But a new survey shows that many small businesses face obstacles on the path to achieving sustainability. Meanwhile, another research report shows that left unchanged, the ongoing environmental impact from last-mile ecommerce deliveries will be harmful.

Sustainable ecommerce fulfillment comes at a cost many won’t pay

Delivery and logistics services provider DHL conducted a survey of 2,500 small and medium-sized businesses. It finds that 95% of companies say sustainability is important to their business. And almost half (48%) believe it’s extremely important. But when asked about the biggest challenge to achieving sustainable goals, 42% said the overall investment is the main obstacle. 11% said they had no clue where to start.

Sustainability is important to almost every respondent, DHL says. But “nearly half (47%) are willing to invest only 1%-3% of their operating budget into sustainability practices,” according to the DHL survey. “And 26% are not willing to invest anything” into sustainable ecommerce fulfillment.

If left unchanged, the environmental impact of the rising number of ecommerce deliveries globally will also cause more air pollution and human health issues.

A new report by Clean Mobility Collective and Stand.earth Research Group claims ecommerce and the associated emissions from last-mile delivery will continue growing exponentially. The report predicts global annual parcel volume could increase from over 315 billion parcels in 2022 to up to 800 billion parcels a year in 2030.

Without any greener changes to how these parcels are packaged and delivered, global ecommerce deliveries will emit up to 160 megatons of carbon dioxide per year by 2030, according to the report. That’s equivalent to yearly CO2 emissions of up to 44 coal plants.

“Approximately 1 billion trees would need to be planted and allowed to grow for 10 years to sequester the emissions of a single year of current last-mile parcel deliveries,” the report says.

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Global Industrial is paying “approximately $69.2 million in cash” to acquire St. Louis-based Indoff, Global Industrial said. Indoff will continue to operate under its own brand and leadership team as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Port Washington, New York-based Global Industrial.

Complementing a multichannel B2B strategy

Barry Litwin, CEO, Global Industrial Co.

Barry Litwin, CEO of Global Industrial, said Indoff will complement his company’s multichannel sales strategy. Global Industrial relies on ecommerce to process more than half of its sales transactions, and Indoff brings a network of more than 360 sales partners that “extends our one-to-one sales reach to new customers and markets,” Litwin says.

Litwin adds that Indoff’s product lines and customer base — ranging from material handling systems to office furniture and lighting systems for such customers as financial giant Wells Fargo and manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Johnson Controls — will also strengthen Global Industrial’s market position and support the broader use of the company’s B2B ecommerce platform.

Jim Malkus, CEO, Indoff

Global Industrial already sells over 1 million SKUs of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products. That includes its own private label products and equipment branded by Caterpillar that companies use to operate their facilities.

Jim Malkus, CEO of Indoff, says he expects Indoff to grow as a Global Industrial subsidiary

“As part of Global Industrial, we will be in a stronger position to drive the value we provide our customers and support the continued expansion of the business,” he says. Indoff caters to B2B and B2C industries including distribution, healthcare, finance, education, legal, engineering, manufacturing, hospitality, and government.

Global Industrial’s EnvisionB2B speakers

Klaus Werner, former chief marketing officer, Global Industrial Co.

Alex Tomey, chief merchandising officer, Global Industrial Co.

At the EnvisionB2B 2023 Conference & Exhibition in June in Chicago, Alex Tomey, Global Industrial’s chief merchandising officer, will speak on sustainability as a market differentiator. Klaus Werner, Global Industrial’s former chief marketing officer, will speak on customer loyalty strategies.

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Most manufacturers (53%) have achieved “full adoption” of cloud-based data platforms, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and connected services. Meanwhile, just over a third (35%) have fully adopted scanning and intelligent data capture (OCR), says PwC in a new survey from 300 supply chain executives.

