Kyle Kinnard

Walmart slashed its U.S. net delivery cost per order by 40% in Q3 for the third consecutive quarter, EVP and CFO John David Rainey said in an earnings call Tuesday. #lastmiledelivery #omnichannelretail #retailtech

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Target’s inventory levels increased faster than sales in the third quarter, but the retail giant reassured shareholders in its latest earnings call that it’s employing new metrics to balance inventory across in-store and digital channels. #supplychain #inventorymanagement #omnichannelretail #target

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Love it! But those who work in stores only wished their partners at HQ wanted to be in stores without a mandate. It is impossible to be the best in supporting stores or building a customer experience without being in stores often…at night, on weekends and during holidays! And once in stores be uber curious and engage with customers and the team. Ask “what can I do better or to help?”, “what gets in your way?”, “what should HQ change?”… ask these and other questions…and be genuine and authentic or don’t go! Oh, and get in the back room and ask to process freight, complete an Omni order, learn the steps involved in process’ and do the work! The best leaders work in stores with their teams, not simply “visit”. Retail magic still happens where the team, customer and product collide!

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Walmart has removed degree requirements from most of our jobs, with over 75% of our U.S. roles now not requiring a degree.    We are collaborating with The Burning Glass Institute and other leading companies in the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, such as Bank of America, Blackstone, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Verizon. Our skills-first approach aims to open up career opportunities, meet employer talent needs and strengthen the economy. The framework will be open source and available to all U.S. employers by September 2025.    Our initial focus is on the nine most prevalent job roles across various sectors, which collectively account for over 11 million American jobs. By creating a shared language, or taxonomy, for assessing and valuing skills, we can promote the widespread adoption of this hiring approach.    Read more here: 

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Evolving Teams: The Future of Retail Collaboration We explore how teams within retail and consumer brands are merging in Northwest Arkansas, particularly in their support and operations for Walmart and Sam's Club. Discover the changing landscape and the expectations for industry leaders in this dynamic environment. https://lnkd.in/gc8DRudc #RetailInnovation #TeamCollaboration #Walmart #ConsumerBrands #SupplyChain #MarketingStrategies #EvolvingWorkplace #OperationsExcellence #NorthwestArkansas #IndustryLeaders

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Hello Retail Friends, convenience retailers face unique challenges. Small footprints and limited storage space require highly accurate and scalable supply chain planning – especially when charged with supporting aggressive growth targets. We’re proud to announce that OXXO, the largest convenience retail chain in the Americas, recently chose RELEX to optimize forecasting and replenishment as they focus on international growth.    https://lnkd.in/ebaedkfH   #supplychainplanning #supplychainoptimization #supplychain OXXO Internacional Enhances Retail Operations with RELEX Solutions for Forecasting and Replenishment | RELEX Solutions Focused on international growth, OXXO adopts RELEX AI-driven forecasting and replenishment solutions for smarter supply chain and inventory management.

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Ahold Delhaize’s net sales in the U.S. declined slightly during the first quarter of 2024 on a year-over-year basis, but the grocery company’s comparable-store sales growth returned to positive territory after turning negative in the final quarter of 2023, the retailer reported Wednesday. #groceryretail

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A really insightful read, a wonderful capture of why great leadership matters. https://lnkd.in/gmBu3Xum

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Interesting article describing the rationale for the decision to block the merger by the United States District Court. Remember that the following annual sales in 2023 were Kroger's $150 Billion, Albertson's $79.71 Billion, Amazon's $576 Billion, and Walmart's $611.289 Billion. Four companies that equal $1.4 Trillion in revenue. Does Kroger and Alberton need this merger to compete? Is this nothing more than the DNA of any company to grow and profit from that growth? What's next for Kroger and Albertson? #Management #Economy #Money #retail #grocers

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Target reported a rather soft first quarter, with declines in sales and revenue that reflect overall shopping habits. Although the retailer didn’t open the year with a bang, it is setting up for growth later in the year through new initiatives and, hopefully, in a more conducive selling environment. #retailsales #target

