Archive: Aug 2008

Selecting Global Trade Management Software

Looking for guidance on selecting a flexible global trade management software (GTM) package that easily integrates into your supply chain strategy? Here’s some advice from Brian Hodgson, vice president of marketing and business development for Kewill Americas, Marlborough, Mass. 1. Set clear requirements and well-defined scope. Determine, for example, whether you need import or export […]

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Customer Service: The Two Percent That Matters Most

Evidence abounds that American industry’s customer service system is broken. For example, 80 percent of companies believe they provide superior customer service – yet only eight percent of their customers report having received superior service, according to a recent Bain & Company survey. A business that is unaware of its customers’ perceptions is headed for […]

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E-Commerce Tools Can Speed Ocean Trade

In the days before e-commerce, the only way to orchestrate an ocean container shipment was to call and fax every party to the shipment. This world still exists, but it’s fast being superseded by e-commerce tools that free shippers to manage supply chain risk and efficiently serve customers instead of chasing down details and coping […]

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All the Low-Hanging Fruit Have Not Yet Been Picked

Many retail logistics practitioners who are good at their jobs will swear to you that all the low-hanging fruit on their optimized logistics tree has already been picked. Sure, one way to face today’s challenges is to cut transportation and logistics costs. But what’s hanging on the other side of the tree in the orchard […]

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Fast Food Logistics: Having it Your Way

Variety and freshness are paramount to keeping fast-food customers hungry for more and supply lines and inventory ripe and ready for change. Fast-food chains look to logistics service providers with a similar craving for made-to-order selectivity, quality, and service—all at an affordable cost.

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Shawn Surber: Going Whole Hog

Farmers feed the world, and Shawn Surber moves the feed. As logistics manager for Premier Feeds in Wilmington, Ohio, Surber coordinates ingredient flow into three feed plants and product delivery to distributors and farmers in his region. He manages a 26-truck fleet, occasionally hopping into the driver’s seat himself. When needed, he also lends a […]

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Inventions Light the Way

The public knows Thomas Edison as the man who invented the light bulb. But what Edison really invented was a system for generating and distributing electricity into cities, and eventually into rural communities. This was a gigantic and, at the time, novel undertaking. In our industry, Malcom McLean is recognized for inventing the shipping container. […]

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