Feature Stories
Expedited Transport: It’s All in the Timing
Expedited services transport cargo by air, sea, or ground to meet shippers’ demands for consistent, on-time delivery with short lead times.
Holiday Stocking: Preparing for the Seasonal Retail Rush
Strong forecasting, careful vendor management, solid partnerships with carriers and optimized use of labor and equipment all help retailers manage the year-end holiday rush.
Case Studies
I.T. Toolkit
Inventory Tracking: Crunching the Numbers
With store replenishment lagging behind sales growth, potato chip maker Golden Flake deployed a mobile inventory-tracking solution from AT&T to provide stock visibility.
Reader Profile
Michael Smyers: Molecular Logistics
For Michael Smyers, associate director, logistics, at chemical and transportation fuel products manufacturer Amyris in Emeryville, Calif., the formula for a successful career relies on continuing education.
Commentary
How-To
Ten Tips
Transloading to Maximize Cost Savings
Transloading services transfer ocean cargo at port – without sorting it – for shipment to a single destination, such as an inland distribution center.
Global
U.S., China Consider Joint Logistics Response Partnership
Canadian Carriers Call for More Transportation Infrastructure Spending
Sponsored
Economic Development
Kentucky: Racing Toward Logistics Leadership
Kentucky is building America’s future with its technological savvy, good jobs, hard work, and a government focused on making the most of the state’s logistics assets.
H.O.W.
How to Find Savings Through Landed Cost Analysis
A global trade management (GTM) solution can automate the process of comparing total landed costs, providing shippers with full visibility into all associated costs and regulations.
H.O.W.
How to Manage the Supply Chain Following a Natural Disaster
Planning for exceptions can help shippers prevent supply chain disruptions in the wake of a natural disaster.
H.O.W.
How to Make Driver Recruitment a Competitive Differentiator
Whether a company is looking to reduce driver turnover costs or vet a business partner to make sure it has the necessary resources to deliver acceptable customer service, maintaining a dedicated recruitment and retention strategy communicates a strong message both internally and within the extended value chain.
H.O.W.
How to Move Freight in Volatile Locations
Successfully moving freight into challenging areas requires an abundance of preparation and due diligence, test runs, and contingency plans to make sure moves happen without a hitch.
H.O.W.
How to Reduce Costs by Integrating Packaging with Distribution Center Operations
Performing final product packaging in the distribution center can reduce combined warehousing, logistics, and freight costs by 30 percent and order-to-delivery cycle times by seven days.
H.O.W.
How to Foster a Long-Term 3PL Partnership
The value of third-party logistics (3PL) provider partnerships grows infinitely greater when shippers take a long-term approach that focuses on sustainable gains rather than short-term savings.
H.O.W.
How to Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions
When supply chain disruptions arise, shippers need to react quickly—without incurring undue costs—to keep production in line with demand.
H.O.W.
How to Drive Visibility Through a Supply Chain Network Control Tower
Shippers can create a "control tower" view within their own supply chains—a common platform for aggregating, cleansing, and communicating real-time data.
H.O.W.
How to Measure Sustainability Program Performance
Many companies are considering ways to improve fleet fuel efficiency and establish sustainability standards they can measure, then improve upon.
H.O.W.
How to Select a Returns Management Partner
Many companies turn to third-party logistics (3PL) providers to help manage returns processing. Selecting the right reverse logistics provider can help retain customers and save money.
Digital Editions
3PL LineLorcan Sheehan
Holiday Rush Planning: How to Mitigate Risk in a Volatile Market
Lorcan Sheehan of ModusLink discusses some of the lessons businesses have learned that help mitigate supply chain risk during the peak season.
Carriers CornerPablo Ciano
International Shipping: Moving at the Speed of Technology
The development of new technologies for planning, managing, tracking, and securing shipments never ends, and with new digital options always just around the corner, organizations of all sizes need to stay informed on the latest advances. Pablo Ciano of DHL Express identifies four key business areas where technology makes all the difference.
Checking InKeith Biondo
Retailers Rebalance Time vs. Cost?
Velocity is more important than price for some consumers, perhaps giving some retailers another component to consider as they compete, writes Publisher Keith Biondo.
Green LandscapeGary Hanifan
4 Steps to Reducing Emissions in the Supply Chain
By collaboratively engaging with their supplier networks, companies can mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions and improve supplier relationships while achieving greater efficiency and cost reductions, writes Gary Hanifan of Accenture.
Online ExclusiveIT MattersGreg White
3PL Value-Adds Mean Millions
By identifying the value-adds that brand and retail shippers want, logistics providers can position their offerings to bring millions in benefits to their customers and make the relationship stick, writes Greg White of Blue Ridge.
Online ExclusiveIT MattersMark Croxton
“Sell By” Dates Cost Shippers Billions in Wasted Perishable Goods
Shippers and business logistics professionals can easily use bar codes rather than ink stamps to ensure fresh food items are delivered to customers, writes Mark Croxton of Aldata.
IT MattersSteve Biondi
Embarking On an IT Modernization Journey
Modernizing information technology infrastructure helps companies save money and provide better value for their customers, writes Steve Biondi of Micro Focus.
Online ExclusiveIT MattersSteve Dowse
Why Supply Chains Need Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence within the supply chain improves internal efficiencies and accountability while saving time and eliminating costs with metrics-driven decision-making and change management, writes Steve Dowse, International Asset Systems.
Online ExclusiveViewpointMichael E. Burke
Mitigating Facilitation Risk
Logistics professionals and companies should adopt and continuously update a risk-based export compliance program to minimize facilitation risk, writes Michael E. Burke of Arnall Golden Gregor.
ViewpointJay Moris
Sorting Out Savings Opportunities in Your E-Commerce Warehouse
Savvy distribution and supply chain managers should be looking at sortation and its related disciplines as a means of addressing problems and achieving savings, writes Jay Moris of Invata Intralogistics.