Manufacturers still on their way to more digital supply chain processes

But adoption of digital technologies that help drive predictive insights or cross-enterprise efficiency are in the early stages. Just one in four (24%) manufacturers have applied artificial intelligence to their supply chains, according to our survey. Even fewer have adopted blockchain (18%), robotics/robotic process automation (RPA) (16%) and augmented reality (14%).

“Given the relatively lean adoption rates of these technologies, manufacturers expect to make investments to increase them,” PwC says. “Nearly three-quarters (73%) report that they plan to make investments in AI/ML, robotics/RPA and blockchain over the next two years.”

But as the economy continues to soften and cut back on their spending, some manufacturing companies may slow how much they will spend on digital supply chain applications. For example, nearly half (47%) cite budget constraints as the top challenge of digitizing their supply chains, followed by insufficient capabilities of supply chain hardware and software systems (31%) and a misalignment of supply chain goals and the business’ overall strategic goals (31%).

“Despite some success in adopting digital technologies — and plans to invest in areas that are lagging — many manufacturers are encountering systemic obstacles and other challenges in getting the most out of digitizing the supply chain,” PwC days. For example, few tools yield “out of the box” benefits, requiring more time and digital know-how to make an impact.”

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Alex Tomey, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer, Global Industrial Co.

Alex Tomey, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer for industrial and commercial products distributor Global Industrial Co., is applying his 20 years of merchandising expertise to help Global Industrial improve margin performance, accelerate new category expansion, and strengthen core and private brand product growth.

Prior to joining Global Industrial in 2021, Tomey applied his merchandising expertise at such companies as Petco, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, and Walmart.

DC360: What is driving B2B companies like Global Industrial Co. to expand online?

Tomey:  B2B customers expect a similar experience purchasing products online as they have in their personal life; everyone is challenged for time and the convenience of researching and buying products online greatly improves efficiencies. We continue to focus on improving the customer experience by elevating our content, functionality, and integration with our managed sales organization.

DC360: What are your biggest internal or and external barriers?

Tomey: The pandemic, the supply chain crisis and inflation has created a lot of disruption in the market place the last three years. It also inspired a lot of transformation and innovation. At Global Industrial, we re-branded our company, launched a new website, and re-vamped our ‘Go to Market’ strategy, focusing on elevating the customer experience.

DC360: What are the chief gains you’re realizing?

Tomey:  We have doubled down on our customer focus; fully integrating our product and marketing strategies, operational efficiencies, and customer service. We are confident this will position us to drive customer acquisition and growth over the long term.

DC360: What is the most valuable piece of advice you have on how to launch online B2B sales or increase them?

Tomey: Develop seamless customer touch points to drive efficiency and improve the overall experience.

Alex Tomey, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer of distributor Global Industrial Co., will speak during the session, “Make Sustainability A Differentiator for Your Company,” at the EnvisionB2B Conference & Exhibition in June in Chicago. 

Peter Lucas is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy.

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Emily Newton

Many new ChatGPT supply chain applications are emerging as generative AI becomes more advanced. So how can industry professionals utilize this technology effectively? They can use ChatGPT in several critical ways, primarily communication and automation.

1. Supply Chain Customer Service

Customer service is one of the most promising applications for ChatGPT in the supply chain. The natural language processing capabilities of ChatGPT are among the most advanced ever developed for popular use. This makes it an ideal tool for navigating the complex communication required in customer service tasks.

Any developer can integrate ChatGPT into their apps today using OpenAI’s official API for the algorithm. ChatGPT’s language processing skills can be applied to any customer-facing application in the supply chain, whether B2B or B2C. For example, a supplier could create a ChatGPT app for its manufacturing customers to track shipments of materials and resources.

2. Translation and International Relations

Succeeding in today’s supply chain requires working closely with partners worldwide. Unfortunately, language barriers make this challenging, potentially hindering organization and efficiency. Luckily, translation is a great way to use ChatGPT in the supply chain.

