Some of the same disruptive technologies that are changing our personal lives are making their way into logistics operations. Are you ready? One of the highlights of DCV’s annual report on omnichannel distribution is a summary of the findings of our latest survey on the topic, conducted in partnership with ARC Advisory Group. Among other things, the survey looks at the trends and forces driving the omnichannel revolution. At the top of the list, of course, is e-commerce. In the United States alone, e-commerce grew by an average of 15 percent in each quarter of 2013 and 2014. That’s almost double the rate of growth in total national retail spending, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To state it another way, Internet sales are now pivotal to a retailer’s success or failure. For companies accustomed to doing most of their business through traditional retail channels, competing successfully means rethinking their DC operations and logistics networks, many of which were originally built to serve brick-and-mortar stores. These e-tailers compete not only with other traditional retailers, but also with the online pure-plays like Amazon.com. In 2014, Amazon posted higher sales than the next nine online retailers combined— essentially using its extraordinary product delivery capabilities to wallop the competition. What makes Amazon such a formidable competitor? One word: technology. No retail company has ever come close to matching Amazon’s prowess using tools like predictive software, big data, and goods-to-person systems and hardware to gain a competitive advantage in its marketplace. While Amazon is often cited as a leading example of a technology-enabled (and technology-driven) business, it by no means stands alone. In a blog post on the website TechCrunch, Tom Goodwin pointed to some other notable enterprises that have deployed digital tools to turn whole industries on their ear. "Uber," he wrote, […]