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#4 - Mike Robinson, Founding Member & Head of Retail Solutions at The Eighth Notch (T8N)
Slice of Retail Team
February 17, 2025
Join us on this week's episode of the Slice of Retail podcast, hosted by Jared S. Taylor! Our Guest: Mike Robinson, Founding Member & Head of Retail Solutions at The Eighth Notch (T8N).
What you’ll get out of this episode:
Mike Robinson’s Journey – From accidental retailer to innovator in retail logistics.
The Three Pillars of Retail – Customer experience, immediacy, and controlled chaos.
The Eighth Notch’s Vision – Optimizing retail delivery density to reduce costs and emissions.
Amazon’s Influence – Why retailers must rethink their approach to efficiency.
What’s Next? – Expanding partnerships and driving industry-wide change.
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From Accidental Retailer to Industry Innovator
Mike Robinson, Founding Member and Head of Retail Solutions at The Eighth Notch (T8N), never set out to be a retailer. His career began in finance, but a consulting role with early e-commerce companies ignited his passion for retail. Over time, he held major roles at companies like Gap and Macy’s, where he helped grow digital sales from $700 million to $7 billion. Eventually, he transitioned from big corporate environments to advisory roles and startup ventures, culminating in the creation of The Eighth Notch (T8N).
What Makes Retail Tick?
Through his extensive experience, Robinson identified three core principles of retail:
Controlled Chaos – Retail is unpredictable, and success depends on adapting to consumer psychology.
Immediacy Matters – Yesterday’s performance dictates today’s success.
Customer Experience is Everything – Even the best products fail if the customer experience isn’t top-notch.
The Eighth Notch (T8N): Solving Retail’s Biggest Challenge
Born out of the pandemic, The Eighth Notch (T8N) was founded on a simple yet powerful idea: optimize delivery density to reduce costs and environmental impact. The problem? Delivery trucks make multiple stops at the same address on different days, increasing inefficiency. T8N partners with major package carriers to coordinate shipments, ensuring multiple orders arrive in a single delivery instead of staggered shipments.
How It Works
T8N integrates with package carriers and retailers to synchronize shipments in two key ways:
Cross-Retailer Matching: If multiple deliveries are headed to the same address, they are grouped for a single stop.
Split Shipment Consolidation: Instead of delivering items from the same retailer over multiple days, they arrive together on one designated day.
The Amazon Factor: Competing on More Than Just Speed
Robinson emphasizes that speed alone is no longer the gold standard in retail logistics. Amazon already optimizes delivery density behind the scenes, offering customers checkout options that maximize efficiency for them—not just the shopper. Retailers need to shift their focus from chasing Amazon’s past model of speed to adopting smarter, more cost-effective fulfillment strategies.
A Win-Win for Retailers, Consumers, and the Planet
Beyond financial benefits, T8N’s model has significant environmental implications. By reducing unnecessary truck stops, the company helps lower carbon emissions, contributing to more sustainable supply chains. Retailers don’t need to change their operations—just tweak shipment timing to align with delivery density optimization.
What’s Next for The Eighth Notch (T8N)?
The company is aggressively onboarding retailers, working closely with package carriers to expand adoption. Robinson’s message is clear: retailers looking to cut costs, improve efficiency, and compete with Amazon should get on board now.