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If It Ain't Fixed Don't Broke It Macy's announced another round of 150 store closures 3 years after closing 100 stores The closures and layoffs are part of a streamlining effort to better align with the ever changing consumer and marketplace Best Buy is closing 15 stores in 2024 after closing 25 stores in 2023. Additionally, Geek Squad layoffs abound as Best Buy expands the use of A.I. New Gap CEO, Richard Dickson, has stated that marketing has lost sight of the differentiation between its Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands Three large struggling companies with similar turnaround strategies Cut costs, improve inventory mix, align symmetries, yada yada yada One thing these companies never talk about? How do we improve the lot for our employees? How do we get our employees to care? How do we get our remaining employees engaged in our success when all we've done is beat them down Okay, that was 3 things, but you get the point Companies don't know how to engage their employees, and they don't care Why should they? The Institution of Leadership has not moved the employee engagement needle since the 1990’s, which is surprising since the same tired old solutions have been recycled as new for decades Servant Leadership hasn't improved engagement Authentic Leadership hasn't improved engagement Emotional Intelligence hasn't improved engagement The Point? Just because others continue to fail to improve employee engagement doesn't mean it can't be done Better ideas, higher engagement It really is that simple The Illusion of Competence #leadership #innovation #tech #management #emotionalintelligence

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I recently sat down with our ECRM & RangeMe partner Wayne Bennett and discussed how Walmart develops suppliers. We covered everything from recruiting events to resources for onboarding to how we want suppliers to grow alongside us. Check out our conversation below 👇.   #WalmartSourcing #SupplierDevelopment

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11 years at Walmart ☕️ You would think that after all these years at the same company, I’d have it figured out, and that things would become somewhat constant. Well, as they say, change is the only constant and year 11 was no exception. In year 11 I started a new role, focused on a different industry, am managing a team for the first time, and best of all, became a dad of 2. I continue to find myself with more questions than answers, but as before, wouldn’t have it any other way. 11 reflections from Year 11: 1. Your prime earnings years are also your prime “Daddy can you play with me” years. Choose wisely. 2. Work is designed to be infinite. Create boundaries or you’ll become consumed. *Shoutout to Ethan Evans for this one. 3. The risk of work becoming your identity is real. On the flip side, work also has the opportunity to positively shape your identity. 4. Life is unfair. Sometimes to our advantage, and sometimes to our disadvantage. What matters is how we steward the opportunities we do have, and how can we create opportunities for others. 5. Becoming a leader of a team is more like a career change than a promotion. “What got you here won’t get you there”. You can’t do what you’ve done, just better. Your responsibilities are different altogether. 6. Most people are more interested in what you can do for them than what they can do for you. Cherish the ones that are the opposite. Be like them. 7. Compensation and title aren’t a reflection of a person’s worth. They’re imperfect indicators of economic or societal value. Treat people based on their inherent, human value. 8. It is easier to dismiss than to understand. Keep this in mind when encountering differing views. 9. Being Effective > Being Right. It doesn’t really matter if you’re right about something if you don’t do anything about it. 10. So much of business can be categorized as efforts of value creation and efforts of value capture. When in doubt, focus on value creation. What you can capture is limited by what you create, whereas what you can create is unbounded. 11. Seek to understand the “why” & “how” instead of the “what”. The what/outputs may be plainly visible, but it doesn’t give any indication as to whether the “how” is replicable or risk-free or if the “why” is values or strategy-aligned. A lot of other thoughts bouncing around but these are some of the ones that I’ve been chewing on. What resonated? What additions or edits would you make?

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If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to achieve a 99% one-to-two-day fulfillment rate, here’s your answer. From inbound to outbound, speed and efficiency are behind every step, empowering our brands to reach their customers fast.

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Hello Retail Friends, I am proud to announce that RELEX is once again designated as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Collaborative Supply Networks, Q4 2024 report. This prestigious recognition underscores our commitment to enhancing supply chain transparency, resilience, and efficiency for US retailers. Our top scores in innovation, vision, and several key areas, including embedded AI and ML, highlight our dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions. These capabilities enable seamless collaboration between retailers and suppliers, ensuring that our customers can anticipate changes in demand and supply, and continuously align production and transportation schedules. This acknowledgment from Forrester reaffirms our mission to drive mutual success through advanced supply chain and retail planning capabilities. We remain committed to delivering the tools necessary for our customers to achieve unparalleled supply chain visibility and operational excellence. Read the full press release here: https://bit.ly/3YJHbFU #SupplyChain #Forrester #AI #Innovation #RetailExcellence RELEX recognized as a Leader for the first time in this report by independent analyst firm, for demonstrating “a superior vision of an adaptive and autonomous supply chain…”…  

