Omnichannel

Collaborating Through a Crisis and Beyond

COVID-19 has reminded us more than ever that grocery and supplier collaboration is a vital strand in the social fabric. Beyond the deep-cleaning, shelf-replenishing and physical-distancing tactics that played out at the store level during the ...

Speaking from the Heart on Valentine’s Day

I am seizing this opportunity to issue this blog as my heartfelt Valentine’s Day card to the food industry, the community I have always admired and respected, but have come to appreciate and dare I say, love, in some new and more profound ways over ...

Cold Storage is Crucial in Ecommerce Fulfillment

As retailers across the country experiment to find the best strategies to assemble and prepare online orders as quickly and efficiently as possible, cold chain management is emerging as a crucial consideration, especially as it relates to food ...

Headlines from FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference

Last week’s FMI Midwinter Executive Conference certainly made headlines with thought-provoking educational sessions, featuring diverse perspectives among food industry icons; predictions about the future of grocery amidst a global pandemic; ...

Celebrating Supermarket Employee Day

On February 22, 2021, I will be celebrating the hard-working heroes of the supermarket by joining with the industry to proclaim it Supermarket Employee Day. The supermarket has long been acknowledged as the backbone of our communities, but its role ...

Lessons Learned and Insights from Albertsons Companies

Susan Morris, executive vice president and COO at Albertsons Companies, is the 2021 Midwinter Executive Conference chairperson and she has proven to be an admirable guide in helping us plan our first-ever virtual Midwinter experience. Susan’s ...

2020: The Year of the Food Industry

From the cashiers and stockers to the store managers and executives, the drivers and food processors and pharmacist and nutritionists, to the data analysts, delivery experts and farmers, our industry is filled with true Food Industry Heroes who have ...

Implementing a Strong Omnichannel Strategy to Avoid Supply Chain Waste

Today’s retailers need a strong omnichannel strategy in place to meet rapidly changing consumer needs resulting from the pandemic. As more people choose to take advantage of ecommerce for delivery of their essential food items, retailers must ensure ...

How the Food Industry Prepares to Keep Shelves Stocked

We continue to experience a convergence of challenges in this country – the COVID-19 pandemic; a historic hurricane and fire season; economic distress; and heightened political and social expression – all of which are influencing changes in the way ...

Witnessing the Food Industry

Recently, I was able to share insights gleaned from my experience by speaking at the Retailing Summit hosted by FMI’s newest university member, Texas A&M and the Mays School of Business Center for Retailing Studies. My talk at the virtual event was ...

How Food Retail Ecommerce Got Ready for Prime Time

In hindsight, it’s interesting how food retailers described their ecommerce sophistication a year ago in the FMI Food Retailing Industry Speaks report. Only 4% of responding companies with online sales considered themselves to be very sophisticated ...

Four Common Misconceptions About Food Prices

A number of misconceptions regarding grocery prices regularly permeate both the news and our water cooler conversations. These are due to a combination of outdated ideas that should have been put to rest long ago and high profile “examples” that are ...

A Tale of Two Years: A Look at The Food Retail Industry in 2019 and Early 2020

The most recent The Food Retailing Industry Speaks report identifies a striking similarity between ”A Tale of Two Cities” and a tale of two years, 2019 and 2020, for the food industry. Both relay the story of how stark change and challenging times ...

A Fly on The Wall: A Look at The Food Industry’s Performance

FMI is about to release our 71st annual The Food Retailing Industry Speaks report, which tracks operations and strategic initiatives of the food retail industry. This year’s Speaks report reviews performance for 2019, but it also incorporates ...

Accelerating the Need for Collaborative Partnerships

Our upcoming Annual Business Conference (ABC) is an ideal forum to set the stage for competing in and collaborating in the evolving retail landscape. In speaking with numerous retail and supplier members, the general consensus is that there are five ...