Brenntag Acquires Schoofs, Names New Regional President (Online Exclusive)
Global chemical distributor Brenntag is not just California dreaming; it has just acquired West Coast specialty chemicals distributor Schoofs, Inc., based in Moraga, Calif. It also named Steven M. Pozzi as president of Brenntag Pacific, based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. No price was disclosed for the acquisition. The Schoofs operation will become part of […]
Read MoreTrends—March 2008
10+2: Anything But Elementary The Importer Security Filing mandate proposed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been a hot topic of late – as much for speculation about its loose provisions as for its underlying purpose of tightening offshore supply chain links. When CBP announced its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in early […]
Read MoreHoliday Creations Sees the Light
A holiday lights manufacturer takes a shine to its new export management system.
Read MoreHamilton on Wry
One misty day, I wandered about the graveyard at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. I spotted a figure sitting on the steps of a square granite box with four urns at its corners and a truncated pyramid in its center. It was the tomb of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), who for many Americans is merely the […]
Read MoreMichael Strauss: Putting Military Training On the Line
In the early 1990s, artillery officer Mike Strauss was leading an Army convoy down a German country road in the middle of the night when he got word of a breakdown three-quarters of the way back in line. The stopped vehicle blocked the road so completely that nothing behind it could squeeze past. One of […]
Read MoreSnap Shot: Furniture Logistics
Will the shift to global sourcing – combined with an economic downturn, housing slump, high fuel costs, and lack of visibility – unseat the furniture industry?
Read MoreMade in China: Perspectives on the Global Management Giant
What makes logistics in China so challenging? Who’s really to blame for its much-publicized product quality failures? What’s the secret to outsourcing success? A trio of industry experts responds.
Read MoreGlobe Spinning
As the world flattens, global sourcing invariably becomes more dynamic. Sophisticated technologies and an emerging crop of offshore suitors are forcing today’s intrepid explorers to balance reason with instinct.
Read MoreTracking Totes Turns to Technology (Online Exclusive)
As totes and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) become more sophisticated and more expensive, chemical producers and distributors are seeing them more as a fleet like rail cars or tank trailers rather than as a disposable cost of doing business. Also, strict new rules on tracking and tracing hazardous materials make it imperative for shippers to […]
Read MoreCongress Plans Changes to Chemical Regulations (Online Exclusive)
Within days of the January 2008 deadline for chemical producers and distributors to file their "top screen" hazard-assessment questionnaire to the Department of Homeland Security, a Congressional subcommittee approved legislation to further tighten handling, transportation, and reporting rules for hazardous materials. Chemical producers, distributors, and carriers responded with a quick and loud call for legislators […]
Read MoreStudy Highlights Strategic Role for Logistics (Online Exclusive)
For all the operational advances that have been achieved in chemical logistics in the past few years, and for all the savings that have been realized by producers and shippers, large opportunities for gaining efficiency and saving money remain. The most important advance would be for logistics to be included in the strategic planning stages […]
Read MoreThe ABCs of WMS
Early childhood education company Kaplan chooses a WMS that makes the grade.
Read MoreUp and Atom
Some thought leaders, visionaries, and business gurus claim the United States is transforming from an “industrial” to a “post-industrial” economy. More guru-speak: “Wealth in the United States will be created more and more by electrons, and less and less by atoms.” In English, that means our information and service businesses will continue to grow (electrons) […]
Read MoreCan We Create a Viable National Transportation Policy?
State and federal transportation departments, the White House, and Congress have failed to promote and fund a coherent and dynamic national transportation policy to meet the infrastructure demands of our 21st century global business environment. Today’s overburdened and congested infrastructure cannot meet the economic and energy demands of a population that has doubled since 1950. […]
Read MoreLocation-Based Services Put Efficiency on the Map
Enhanced productivity. Cost savings. Revenue increases. Improved customer relations. These are among the most important – and most widely acknowledged – benefits of deploying location-based service (LBS) tools such as geographic positioning systems (GPS) and street-level routing (SLR). Add one more benefit of emerging importance that will have significant impact over time: reduced emissions. Corporations, […]
Read MoreEasy Come, Easy Go: Keeping the Yard Running Smoothly
Some companies consider yard management a low priority, but an inefficient strategy can bleed dollars from the bottom line. Wilson Rothschild, industry and product marketing supply chain manager for Infor, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based warehouse management software company, offers these tips for making yard management a strategic imperative. 1. Lead an initiative to review yard management […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-March 2008
China’s rapid economic growth and recurring spikes in consumer prices could give U.S. manufacturers and retailers more reason to consider alternate sourcing locations. Inflation rose to its highest level in more than 11 years in January after devastating snowstorms exacerbated food shortages throughout the country. Consumer prices climbed 7.1 percent from the same month last […]
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