With shoppers finding much of what they want online, the future of the brick-and-mortar store can seem bleak. Such major retailers as J.C. Penney, Lowe’s, Gap and Family Dollar, among many others, have announced plans to close at least some stores across the United States this year.

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For some years now, robots have been creeping slowly into the retail industry. It is due to the advantages that they offer that many organizations are investing in them. Walmart is one of the companies that has embraced robots in its activities. The company has been adding thousands of robots to its stores across the US to carry out various functions most of which are repeatable or predictable tasks. Being the world’s largest retailer, Walmart is always looking for methods to improve service delivery, enhance customer experience and minimize the cost of production. Discussed below are areas where Walmart is using drones.

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Although it seems to happen every year, the Holidays are right around the corner. It may be a bit early to shop for your brother-in-law at the mall, retailers know they need to have their supply chains cranking already. Read more...

I read with interest where Wal*Mart is changing its philosophy on receiving product from their suppliers. Wal*Mart hasn’t said anything more than announcing a new trucking plan. They say it’s all about squeezing out costs by keeping Wal*Mart’s own trucks busy and by accepting delivery of merchandise at the supplier’s loading dock instead of at a Wal*Mart distribution center. Wal-Mart figures it can cut wholesale prices by 6 percent if it hauls the merchandise itself. The company is also telling their suppliers they can concentrate on what they do best: manufacturing product for Wal*Mart. Read more...