-
What is a supply chain? The alternative facts
Dr. William Oliver Hedgepeth Distribution & WarehousingI have taught courses in transportation, logistics and supply chain management for more than 20 years. In that time, I have come to understand that the world of supply chains is full of complexity, accountability, customer demand, uncertainty, mistakes and nature.
-
Metals Thoughts: Pick your paradigm
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesGold broke but could not hold the 200 DMA at $1,262 Monday, and we are viewing that as a technical failure here. It is the first time since Nov. 10 that we have looked at the other side of that fence, so there is still some encouragement to be gained from the experience.
-
How to avoid hiring those difficult-to-fire employees
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThough terminations can be challenging, it is so much easier to fire a consistently poor performer than someone who is just a bad employee. Negative nellies, glory hounds and wimpy managers may not do anything wrong enough to have a bad performance review, so they end up staying around a lot longer than they should. In those cases, sometimes it is easier to avoid hiring these difficult-to-fire employees than it is to try to fire them.
-
5 reasons you should integrate the floor into your exhibit design
Wendy Parsley Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementI have walked countless trade show floors covered in the standard blue, red, black and even gray carpeting. In many cases, this carpeting extends into the exhibit booths in one of the chosen "show organizer approved" colors.
-
Whole Foods is getting squeezed out of its own market
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageToday's trend may become tomorrow's necessity, and necessity breeds competition. This is the truth behind Whole Foods' struggling numbers. Whole Foods introduced the concept of organic food to the public, and in the process changed the way Americans eat today. In just 10 years (between 2005 and 2015), sales of organic food have seen a growth of 209 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association. The organic food industry reported $43.3 billion in sales in 2015.
-
Metals Thoughts: Channel surfing
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesWhen I left the desk two weeks ago, gold was trading at $1,235 and hasn’t gone more than $20 either way from there since. With most headlines these days high on apoplectic shock and low on actual economic substance, we are all basically reduced to spewing ideological confirmation bias instead of looking at asset prices.
-
From in-store to online: Charting the shutdown of digital retailers
Katherine Radin RetailSince the start of the year, Canadians have faced a few retail closures, with HMV being the most recent high-profile victim. As consumers shift their shopping behaviours toward the online marketplace, some bricks-and-mortar retail locations are becoming scarcer. Digital retailers with physical stores are especially feeling this crunch.
-
Valentine’s Day: Fast facts from the heart
Kaylee Nelson RetailAh, sweet Valentine's Day. Loved by some, hated by others, Feb. 14 is unavoidably well-known in America to anyone who shops for groceries, surfs the web or just likes chocolate. Despite not being a true national holiday in any country, the popular date calls for the celebration of love — in many forms and fashion.
-
Touch points to enhance the customer experience
Deena Murray Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementOur office team recently took a field trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth" — Disneyland. This trip was an opportunity to learn from one of the best on ways to make clients feel special. We had spent time throughout the year developing touch points to use with our clients to help build relationships. We define a touch point as every place or opportunity that a client is touched or interacts with our team, products or brand. It can be initiated by the client or it can be initiated by anyone on the team.
-
Getting help for struggling managers
Michael J. Berens Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIt is a fact widely known but seldom acknowledged that many managers hold their positions for reasons other than their management skills. Because management positions often are treated as promotions, individuals may become managers due to their subject matter expertise, as a reward for past performance, because they are good at managing their own work and responsibilities, or because they get along well with members of the executive team. Others with little hands-on experience are hired as managers because they have a management degree.
All Retail Articles