Archive: May 2002

Choosing the Right Public Warehouse

The strategic importance of choosing a public warehouse that best meets a company’s needs is often overlooked. Indeed, the difference between public and contract warehousing often comes down to strategy, says Rosario Rizzo, vice president of global warehousing and freight management services for APL Logistics, a global provider of supply chain management services. Though a […]

Read More

Selecting an ERP System

Companies often decide to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions based on demand from customers rather than their own manufacturing departments. Sounds great. But sometimes, after implementation, the ERP solution doesn’t quite deliver what the end user wants. The challenge is selecting the right kind of solution. A small manufacturer with several warehouses will have […]

Read More

Raking in the Trash

“It’s only trash.” That’s how supply chain managers often refer to the mountains of packing material, broken pallets, paper, and other trash that clutters distribution facilities. For most companies, disposal is an expense item, with additional costs for compactors, waste bins, carting, landfill use, and myriad other variables. With a little of the same skill […]

Read More

Material Handling Automation: Money for Nothing, Clicks for Free

Necessity is the mother of invention but in a down economy it may be the mother of companies giving things away to make the sale. Sales of large-ticket capital expenditures are down, including warehouse automation and materials handling systems. At the NA2002 Material Handling Industry (MHI) conference, held in Detroit last month, exhibitor after exhibitor […]

Read More

General John M. McDuffie: Telling War Stories

When John M. “Mike” McDuffie talks about a crisis, he doesn’t mean a late shipment; he means catastrophes such as the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. As director of logistics for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General McDuffie coordinated the race to move people, equipment, and supplies to […]

Read More

SupplyPro’s Point-of-Use Inventory Management

Not all supply chain solutions providers offer broad-based remote services. Some do a very good job on a more local level—though, often, their offerings can be hooked into a global web network. Some concentrate solely on the supply chain at point-of-use. One such solutions provider is SupplyPro, based in San Diego, Calif. It has developed […]

Read More