21 Dec 2024
empty outdoor mall
COVID-19, Retail, Supply Chain

How COVID-19 Will Impact Softline Retailers

Softline retailers have been battling store closures and traffic declines in malls for several years. They have made moves to shift toward experiential retailers. They have deployed omni-channel capabilities like buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) and buy online return in store (BORIS) to drive traffic and deliver a seamless experience for customers. Ultimately, softline retailers were just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel… until COVID-19 coronavirus arrived.

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COVID-19, Supply Chain

How COVID-19 is Shifting Supply Chains

From the outside, it does seem like things are beyond control. Food/grocery retailers are seeing unprecedented demand for many items, most notably paper, and sanitizing products, canned goods, and products with a longer shelf life. But what are we seeing? If we step back and look at it from the inside, i.e., the overall supply chain, things begin to make more sense. After all, are people using more toilet paper, or eating three times as much food than they normally do? It’s not about the shortage, it’s about how quickly retailers can stock shelves when masses of people clear them out far quicker than average.

COVID-19, Supply Chain

Importance of a Risk-Aware Supply Chain

A recent McKinsey & Company “COVID-19: Briefing Note”1 highlighted end-to-end supply chain actions to consider in the response to COVID-19 (slide 24). It only served to underscore Blue Yonder’s mission in supporting our supply chain customers and helping them ensure that supplies and products get to the people who need them, on time.