Adam Horsman

Too many legacy WMS platforms are not connected to your other systems, and lack the power of AI traceability and optimization - that's where CSCS Warehouse management takes center stage. Check it out.

9

👉 Is Amazon’s lock on convenience about to slip? Walmart is turning up the pressure on Amazon, expanding next-day delivery for 3P across major U.S. cities. Walmart announced they were able to reach 93% of US households same-day earlier this year and this 3P capability is the latest move in the battle for convenience, an area that Amazon clearly owns. Wayvia (formerly PriceSpider) data shows Walmart consistently wins on basket size, with the past 12 months revealing average order values nearly 27% higher than Amazon’s. But Amazon dominates on volume, driving nearly five times as many transactions. Fast and free shipping remains irresistible, especially for those one-off, everyday purchases. As Amazon doubles down on grocery and fresh delivery, Walmart’s same-day expansion is a direct counterpunch. The question is whether it can disrupt Prime’s entrenched convenience advantage, which has kept millions of shoppers locked into Amazon’s ecosystem. Walmart’s U.S. online operations are also on track to turn profitable for the first time this year, bolstered by warehouse automation and a tighter logistics network. This is not just catch-up. It is the infrastructure to compete head-on. What are your thoughts? https://lnkd.in/gWwfTWpJ

29

1 Comment

Why Bulk Orders Shouldn’t Be Treated Like Regular Ones One company learned the hard way that treating bulk and holiday orders like regular transactions creates chaos—split shipments, manual fixes, and frustrated customers. To cope, they got a feature added in their custom WMS “bucket systems” to hold and release orders. It worked—barely. But the extra oversight, manpower, and risk showed a bigger truth: workarounds aren’t sustainable when systems don’t reflect business logic. Smarter workflows can identify bulk orders, delay picking until stock is ready, and release shipments in full—eliminating manual interventions. The result is smoother fulfillment, lower costs, and teams focused on growth, not firefighting. How does your team handle bulk or seasonal orders today—system-driven or manual? Let me know in the comments below. #ApacheOFBiz #CustomSoftware #EnterpriseSoftware #HotWaxSystems #CustomERP

7

Wondering why your inventory planning always falls short? Traditional forecasting overlooks key variables that impact stock levels. Demand variability isn't just a guess – it's revealed in your historical data patterns. Supply side inconsistencies from vendors create additional pressure points that require attention. Average Daily Usage gives you baseline metrics to work against when evaluating inventory needs. By integrating firm orders and forecast data, you gain comprehensive pressure indicators for smarter inventory positioning. Watch the video to see how these elements combine to transform your ordering decisions. #InventoryManagement #SupplyChainOptimisation #StockPlanning

7

1 Comment

A warehouse automation headline I keep seeing (again): AGVs/robots are still booming, driven by labor scarcity + the need for consistent throughput. My hot take from the operator side: Automation doesn’t fix a messy process — it *amplifies* it. Before you buy the robot, sanity-check 3 things: - Slotting + travel: are pick paths already tight, or are we automating wasted steps? - Inventory integrity: if cycle counts are “best effort,” the bot will just move the wrong thing faster. - Exception handling: what happens when the tote is missing, the label smears, the carton fails QA? If you can’t describe your top 10 exceptions (by frequency), you’re not ready for “lights-out.” What’s the best small automation win you’ve seen in a DC/FC lately? #warehouse #automation #fulfillment #ecommerceops

1

Do you ever wake up at night and think about how your TMS is the same as your competitor's? So is your WMS, your integration layer, even the AI tools you just added? Here's the uncomfortable truth: mid-market logistics tech stacks have converged. Same SaaS vendors. Same API patterns. Same cloud hosting. Same AI service providers. Which means the infrastructure layer? It's rented. And everyone's renting from the same landlords. So where's your edge? It's not in the systems you 𝘣𝘶𝘺. It's in what you 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 on top of them. The real differentiation lives in: -Custom workflow engines that reflect how you actually operate - Proprietary decision logic that protects your margin - Knowledge systems that capture institutional expertise - Exception-routing built for your customers' edge cases Most companies stop at integration. They connect the boxes and call it modernization. But if your competitor can swap in the same stack with minimal impact... you don't have a technology advantage. You have architectural parity. And parity doesn't win deals. The question every CTO and CIO should be asking: - What portion of our stack is truly yours? - Where do we own the decision logic? - Does our data model encode what makes us different, or just transactions? APIs give you speed. SaaS gives you scale. But neither gives you strategy. That part? You have to engineer intentionally. If you're curious about how to architect differentiation into your stack (not just modernize it) let's talk.

2

Last week, major changes were announced that will impact the entire fulfillment industry, including the elimination of the de minimis rule. In short, all shipments originating from outside of the U.S., no matter the value, will now be subject to tariffs. Depending on the shipment, packages will face either a flat fee of $80-$200 or an “ad valorem duty” based on the tariff rate of the country of origin. It is more important than ever to stay informed and factor these changes into your future business planning. #smallbusinesstips #businessgrowth #retaillogistics #tariffs

5

ROI on a WMS is 80% based on how ready businesses are to succeed. Most aren't. Which is why so many bail or fail. Never to mention "ROI" ever again. What's the other 20%? A right-fit product *and* implementor. And those are hard to find given they all looks and sounds the same... until it's too late.

