When Walmart says it will kick off this holiday shopping season “earlier than ever” to give customers more time to prepare, it’s almost like a warning from the largest retailer in the country.

The holidays aren’t going to be an easy ride for retailers this year, and preparation will be key as the window between Thanksgiving and Christmas is five days shorter than last year, and both holidays fall on a weekday.

The perfect storm: Bain & Company’s holiday forecast predicts 3% growth in retail sales this year. E-commerce sales are expected to rise at a 9.5% clip, which will add to shipping volumes. UPS has said it expects “the highest volume ever in our network” on Dec. 18, according to Supply Chain Dive. All of this suggests deliveries could be under strain with fewer days to deliver in time for Christmas.

The shorter holiday season could impact everything from marketing strategies to discounting for retailers. However, on-time deliveries are in many ways the North Star metric for companies to gauge success. Logistics experts told us retailers will rely more on technology, look for ways to ship on Sundays, and push to deliver goods ahead of the peak season.

Keep reading here.—VC

Amazon wants to do for the supply chain what it did for fulfillment.

At its seller conference last week, the tech giant announced a fully automated supply chain solution for merchants.

Amazon is betting that sellers will use its logistics services like Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) centers, Fulfillment by Amazon, and Multi-Channel Distribution to deliver orders beyond Amazon. In short, Amazon is taking steps to open up its supply chain to deliver orders placed on other platforms. While these paid features have been available to brands selling on the platform piecemeal, this year, Amazon is integrating everything under one dashboard.

Sellers just need to feed in product details and pickup locations and Amazon “oversees” the rest—from carrier pickup to inventory consolidation to finding fulfillment centers closest to the client, wrote Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s VP of worldwide selling partner services, in a company blog post.

“It’s as easy as pushing a button,” Mehta said.

Keep reading here.—VC

It’s like a CFO’s fever dream.

Picture it now: You’re settling in to the first day on the job—shaking hands, learning names. Suddenly, a horrific twist. It’s earnings day—and you’re about to lead the earnings call, analyst questions and all, and you might not even know where the water cooler is yet.

For Emily Reuter, Instacart’s CFO, that hypothetical nightmare came to life this May.

Her first day in the CFO seat was also the same day the grocery delivery company reported Q1 2024 earnings. Don’t worry: She lived to tell the tale.

Keep reading here on CFO Brew.—NP

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