Dutch retailer Blokker expands cooperation with JD.com’s Ochama to add 50 stores as Ochama pick-up points

By Paul Adams Head of Enterprise Retail at Trust Payments.

It has been a tough year for merchants, with inflation and the cost of living crisis keeping consumer wallets tightly shut. Although high streets saw the return of in-store shopping and Christmas retail footfall was the highest in 2022 since the global pandemic, consumer behaviour has changed drastically.

UK inflation may have slowed for now. However, with spiralling energy bills and a looming recession that economists agree is only temporarily halted, consumers’ worry about the cost-of-living crisis firmly remains. And it is this worry that has quickly and dramatically reshaped spending behaviours.

The ecommerce funding and planning platform 8fig has announced the launch of “Freight with 8fig”, a new service that helps ecommerce sellers manage freight workflows within the platform. A critical pain point in the ecommerce arena, 8fig’s latest addition helps sellers source competitive freight quotes and credit terms.

Ochama customers can now pick up their orders at an additional 50 Blokker stores in the Netherlands. The expanded partnership reflects the successful pilot project launched in May 2022 between Ochama and the Dutch non-food retailer to open third-party Ochama pick-up points in offline Blokker stores.

Brand Evangelists for Beauty (Be for Beauty) was created 5 years ago by Colette Laxton & Mark Curry. Over the last couple of years, the company has faced strong growth.

Descartes Systems Group has announced that Topps Tiles, the UK tile retailer, is optimising its fleet delivery capabilities with Descartes’ cloud-based route planning and optimisation solution.

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Supply chain visibility company, FourKites, has strengthened its executive team with the appointment of a Chief Strategy Officer and a Vice President of Global Customer Success. FourKites’ leadership position, rapid growth and momentum in the supply chain visibility market continue to make it a destination for top talent in the industry.

CJ Lang & Son Ltd, the wholesaler for SPAR in Scotland, and the major Scottish convenience store franchise with over 300 stores across the country, has selected RELEX, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to automate and optimise its supply chain processes.

A larger share of freight forwarders and supply chain professionals this year in 2023 are expecting disruptions owing to COVID outbreaks in China and the Chinese New Year factory closures as compared with the last year (2022).