalate Retail delivers sales, merchandising, and loyalty solutions for
retailers, e-tailers, and direct marketers to help them maximum profits
while meeting the demands of the 21st century consumer. Our solutions
consistently anticipate, understand, and fulfill consumer expectations
to deliver optimal shopping experiences that result in brand loyalty and
repeat business.
www.escalateretail.com/
Editor's note
NCOF is Fast Approaching!
It's never too early to begin planning for the 2007 National
Conference on Operations & Fulfillment (NCOF), the only conference
dedicated to direct-to-customer fulfillment and operations management.
This year's conference will be held in Schaumburg, IL, from April 29 (a
day devoted to pre-conference intensives) to May 2.
Like the O+F Advisor, NCOF strives to deliver the smartest methods and
best practices to boost efficiencies, raise productivity, streamline
operations, exceed customer expectations, manage costs, resolve
operating challenges, and deliver the goods better, faster, and more
cost-effectively.
Learn from the industry's best and brightest how you can transform your
operation into a best-in-class facility. To register for NCOF, visit www.NCOF.com
See you there!
Mark Del Franco
Managing editor
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View From 50,000 Ft.
Leveraging
Technology for Fulfillment Success
By Robert Tompkins
Technology is the cornerstone of an efficient fulfillment operation.
It's through technology that guesswork is eliminated from the
fulfillment process, human error is reduced, and products and content go
to market faster and at a lower cost.
When it comes to fulfillment-related technology and systems, there are
no absolute solutions. One size does not fit all or even most companies.
Moreover, implementing a technology infrastructure to support your
fulfillment operations is not only about hardware and software systems.
Savvy companies and marketers use technology as an enabler to gain
process efficiencies, access mission-critical information, and run their
businesses better.
Is your operation using technology in that way? To find out, try
answering these questions: Is the technology you rely on flexible,
giving you room to grow and adapt to change? Does it support the flow of
information seamlessly through the entire fulfillment process, from
order entry to shipment? Can you access data and generate reports in
real time to support critical decision-making? Are you making technology
investments in the processes that need them most? Whether you are using
the expertise of a third-party fulfillment provider or managing your
logistics and operations internally, all of these are important
considerations.
To read more, visit MULTICHANNEL
MERCHANT
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Sponsored by:
This issue of O+F Advisor is sponsored by Dydacomp.
Upgrade to V6, the fastest, most powerful, and efficient
version of Mail Order Manager yet! Specifically designed
for business owners, executives and managers who need to keep a close
eye on the entire ecommerce and multichannel operation, M.O.M. V6.0 is
packed with plenty of new tools, reports and controls to complement
M.O.M.'s renowned order processing, inventory management and customer
service solutions. www.dydacomp.com
Signature Hardware on the
Move
Due to significant growth, an expanding product line, and an
increasing number of employees, decorative hardware, plumbing, and
lighting multichannel merchant Signature Hardware opened 86,000 sq.-ft.
of warehouse and office space. The Erlanger, KY-based building houses
distribution, contact center and office operations.
The 75,000 sq.-ft. warehouse area is equipped with six loading docks for
shipping and receiving. Use of handheld scanners and printers, wireless
communications, and advanced computer systems allow for a streamlined
order picking and packing process. These technological advances, coupled
with the increased stocking capacity, translate into faster shipping for
consumers. Signature Hardware's on-site customer service center is
located at the heart of the 8,000 sq.-ft. of office space, which is also
home to the executive, administrative, operations, information systems,
and marketing departments.
The building also features a 3,000 sq.-ft. showroom featuring the
company's plumbing, hardware, and lighting products.
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Sponsored by:
This issue of O&F Advisor is sponsored by ACCM.
ACCM - The Largest Conference for Catalog, Internet & Multichannel
Merchants
May 21-23, 2007
Boston, MA
The Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants
(ACCM) is the only conference devoted exclusively to merchants who
need to understand, segment and market to today's customers and
prospects across an array of media and channel choices. ACCM will help
you to Create the Ultimate Multichannel Marketing Mix by focusing
on the strategies you need to successfully integrate your catalog, web,
store, phone, sales force, distributor, e-mail and other marketing
channels. Register by January 12 and Save up to $400 on your full
conference registration! Simply use MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT savings code
E01. www.accmshow.com
Zooming In On Tactics
Are
You Overlooking the Profit Opportunity in Your Receiving
Operation?
By Wayne Teres
This is the first of a two-part series. This article examines how
establishing receiving practices can increase your bottom line. Part two
will discuss how to use this information to improve your operation and
your profits.
Recently while touring a warehouse, I noticed a large shipment spread
over the receiving-area floor. When I asked the warehouse manager about
it, he said the vendor shipped all the cartons with mixed SKUs in each.
I wondered how often this happened and how much time extra time it took
to open all the cartons, separate them by item, count each SKU, and then
repack them into single-item cartons. And that got me thinking about
how much this extra receiving work drains profits.
Receiving is the most complicated function and process in the warehouse.
The receiving department accepts, counts, and inspects thousands of
items of varying shapes, sizes, and forms from hundreds of vendors that
pick, pack, and ship differently. Data from the receiving department
determines what accounting pays for the item. If receiving doesn't note
when the count is under, the company will overpay, and backorders may
occur. If the items received are different from what was expected,
additional time and money is required to correct -- and again, if the
receiving department doesn't find this discrepancy until later,
backorders or, even worse, customer returns may result.
For more, visit MULTICHANNEL
MERCHANT
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Sponsored by:
This issue of O&F Advisor is sponsored by NCOF.
The Conference for Direct-to-Customer Operations & Fulfillment
Management
Registration is Now Open
Mingle with hundreds of industry colleagues and take away ideas and best
practices to: exceed customers' expectations, get the most from your
workforce, boost efficiencies, streamline operations, resolve operating
challenges, and more.
Visit www.ncof.com. Use SOURCE CODE
OF2 when registering.
Co-Presented by Operations + Fulfillment and The DMA
Ask
the Fulfillment Doctor: Dashboard Dials
By Curt Barry
Question: As companies get bigger, how can management teams continue
to stay in contact with what's happening on the ground? How can
management find out what it really needs to know without having to go
through the hundreds of reports and millions of data elements routinely
generated by businesses?
Answer: One concept that can help meet this challenge is a corporate
dashboard. Imagine a series of dials in the corporate cockpit that
reflect key indicators in customer service, sales tracking, and
profitability. When tightly structured, these dials can give management
an accurate and timely picture of the business -- a carefully calibrated
corporate spot check.
You can check out a corporate dashboard pictorially representing several
such dials (www.fcbco.com/dashboard.htm). Which dials you want to
include or exclude from your own dashboard will depend on management's
specific hot buttons, whether data are available from multiple channels,
and the ability of your systems to report in detail at all levels of
management.
To get the fulfillment doctor's Rx, visit MULTICHANNEL
MERCHANT
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