Canadian Retailer - The Supply Chain & Logistics Issue - 6

RETAIL CURRENTS

IS THE INDUSTRY READY FOR DRIVERLESS TRUCKS?
In a recent ABI Research Study of 455 U.S. companies across a number of verticals, including manufacturing retail, transportation and logistics, it was found that
autonomous vehicles for transport is on the horizon, however distant it might be.

34% of respondents favor Freight
as a Service for its ability and
flexibility to choose loads and
routes dynamically.

44% of respondents say they're
not even aware of the use of
autonomous vehicles
for transport.

RISE OF THE MACHINES: ROBOTS IN CANADIAN RETAIL
As some Canadian retailers continue to experiment
with the introduction of robotics into their
operations, some are questioning whether
or not the productivity gain will
outweigh the human cost.
operates four
4 Sobeys
robotics distribution centres:

two facilities north of Toronto
spanning 750,000 square
feet, another in Montreal and
one in Calgary.

$100-150 million

The amount of money Sobeys spent
on each of its robotics facilities.

15 minutes

Online orders that used
to take up to 2.5 hours to
locate and pack manually
are being shipped out of
the warehouse and onto a
truck within 15 minutes.

$60 million

The amount of money spent last
year by Canada's oldest retailer,
Hudson's Bay Company, in robotic
upgrades to its 725,000 ft2
Toronto distribution centre.

7.5 million

According to documents obtained by
The Canadian Press in March, federal
government officials have been warned
that the Canadian economy could lose
up to 7.5 million jobs in the next 10 to 15
years due to automation.

4% of respondents that rank
navigation and guidance
applications as a priority.

CONSUMERS WAITING FOR AI
According to research conducted by
Vista Retail Support, U.S. consumers
are eager for retailers to fast-track
the use of artificial intelligence and
introduce the technology into the
retail shopping experience.
67% of shoppers
believe that putting
technologies
such as artificial
intelligence (AI)
and augmented
reality (AR) in place should be a priority
for retailers.
70% of consumers know about AI
technologies and believe that they can
transform their shopping experience in
a positive way. However, 66% have yet
to come across such technology in a
retail environment.
70% of respondents said they would
be confident using an AI-based virtual
assistant kiosk in a shop.

ALIBABA ENLISTING CANADIAN SELLERS
E-commerce mega-giant Alibaba is escalating its encouragement of Canadian companies to start selling
on its platform to tap into an increasingly lucrative Chinese market.

30+
$5 trillion
The estimated size of
China's retail market.

CANADIAN RETAILER

Currently, more than 30 Canadian
businesses sell their goods through
Alibaba, including vitamin maker
Jamieson, juice and snack company
Sun-Rype Products, Clearwater
Seafoods, and fashion retailers such
as Roots, Aldo and Lululemon.

| THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS ISSUE

30%
E-commerce, which currently
accounts for about 15 per cent of
China's retail market, is expected
to grow to 30 per cent by 2020.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - The Supply Chain & Logistics Issue