Snapshot: Pharma Logistics: Prognosis Positive
Pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug distributors, and health care providers are taking a double dose of technology and business process improvement to keep consumers safe and competition one step behind. Transformation in the pharmaceutical marketplace is challenging traditional approaches to manufacturing and distribution. “Pharmaceutical, medical, and medical device margins are collapsing quickly,” says Daniel Carbery, senior vice […]
Read MoreHow to Gain Supply Chain Visibility
MORE TO THE STORY: 6 STEPS TO SUPPLY CHAIN ENLIGHTENMENT If there is one buzzword that continues to define supply chain management, itπs visibility. Everyone wants it but few seem to ever approach true nirvana. Part of the difficulty in this endless search for total insight and control is that companies have different interpretations of […]
Read MoreHow to Capitalize on Importer Security Filing (10+2)
MORE TO THE STORY: MAKE 10+2 WORK FOR YOU Sometimes opportunities present themselves in the unlikeliest places—in the bureaucracy of Customs compliance, for example. When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) introduced the idea of Importer Security Filing (10+2) early in 2008, many global shippers and consignees greeted the proposal with reservations. The mandate requires […]
Read MoreHow to Drive Excellence in Food Service
MORE TO THE STORY: FOOD LOGISTICS EXCELLENCE A LA CARTE Concerns over food product safety and integrity have ramped up efforts in the food supply chain to improve service, efficiency, and transparency—despite already robust regulatory oversight. Picking up and delivering shipments on time with no claims is the expectation among food service companies. Service is […]
Read MoreHow to Negotiate Ocean Carrier Contracts
MORE TO THE STORY: WHEN YOU APPROACH THE TABLE What you put into contract negotiations dictates what you get in return. So begin by putting together a prospectus of your industry and your company and where it is moving—with input from all departments and levels of management within the extended enterprise. Assess and understand where […]
Read MoreHow to Develop Infrastructure to Support Mission-Critical Logistics
MORE TO THE STORY: 6 STEPS TO SUPPLY CHAIN ENLIGHTENMENT here are critical logistics requirements and then there are mission-critical demands. The difference is end-user impact: a lost customer because of a late shipment, or a lost product line—and countless lost customers—because a critical part can’t be replaced in time. When companies move high-value shipments […]
Read MoreHow to Manage Risk Among Logistics Partners
MORE TO THE STORY: SAFEGUARDING AGAINST RISKY BUSINESS Businesses face their own unique challenges in today’s waffling economy, with credit largely frozen, consumerism measured, supply lines lengthening, and transportation-related costs reaching record thresholds. Aside from these internal and market-driven obstacles, companies also encounter considerable risk partnering with carriers, forwarders, and third-party logistics providers laying down […]
Read MoreGood Chemistry Yields Better Inventory Management
Chemical manufacturer Celanese experiments with a formula for solving its inventory woes.
Read MoreCurve Appeal
The efficient delivery of goods requires a thoughtful way to negotiate curves and arcs to find the optimal route.
Read MoreSigned, Sealed, Delivered…But to Whom?
Q: I am a warehouse operator. An insurance company recently refused to provide me with coverage for the wrongful delivery of goods stored in my warehouse, citing the Uniform Commercial Code as the reason. Can you explain the problem? A: The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a body of law that has been accepted, with […]
Read MoreBill Justus: Home Sweet Home
Throughout your industry, sales are down. But the cost of materials keeps going up, and those higher prices sure don’t help you draw in hordes of new customers. What to do? Get all your partners working together to drive costs out of the supply chain, says Bill Justus, vice president, supply chain services at David […]
Read MoreNASCO: North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition
NASCO, the multimodal transportation network running through the heart of trade in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is all about sustainable, secure, and efficient economic development. See why its future looks so bright.
Read MoreAll I Really Need to Know (about Logistics) I Learned From Rudolph: A Holiday Demand Story
It is both a holiday classic and one of the best depictions of a supply chain solution ever broadcast. The factory floor hums as a shipping deadline approaches, but a logistical disaster looms in the guise of an unexpected storm. The solution turns out to be right at the end of the hero’s red nose. Yes, all you really need to know about logistics you could learn from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Read MoreGoing Critical
When an item really, really, really has to get there—and fast—critical shipment service providers spring into action, STAT!
Read MoreInventory Software Goes With the Flow
New software keeps a small start-up company’s head above water.
Read MoreGetting All, Like, Demand-Driven
Did you know that a 16-year-old girl in Spain is the logistics genius behind one of the most sophisticated and effective retail supply chain operations on the planet? Neither does she. The typical Zara demand signal—to buy or not to buy—sets in motion a demand-driven process that has the global apparel chain retailer, based in […]
Read MoreGreen Transportation: On the Road to Sustainability
In the past, transportation efficiency concerns primarily focused on areas such as route optimization, capacity planning, and partner collaboration. Today, efforts to improve service and reduce costs include an additional element: environmental impact. As new and aggressive social, environmental, and political pressures evolve, shippers and carriers must adopt and act upon “green” opportunities. Failure to […]
Read MoreSuccessfully Managing Long-Tail Inventories
The concept of the long-tail retail environment refers to the extended downward slope of a unit sales curve that, when illustrated graphically, depicts a “long tail” as demand wanes toward zero. Introduced by Wired Editor in Chief Chris Anderson in 2004, the term originally described Internet-based companies, such as iTunes or Amazon.com, whose environments are […]
Read MoreSelecting Pallets: Wood vs. Plastic
Wood remains the most common pallet material used in the United States. But for about five percent of shippers, plastic is a better choice for moving goods. How does a shipper choose? Should you change to a new pallet material? Steven Mazza, president of S&B Pallet Co., Plainfield, N.J., and member of the board of […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-Nov
In a move that will get CN a little closer to its customers, the Montreal-based Class I is acquiring three principal railway subsidiaries of the Quebec Railway Corp. (QRC) and a QRC rail-freight ferry operation. The purchase comprises 540 track miles of rail line CN formerly owned in eastern Ontario, eastern Quebec, and northern New […]
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