Research shows that users don’t need to specify the source language of a text passage for ChatGPT to translate it successfully. The algorithm can autonomously detect the source language and translate it in seconds.

ChatGPT’s performance is also on par or better than most digital translation tools available today. The fact that it can process natural language, including advanced technical terminology, gives it a major advantage over competitors. Its accessibility makes it ideal for supply chain applications, which rely on quick turnaround times and clear communication.

Using ChatGPT for translation can strengthen collaboration with international supply chain partners, improving efficiency and organization for everyone involved.

3. Automating Business Tasks

Businesses can use ChatGPT in the supply chain to automate various everyday tasks. For example, it can summarize a sales report, extract the highlights from a spreadsheet or draft an email. These tasks might seem small, but they help supply chain professionals work more efficiently.

ChatGPT can even be helpful for complex logistics tasks. AI is already making advances in logistics. For example, algorithms can automate order processing and help managers identify important insights in their data. This could include tasks like analyzing a list of suppliers to find those with the best rates or assessing various packaging options for the most cost-effective solution.

ChatGPT takes existing applications for AI in robotic process automation a step further. Advanced natural language processing helps it handle more complex content and user requests. Even integrating it into a larger automated system could improve performance.

4. Personalized Employee Training

ChatGPT is a great tool for improving employee training. This is especially helpful today since many supply chain businesses are adapting to new technologies and grappling with labor shortages. Surveys show 57% of supply chain leaders report hiring and retaining employees as their top challenge. Additionally, 41% have issues upskilling or reskilling existing workers.

Supply chain businesses can help alleviate these challenges by integrating ChatGPT into their training programs. It can serve as a multipurpose assistant for trainees by answering questions, explaining complex topics, and creating practice tests and flashcards. Employees can use ChatGPT to get a personalized training experience catered to their needs and learning styles.

Some trainees might quickly grasp a new technology, while others will want more time to explore definitions, technical terminology and other background information. ChatGPT can serve various training approaches, making it a versatile tool for providing more efficient employee training.

5. Data Analysis and Visualization

Data analysis and visualization is a lesser-known application for ChatGPT in the supply chain. Most people think of it as a language-specific AI, but it can also process numerical data.

Rapid and accessible data analysis tools are vital today. Data-driven insights and decisions are a cornerstone of Industry 4.0, which is rapidly reshaping the supply chain. ChatGPT makes basic AI analytics quick and straightforward. Anyone can paste a set of unstructured information into ChatGPT and ask it to summarize or organize it into a table.

Automating this task allows supply chain employees to have a more efficient workflow and leverage data more easily. ChatGPT can’t do complex data analytics yet, but it can handle many basic processes that are helpful for quickly getting an overview of a data set.

6. Idea Generation

Idea generation is a unique application for ChatGPT in the supply chain. Businesses need creative solutions to new challenges as things become more complex. Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT can be surprisingly helpful in the brainstorming process.

An AI might pinpoint unconventional solutions or ideas a human would not have considered. ChatGPT’s suggestions may not always be usable or feasible, but they provide a unique perspective that can spark creativity among team members.

Potential Drawbacks of ChatGPT

ChatGPT may be a powerful tool for certain applications, but it isn’t perfect. Business leaders should know about the drawbacks and challenges of adopting ChatGPT.

For example, ChatGPT has been known to give users inaccurate or completely made-up information. The AI’s language processing skills allow it to convey this false data convincingly, making it challenging to detect accuracy at a glance. Some groups, such as the coding help site Stack Overflow, are even banning ChatGPT due to the spread of misinformation.

This broadcast ofmisinformation is a huge problem in applications where users may be poorly equipped to verify that ChatGPT’s generated text is accurate. For example, using the AI for translating could lead to confusion if ChatGPT misunderstands the input or output language. Similarly, a new employee using ChatGPT for job training might learn incorrect information due to answer errors.