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Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Thursday, January 9: 🛍️ JCPenney has merged with Sparc Group, the owner of brands including Aéropostale and Brooks Brothers, to form a new apparel powerhouse called Catalyst Brands. 🛒 Costco Wholesale on Wednesday reported a 9.9% year-over-year sales gain through the final stretch of the holiday-shopping season, marked by a big jump in online sales. 🥦 With no Kroger merger to rely on, grocery chain Albertsons on Wednesday said it would lean into an array of initiatives — e-commerce, wellness, automation and its loyalty program — to drive growth. 👷🏽‍♂️ Robert Chavez, former chief executive of Hermès Americas, has been appointed to the board of directors at Macy's. Questions remain about the impact one board member can have on a struggling retailer. 📺 Best Buy plans to launch a new third-party marketplace in the US in mid-2025, and the opportunity to sell on the platform is gaining attention from brands, even those outside of consumer electronics. 🚢 A potentially crippling strike up and down America’s East and Gulf Coasts has been avoided – at least for now – after longshoremen and the shipping and port companies reached a tentative deal. 💳 Credit card swipe fees, averaging over 2% for credit cards and potentially higher for premium cards, are a significant expense for retailers, totaling over $170 billion annually. 🍪 It’s officially the beginning of Girl Scout cookie season, but it’s the end for two flavors. The Girl Scouts of the USA announced that the “S’mores” and “Toast-Yay!” cookies will be discontinued. 📱 A new survey reveals that TikTok is a popular platform for brand discovery, especially among women. Two-thirds of respondents who discovered brands on TikTok made purchases. ☕️ Starbucks is launching a limited-edition winter menu, featuring the new Cortado, which combines three ristretto shots of blonde espresso with steamed milk in an 8-ounce cup. 🍋 Chick-fil-A Restaurants is cutting nearly 10,000 hours of work per day at its locations through the automation of lemon squeezing, which produces the juice used in one of the fast-food chain’s most popular drinks. 🍺 The US surgeon general’s new push to warn consumers about the link between drinking and cancer comes at a precarious time for restaurant owners trying to pencil out a profit that hinges on alcohol sales. ☁️ AWS, Amazon's cloud computing division, has announced plans to invest “at least” $11bn in Georgia to enhance its infrastructure for cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies. 🥾 Shoes for Crews has named a new CEO. Chris Quinn is succeeding former chief executive Donald Watros who retired after serving in the role since 2017. 👜 Coach CEO Todd Kahn unveiled a new line of Coach Classic products made from Gen Phoenix’s recycled leather material, Helios, at CES. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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Pitney Bowes E-Comm is Shutting Down... There are of course plenty of employees and clients that are negatively impacted by this and actively looking for alternatives. For what it's worth, I don't think this news has any reflection on the state of logistics, and as such I am positive that both employees and clients will find themselves landing safely with a bright future ahead of them. If you're an employee impacted by the news, please reach out for any help that I can offer within my network. There are a ton of cool businesses out there carving new paths in the logistics space. It would be my pleasure to help to make connections. If you're a client of Pitney and looking for a enhanced returns service with a low flat rate. Please take the time to evaluate Inmar. We offer thousands of drop off locations across the US, a low flat fee transportation, processing+liquidation services and enhanced package free experience for consumers. https://lnkd.in/exxhcJ7z or email us at solutions@inmar.com #logistics #supplychain #returns Pitney Bowes United States Postal Service #pitneybowes

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US Dept of Commerce Retail Data is out for August. Core Retail Sales (retail x Auto, Gas, Restaurant) for August were up 3.3% over August of 2023. YTD Core Retail sales were up 3.4% over last year. This is below the average annual growth rate of 3.9%. Non-Store Sales (a proxy for E-Commerce Sales) were up 5.6% versus August 2023. YTD Non-Store Sales are up 8.3% over the previous year. This represents a significant slow-down versus the historical average of 12.4%, reflecting the maturation of the e-commerce industry.

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