Archive: Sep 2005

Locating a European Distribution Hub

It’s official. You’ve decided to take your company global, and because it is no longer cost-effective to reach international customers from your U.S. operation, you need to open a European distribution center. Finding the best place to locate that hub is key. The European Union is made up of 25 countries, all with their own […]

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Choosing a DC Location: Keeping Success in Site

The decision to build a distribution center comes with expectations that it will help a company reach key markets, hire an appropriate workforce, and maximize profitability while minimizing operating costs. Finding that ideal location in a community that embraces the company’s operations, however, is more difficult than merely choosing any site within a targeted region. […]

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William J. Augello, Esq.

‘Model Contracts’ Not the Right Model

During the past few years, "model contracts" drafted by organizations representing shippers, carriers, and brokers have become common. Such agreements, however, are not in shippers’ best interests because, in drafting them, organizations bargain away some of shippers’ rights and remedies without their input. Recently, the American Trucking Associations (ATA)—which represented truckers during model shipper/trucker contract […]

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Pulling Back the Curtain on Logistics, Purchasing Practices

Logistics, purchasing, and inventory management can be thankless jobs when everything goes according to plan. No one applauds when manufacturing deadlines are met, quality products ship on time, and workers have the right supplies. But if deliveries arrive damaged, or low inventory halts production, executives pull back the curtain and discover who’s to blame. Bidding, […]

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Should You Sell or Outsource In-House Transportation Assets?

Many companies with in-house transportation capabilities in place to support core operations often explore outsourcing to cut costs and liberate capital. Shareholders of these companies—whether public or private—are often better served by viewing these assets as a standalone business for an eventual spin-off or sale as a going concern. Whether to sell, spin off, or […]

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Whatever the Obstacle, Truckers Come Through

While covering this industry for more than 20 years, I’ve learned a lot about the people who work in logistics and transportation. One thing that consistently stands out is their passion and dedication to moving our nation’s freight—and economy—forward. This passion and dedication became apparent yet again as we watched Hurricane Katrina play out. The […]

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Design for the Future

A high-tech DC design lets Future Electronics increase staff productivity, consolidate orders more effectively, and increase pick rate.

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Trucking Tips of the Trade

Transport buyers face tough questions every day. To help find answers, Inbound Logistics turned to transport buyers and service providers for the inside story.

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Mission: Critical

Companies are turning to information technology, logistics specialists, and partnerships with premium service carriers to keep their customers’ mission-critical systems running while minimizing their investment in parts inventory. Here’s a look at the unique challenges and solutions driving critical parts logistics today.

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Freight Payment Outsourcing: Getting Finances in Ship Shape

Consider this: Because of administrative overhead, it costs large companies about $11 to pay one freight invoice. For a company with 1,000 carrier invoices a month, that’s $11,000. But if a third-party freight payment/auditing firm processes these invoices, companies pay just 5 percent to 10 percent of this benchmark cost per bill. Companies that outsource […]

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