These issues may improve with time. The latest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, is reportedly 40% more likely to give factual data, according to developer OpenAI. However, it will likely take years for ChatGPT to become a reliable source of information. Even then, there is always a chance the AI could “hallucinate” incorrect conclusions from the given data. ChatGPT’s output should always be fact-checked.

Adopting ChatGPT in the Supply Chain

There are many ways to use ChatGPT in the supply chain today, ranging from translation to employee training to logistics automation. Businesses can improve efficiency and productivity by integrating it into their workflows. OpenAI offers an API any developer can use to build ChatGPT into their app or website. In the years ahead, more supply chain applications will likely emerge as the technology advances.

About the author:

Emily Newton is an industrial writer reporting on how technology disrupts industrial sectors. She’s also the editor-in-chief of Revolutionized, covering innovations in industry, construction, and more.

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Maggie Barnett, chief operating officer, ShipHero

“What we’ve seen with such a tight labor market in the U.S. is that we’re able to supplement [employment] gaps with robotics,” Barnett says.

ShipHero is a shipping and logistics vendor for more than 5,000 ecommerce brands and third-party logistics (3PL) providers. In 2021, it began using the inVia Logic Warehouse Execution System from inVia Robotics, which sells ecommerce fulfillment automation systems. The software system coordinates how materials, workers and equipment move throughout ShipHero’s warehouse.

In 2022, ShipHero added inVia Picker robots to help warehouse workers during the picking process. The picking process is where workers find and bring items to a central location on the warehouse floor. At the center of the warehouse is one or more robot stations. The inVia robots complete the fulfillment process, freeing up workers to complete other tasks.

Simplifying warehouse flow

InVia simplified the scanning step of ShipHero’s fulfillment process. At its Jacksonville, Florida, warehouse, containers needed to move and be scanned easily.

Lior Elazary, founder and CEO, inVia Robotics

“Scanning these items takes a while,” says Lior Elazary, founder and CEO of inVia.

Instead, warehouse workers now place items onto an input rack that feeds the robots. The robot picks up the containers and scans them.

Robots scan inventory and send it where it needs to go, Elazary says. This removes the task from warehouse workers.

The automated scanning/picking replenishment process was implemented within a couple of hours, says Kristen Moore, chief marketing officer at inVia. InVia’s robotics-as-a-service subscription model includes software updates that inVia performs remotely.

Employees are now at the wall picking 425 units per hour, according to ShipHero. That is up from 150-200 units per hour before using inVia, Barnett says.

ShipHero warehouse employees no longer have to walk back and forth in between seven to 10 aisles. Instead, they can now grab what they need from a single 72-foot-long aisle.

Software projects demand, speeds up fulfillment

In April, ShipHero’s inventory team began using data that tracks SKU velocity. This is how frequently a SKU item is picked over a certain period of time. The software predicts what amount of inventory is needed to meet projected demand.

After success at its Florida warehouse, ShipHero expanded inVia integration. ShipHero now uses the robotic picking system in its Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Las Vegas warehouses.

“People don’t want to own warehouses,” Barnett says. “They don’t want to take out leases and make sure there are always a certain number of people working in the building on any given day.”

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Grainger sales Q1

For the first quarter ended March 31, total sales grew 12.5%. That’s up to $4.091 billion from $3.647 billion in the first quarter of 2022. Net earnings were $488 million vs. $366 million in the prior year’s Q1.

“We again delivered a strong quarter of performance to start the year as demand remains resilient and as we continue to execute well,” says CEO DG Macpherson. “We are making progress on our strategic growth engines in our high-touch model as we further our merchandising efforts, continue to make smart marketing investments, expand our inventory management capabilities for customers and build out tools to better equip our sellers.”

Zoro and MonotaRo

Grainger, a prominent distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, also reported mixed results in its various digital sales channels. Web-only sales in its Endless Assortment segment, including Zoro.com in the United States and Japan-based MonotaRo.com, grew about 4% on the first quarter. That’s up to $488 million from $366 million in the first quarter of 2022.