8

HotWax Commerce’s June 2025 update is here! Managing pre-orders linked to delayed Purchase Orders (POs) is a common challenge, especially during supply chain issues. With this release, teams can now export all pre-orders associated with a specific PO as a single CSV file. This builds on the existing ‘Review Allocation’ feature and gives retailers: - Clarity on impacted orders linked to delayed inventory - A faster way to respond to customer service queries - More control to communicate proactively and preserve trust By making this data more accessible, brands can take faster action, uphold SLAs, and reduce the risk of customer churn. 👉 Dive into the full update to see how it works: https://hubs.la/Q03vN5_w0 #retailtech #inventorymanagement #orderfulfillment #productupdate

10

Oh gosh. Writing this post is upsetting. One of the unfortunate things I have seen since moving to #FractionalSupplyChain and consulting work is when a brand outgrows some of the early Teammates. Honestly... this is heartbreaking. Especially because often those early Teammates are friends of the founder or even family. Ouch. But it happens. And recognizing it and attending to it promptly reduces the damage--> both to the company and the relationship. How to know when this is happening?? Here are some warning signs I have seen: 1. Your inventory is out. of. control. Either constant cuts to orders or quickly growing. 2. You have a system, but it's not being used. 3. Absolute zero faith in the data: inventory is always wrong (way wrong), projections are off and impossible to validate. 4. Communication is stuck. Resentment and fear are growing and any attempts to correct just get more tangled. 5. Goals and projects and timelines continually miss. No amount of help seems to improve this. Let be blunt: This will not improve. When this moment comes, it is better for everyone to find a new path forward. Brutal, I know. But the alternative is so much worse. Thoughts? #Startups #CPGBrands #SME #SupplyChain #Operations

17

8 Comments

𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑪𝑶𝑺𝑻𝑺 𝑵𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑳𝒀 𝑲𝑰𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑬𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 Reese stared at the quarterly report in disbelief. Their global fulfillment network was bleeding $2.3M annually due to cascading inefficiencies. Peak season order volumes had exposed a brutal truth: their inventory management system couldn't communicate with the WMS, creating a domino effect of misallocated resources, delayed shipments, and astronomical overtime costs. The breaking point came when their largest client — representing 40% of revenue — threatened contract termination over consistent delivery failures. Reese's job was on the line. The Turning Point Instead of another band-aid solution, Reese enrolled in The Next-Gen CTO/CEO Masterclass: Systems Thinking for $1M+ Operational Excellence. The course's systematic approach revealed the root cause: siloed decision-making across departments was creating invisible bottlenecks. The Transformation Within 90 days, Reese implemented the course's interconnected systems methodology: - Billing errors dropped 95% — integrated inventory tracking eliminated phantom stock discrepancies that were generating false invoices - Client complaints reduced 3x year-over-year — real-time visibility across all fulfillment nodes prevented the miscommunication that caused delivery delays - Cycle time decreased 65% — cross-functional workflows eliminated the handoff delays between picking, packing, and shipping teams - Service downtime fell 60% — predictive maintenance protocols prevented the equipment failures that previously shut down entire warehouse sections The result? Client renewal rates soared as operational excellence became their competitive advantage. Transform how you work — and lead. Elevate your career from qualified to certified with the The Next-Gen CTO/CEO Masterclass: Systems Thinking for $1M+ Operational Excellence course built around your real challenges, with real deadlines, limited seats, and live accountability. Bring your toughest work problem, leave with a solved process and a certification: https://lnkd.in/geQAmSSa #SystemsThinking #OperationalExcellence #WarehouseManagement #Leadership #ProcessOptimization #SupplyChain #BusinessTransformation

1

Back when I was a provider, spreadsheets and periodic counts were just how things were done. Seeing other industries move to real-time visibility makes it obvious why inventory optimization is the direction HME is heading.

7

I had a great conversation with Sean McCarthy on the SHIPPED! podcast where we discussed a broad range of topics - AI, Forecasting, Leadership, Customer Expectations, Supplier Relationships, Warehouse, and more. Snippet below, but feel free to check out the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gRnJNSsY 

35

3 Comments

Last mile delivery is a margin-killer hiding in plain sight. In the latest OneRail blog post, CEO Bill Catania breaks down how CFOs and other finance leaders are transforming the last mile from a black box of sunken costs into a controllable, optimizable cost center. Check it out to learn how to: ✅ Build a true cost-to-serve model ✅ Orchestrate smarter delivery without ripping and replacing tech ✅ Use AI to reduce cost per stop and improve delivery reliability ✅ Redesign delivery promises to preserve margin and grow revenue At OneRail, we work with CFOs and supply chain leaders to make the last mile a strategic advantage rather than a liability. Read the article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gG-z28_9 #lastmile #finalmile #supplychainfinance #delivery #margin

