Getting Started With RFID
While bar codes took more than 25 years to evolve, RFID is being adopted quickly in the marketplace. By 2007, RFID technology budgets will double, RFID tag purchases will reach 1.6 billion, and 83 percent of today’s pilots will convert to full-scale implementations, predicts Accenture’s global management consulting and technology team. In a 2005 interview […]
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Getting Time Limits on Your Side
Shippers are familiar with the rule that they must file claims against carriers in writing within the time limits defined in carriers’ bills of lading or tariffs, or in government statutes or treaties. But rules have exceptions. The Carmack Amendment, for example, states that a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or railroad may not limit the […]
Read MoreDoes RFID Pass the Return on Assets Test?
Proponents rarely discuss RFID without claiming dramatic inventory savings. These savings, however, require businesses to invest in RFID and wait to reap returns. When evaluating investments—such as RFID—aimed at reducing inventory and working capital, consider the impact on Return on Assets (ROA), a proven indicator of an investment’s financial impact. ROA is calculated as revenue […]
Read MoreFreight Damage Claims: Know, Act, Reap
The Latin phrase Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est may be the most quoted maxim of our information age—knowledge is power. In business we use the “knowledge is power” principle to shape our decisions so we can reap positive long-term rewards. One unsung area where properly applied knowledge yields power is comprehensive management of the freight damage […]
Read MoreA Ready-Mix Transport Solution
Chemical manufacturer Degussa cements its partnership with a bulk transport provider so it can focus on its core business, meet safety requirements, reduce billing cycle time, and improve customer service.
Read MoreDiversifying Your Supply Chain Portfolio
Diversification is a sound strategy for investors and logisticians alike. Just as those skilled in arbitrage hedge investments to mitigate risk and allow for modest portfolio growth by taking advantage of small value increases in other areas, supply chain practitioners diversify their proprietary and outsourced logistics assets—abroad and at home—to lay off risk, reduce costs, […]
Read MoreFood Bank Hungry for an Inventory Management Solution
To feed its need for more efficient warehousing and inventory management, the Food Bank For New York City trades in a manual system for a WMS.
Read MoreInventory Velocity: All the Right Moves
The need for speed is clear to retailers, manufacturers, and distributors—especially at this time of year. How are companies speeding their freight and inventory to meet customer demands? By collaborating with technology firms and outside logistics experts to gain greater visibility into the supply chain, increase inventory turns, and get the right products to the right place at the right time.
Read MoreHigh Speed Pursuits: Moving Products Faster and Cheaper
A shift is taking place in expedited shipping. While air shipments once reigned supreme—and still do for import and export goods—for domestic expedited cargo, ground transport is catching up. To cut costs and still meet customer demand, savvy shippers incorporate expedited service into their overall transport strategy, making ground a viable expedited option.
Read MoreTrack to the Future
Innovations in web-based communication technologies, global positioning systems, and equipment are taking freight railroads into a new era.
Read MoreApparel Logistics & Technology: A Perfect Fit
Technology is the latest accessory to hit the apparel world. By embracing technology solutions, forward-thinking apparel and footwear companies are fashioning tight, visible, integrated supply chains—and reaping the rewards.
Read MoreKevin McNelly: Delivering Medical Products, Stat!
Kevin McNelly always keeps an eye on the future. As vice president, supply chain at biotechnology company MedImmune Inc., he must keep materials and finished goods flowing to meet demand for the company’s current products. But he also must make sure that, when the time comes, everything will be in place to satisfy customers with […]
Read MoreWorking on the Railroads
The recent fuel crisis emphasizes just how much we need our national rail system. The rails, with their efficient fuel usage, are a vital link in most supply chains; the only link in others. Rail hubs and intermodal transportation connect shippers to truckers, and to ocean and air carriers. But the fuel crisis has also […]
Read MoreRiding Out the Storm
An import management system helps chemical distributor Biddle Sawyer navigate in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
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