But the company’s High Touch business grew to $3.294 billion. That’s up 14.5% year over year from $2.878 billion. The business segment includes full-service sales through the company’s U.S. flagship Grainger.com, Canada-based Grainger.ca, and its sales agents.

“For the first quarter, we continued to see strong results within our Hi-tech segment with daily sales of 14.5%, fueled by revenue growth in all geographies.” says chief financial officer Dee Merriwether. “Customer demand was generally in line with expectations for the quarter and continues to remain resilient as a whole despite certain areas of softness.”

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B2B ecommerce buyers use a variety of resources

A new McKinsey survey of 3,800 B2B executives in 13 countries, including the U.S., finds that 70% of decision makers are prepared to spend up to $500,000 on a single ecommerce transaction.

“At the highest end of the spectrum, however, we see meaningful movement,” according to the report. “The number of decision-makers willing to spend as much as $10 million or more has increased by 83%. This trend holds true particularly in China, India, and the United States, and in global energy and materials (GEM); telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT); and advanced industries sectors.”

B2B buyers use as many as 10 channels to interact with suppliers, McKinsey says. But one channel getting a lot more use these days is B2B marketplaces.

B2B companies winning the most market share are simultaneously employing five major modern sales and marketing tactics, McKinsey says.

The five tactics

• Deploying advanced sales technology
• Increasing hybrid sales teams and capabilities
• Delivering hyper personalization
• Tailoring strategies on third-party marketplaces
• Achieving ecommerce excellence across the full marketing and sales funnel

“They’re developing a sophisticated digital customer experience — especially by leveraging social media, mobile devices, and texting early in the buying process. They’re increasingly facilitating a greater share of their sales efforts through third parties and owned marketplaces,” McKinsey says.

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This report provides advice on how B2B companies can improve their businesses today and future-proof their technology so that they can adapt to market developments in the years ahead.

Key takeaways:

• Learn how to scale from operating a conventional ecommerce site to becoming a flexible, can-do digital leader.
• Learn best practices to build the digital user experience your customers expect.
• Hear from top thought leaders on how to build a digital technology base right for your organization.
• Learn how to create and sustain a digital commerce strategy that includes all internal and external stakeholders.

Compliments of Tata Consultancy Services

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Randy Altschuler, CEO, Xometry

For Xometry Inc., a large portion of the company‘s daily work load is figuring out how to create the biggest integrated global B2B marketplace for manufacturing services.

“With our market-leading position and a total addressable market of $2 trillion, we expect to continue to grow rapidly for many years to come,” CEO Randy Altschuler told analysts during the company’s latest earnings call. “We believe that continuing shift to digital is inevitable.”

For 2022, total revenue grew 75% to $381.1 million, including $303.1 million in marketplace volume and $77.9 million in supplier services. Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $76.0 million.

“We fell short of expectations for the first time since becoming a public company,” Altschuler said. “For only the second time in five years, Xometry’s revenue decreased quarter over quarter. We also saw a notable sequential quarter-over-quarter decline in marketplace gross margins for the first time since Q1 of 2021.”

Taking steps to produce growth

To help the company grow its top and bottom lines, Xometry launched several new initiatives. They include:

• Introduced a new instant quoting page for its marketplace featuring easier navigation and greater usability of the quoting engine.
• Appointed Brendan Sterne as chief product officer, and named Matt Leibel as chief technology officer.
• Expanded the offerings of the Xometry Europe marketplace to include compression molding and vacuum casting, which are critical for the automotive, electronics, medical device and other industries, Xometry says.
• Integrated a gravity climate API into the Xometry marketplace to help customers instantly calculate carbon emissions in real time.

“For 2023 overall, we expect to remain in strong growth mode and deliver healthy marketplace revenue growth of approximately 30%,” Altschuler told analysts.

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