14

If I had $1.5M in pre-production funding, and I wanted to actually nail my first pilot run, then ramp to scale production with my first commercial volume shipments - high margins, zero failure rates, and every deadline hit— Here are 5 things I ABSOLUTELY WOULDN’T do if I wanted to get there: 1. I WOULDN’T treat the pilot run as a formality. This is where most founders torch their budgets. Your pilot run is not a box you check before scaling—it’s the moment you find out if your design can survive real-world production. Tolerance drift, thermal failures, and defects that look harmless in the lab will bury you in the field. If you gloss over this, your first scale run will eat you alive. 2. I WOULDN’T underprice my manufacturing just to make the margins look pretty on a pitch deck. Every founder believes they’ll be the exception. That their project will be the one where the cheap quote holds up. It won’t. When you squeeze your suppliers to the bone, you get silent shortcuts, missed deadlines, and problems nobody admits until you’ve already wired 80% of your budget. If you want predictability, you have to pay for it. Period. 3. I WOULDN’T stay loyal to a factory that can’t evolve with me. It feels good to believe the first partner who helped you build a prototype can handle scale. Most can’t. If your supplier can’t hold tolerances at volume or won’t upgrade their process, you have to move on—before it’s too late to fix it. 4. I WOULDN’T assume a perfect prototype equals a production-ready product. Your first samples are the easy part. Scaling to 10,000 units is where everything you missed gets exposed: - Thermal loads you didn’t simulate - Tooling drift that trashes yield - Processes that fall apart when the schedule gets real You don’t get a second chance to earn customer trust. 5. I WOULDN’T let my funding round lull me into believing I’m immune to failure. When you have $1.5M in the bank, it’s easy to believe you can buy your way past operational discipline. You can’t. More capital just means you get to fail at scale. TAKEAWAY Most founders think the hard part is getting funded and building a prototype. It isn’t. The hard part is scaling it—on time, at spec, under real pressure, when nobody’s watching. The market is set up to reward big launches, viral press, and the illusion of momentum. But hardware doesn’t care about your headline. It cares whether your product actually works. If I were building today, I’d treat the pilot run and the first scale production as life-or-death. Because that’s exactly what it is. 👊🏻

14

Sourcing for Quality Isn’t a Spec. It’s a Standard You Define. I was at Gibsons in Chicago the other night, thinking about sourcing. Not decks. A steak. When you order a ribeye there, you’re not just buying beef. You’re buying a definition of quality they refused to dilute. They didn’t settle for USDA Prime. They built their own standard on top of it—tighter specs, tighter supply, tighter control. They outsource. They just don’t compromise. Most organizations treat items as a fungible commodity. Interchangeable. Spec’d. Sourced to the lowest acceptable cost. That’s a decision, not a truth. The best operators define quality upfront—and hold suppliers to it. If your spec is generic, your outcome will be too. Now add sustainability. Higher quality can mean higher impact. That’s the real trade-off. Cost. Quality. Supply continuity. Sustainability. Not everyone orders the ribeye. That’s part of it too. Sourcing is about values, not just specs. Most say they value quality. Few define it, pay for it, and enforce it. If everything is a commodity, that’s a strategy. Just be honest about it. That’s sourcing.

1

Not sure if this is a novel approach. What we are doing here is basically collecting real-time data leveraging a tech (RFID), and then leveraging a forecasting approach (LSTM). https://lnkd.in/gSHKgdQC Neither leveraging RFID for traffic prediction nor is LSTM for forecasting. In fact, back in 2021, I proposed a use case where the data collection tech was IoT and the forecasting algorithm was LSTM. There has been a plethora of similar use cases and research publications in the last few years. The only interesting aspect for me was the use of random forest for spatial classification. Before we get into the details of what authors have done, you can see the possibilities in the supply chain arena, from the information I have shared so far. Data from GPS trackers, RFID, and IoT devices can be leveraged for forecasting the expected arrival times. You can repurpose the spatial states classification from a supply chain context (for example, states like on-time, delayed etc.). Anyways, let us try to figure out what is happening in this paper. The authors introduce a real-time traffic prediction system called TPC-LSTM-RF that combines: 1. RFID technology for non-visual vehicle tracking, enabling privacy-preserving detection of vehicles without relying on cameras or GPS. 2. A hybrid machine learning model that merges: a. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to capture temporal traffic patterns, and b. Random Forest (RF) classifiers to handle spatial classification of traffic states. #supplychain #logistics #neuralnetworks #LSTM #RandomForest #ML #MachineLearning #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

1

Factory audits aren’t enough. If you want a reliable supply chain, you need real partnerships 🤝 On the podcast, Rachel Erickson sits down with sourcing expert Anna Triponel to break down what actually works in factory relationships—and what’s just a false sense of security. Check out the full episode by visiting the link below. https://lnkd.in/gn5PGzRd #ApparelIndustry #SupplyChain #FashionBusiness #SourcingTips

2