F E-COMMERCE United States, saw strong growth in categories such as grocery, apparel and seasonal merchandise. During an earnings conference call, Greg Foran, the retailer’s U.S. chief executive, acknowledged that it saw especially strong performance in fresh food, mentioning produce, meat and bakery goods among those helping to drive grocery sales, including those made online. Walmart now offers curbside pickup of online grocery orders in 1,800 U.S. stores, which is bringing in new customers, says Brett Biggs, the retailer’s CFO. It also overhauled its website and worked to use its physical locations as distribution points for online grocery orders and other goods.
ports on the eastern seaboard and moved via rail to places like Columbus for distribution.
Delivery services like Amazon Fresh, PeaPod, Instacart and Shipt that cut out the trip to the grocery store mainly appeal to parents with young children and high-income earners.
Purpose-built For E-Commerce
Walmart now offers curbside pickup of online grocery orders in 1,800 U.S. stores.
grocery sector, and e-commerce in general, reveals a more optimistic outlook, however. In August, Walmart reported that its U.S. e-commerce sales were up 40 percent in the second quarter, with online sales for the entire year expected to also rise 40 percent overall. Walmart, which ranks as both the largest retailer in the world and the biggest grocer in the www.foodlogistics.com
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ODW Logistics is opening a new facility in mid-October targeted at clients who are looking for an e-commerce fulfillment solution. The 200,000-square-foot facility is located along I-71 in Columbus, Ohio, and is within a 10-hour drive to nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population and one-third of Canada. “Columbus is a market that has a lot of good attributes in terms of distribution, access and availability of parcel carriers that offer competitive rates,” notes Jeff Clark, ODW executive vice president. In addition, it offers favorable cut-off times, which are key to supporting a 24/7 supply chain, as well as critical rail links served by CSX and Norfolk Southern. “That’s really important when it comes to e-commerce,” says Clark, because so many consumer products are made overseas then imported through major container SEPTEMBER 2018 | FOOD LOGISTICS
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