Supply Chain Visibility: Now You See It
The more transparent the supply chain, the more easily you can spot ways to squeeze value from your operational data.
Read MoreRediscovering The Classics, Volume VIII: Forklift Utilization
Time is money and in a warehouse the forklift is a time saver and a money guzzler. Companies that pay attention to how they use and maintain their fleets can lift economy and efficiency to new heights. In warehouse and distribution facilities, it doesn’t get more basic than using forklifts to move product around. All […]
Read MoreAsk The Big Wheels
Inbound Logistics asked seven leading trucking executives to tackle some tough questions about the challenging year ahead. Their advice, words of caution, and strategic vision can help you face the challenges of using motor freight in the short term and beyond.
Read MoreChannel Surfing
Click…Click…Click…. Consumers’ short attention spans demand greater shopping flexibility. For some retailers, that means it’s time to flip the supply chain processes behind their sales channels.
Read MoreHow’d That Get On My Plate
With a nod to the Food Network, and a toast to the Chef, join us as we cut from the table and go straight to the source.
Read MoreA Day in the Life of a Transportation Manager
Spend some time with the professionals who get business in gear.
Read MoreBusiness Guide to Tax Evasion — relax…it’s perfectly legal!
Companies can avoid import duties and other fees by shipping through and manufacturing in a Foreign Trade Zone.
Read MoreGrowing Together
It only takes a brief look at how quickly global economic dominoes fell in unison recently to understand that national economies are more inter-related than ever before. The trading bloc in our hemisphere—NAFTA—is as good an example as any, and one worth probing deeper. It has been more than 15 years since the United States, […]
Read MoreCaptains Of Industry
When Don Dickey retired from the U.S. Navy after a 25-year stint with its Supply Corps, he knew he wanted to do something different. That was, after all, what his Navy experience prepared him for: doing something different at the drop of a hat, every day. Since leaving the Navy in the mid-1990s, Dickey has […]
Read MoreRediscovering The Classics, Volume VII: Labor Management
Managing labor in dynamic supply chain environments forces businesses to “sense” demand shifts to better match resources to need. It also requires “sensibility” in properly training and incenting employees to be productive, and engaging third-party expertise when internal objectivity is lacking. When companies are in periods of flux—experiencing growth or reduction in business, scaling resources […]
Read MoreSnapshot: Entertainment Logistics
Kelly Clarkson’s first album sold four million copies. Her second exploded with 12 million. The third moved an anemic two million. Then four songs for her fourth album were stolen pre-release, and circulated by a hacker who penetrated her co-writer’s Web site. For a musician that may be show business, but for a supply chain […]
Read MoreA Slice of Time for Logistics
As the global economy shrinks and slows down, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and merchandisers have to squeeze every ounce of efficiency from their operations. In the rush to cut costs, however, they sometimes overlook the impact that time has on the ability to sell more products or to be more efficient. Time is a precious commodity […]
Read MoreJennifer Hughey: Cleaning Up
Jennifer Hughey wasn’t looking for a career in logistics. But somehow, it sucked her in. In 2003, Hughey was senior finance manager at Whirlpool Corp. when her former boss, Dan Clifford, recruited her to join him at The Eureka Company. Clifford, president of Eureka, now called Electrolux Home Care Products North America, wanted Hughey to […]
Read MoreFacing the Challenges Ahead
During the past year, global events created new concerns for logistics operators. For some, finding insurance coverage has become increasingly difficult, as insurance companies need to balance the likelihood of a significant loss against the prospect of recovering their payout—a trying task in times of financial uncertainty. Purchasing insurance may well become costlier in the […]
Read MoreWho Will Strike the New Golden Spike?
When U.S. railroads first managed to connect from East to West, crews drove a golden spike to commemorate the completion of our first transcontinental railway. It happened at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869, soon after the Civil War ended. The iconic photograph of Union Pacific’s No. 119 and Central Pacific’s Jupiter No. 60 meeting face […]
Read MoreHigh-Stakes Handling: Bally Hits the WMS Jackpot
Unwilling to gamble on warehouse operations, slot machine manufacturer Bally Technologies invested in a sure thing: a new WMS and data collection hardware.
Read MoreWhy You Don’t Want an Obedient 3PL
What is an obedient third-party logistics provider (3PL)? It is one that doesn’t share responsibility for its customers’ success and simply does what it is told. It keeps quiet when it knows the shipper’s request is misguided, and doesn’t offer new ideas for re-thinking project goals. When a shipper views its 3PL simply as a […]
Read MoreRediscovering The Classics, Volume VI: Crossdocking
Waste not. Want not. Store not. The shortest and fastest distance between supply and demand is in one door and out another. Enterprises rocking high-velocity crossdocks wield greater power flowing visibility and freight through the supply chain. In a perfect world, inventory would never remain static. Product would flow from manufacture to consumption in a […]
Read MoreRediscovering The Classics, Volume V: Transloading
In today’s lengthening supply chain, a mode alone is a road less traveled. Businesses shift gearS and mix transportation options to account for fluctuations in capacity and freight costs. When shipments switch track, transloads take center stage. The growing importance of intermodalism in the United States raises the stakes for efficiently managing transportation at key […]
Read MoreRediscovering The Classics, Volume IV: Inbound Routing Guides
All the supply chain’s a stage so why not command top billing? When businesses actively enforce inbound routing guides and dictate shipment instructions, efficiencies fall into place and economies run wild. Ensuring vendors comply with your transportation requirements is as simple as putting instructions in writing. That’s why a routing guide is an essential tool […]
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