A Supply Chain PIP Squeak
At the risk of launching yet another industry acronym, efficient supply chains require PIP: people, intelligence, and good processes.
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Todd Stewart: All Wired Up
NAME: Todd Stewart TITLE: Vice president supply chain, since 2008 COMPANY: WireCo WorldGroup, Kansas City, Mo. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: Merchandise manager, JC Penney; product manager, then manager of distribution and customer service, then VP of distribution, transportation and customer service, WireCo WorldGroup EDUCATION: Missouri Western State University, BSBA in marketing and management, 1992; Benedictine College, Executive […]
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Pallet-Sharing Programs: Better for the Planet
When evaluating a pallet program against your operational criteria— including environmental concerns— the best result comes from looking at the issue in two parts: the pallet itself, and the pallet program. The pallet’s source material, production method, size and specifications, and impact on transportation efficiencies has received much attention and discussion. But the pallet program— […]
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Lean: The Next Best Thing to ‘Clip-and-Save’
Everyone respects the cost-cutting power of a good coupon. It’s simple to use, easy to grasp, and highly effective for easing pain at the cash register. The logistics sector has an equivalent that saves far more than just a few pennies. It’s called Lean. This popular quality-improvement process leads to documented savings that you can […]
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Tapping Into the Power of Supply Chain Integration
In 4 B.C., Greek philosopher Plato said necessity is the mother of invention. That statement is as true today as it was then. During the past few years, it became a necessity for companies to find cost savings and run their businesses more efficiently to survive tough economic times. In addition to network rationalization, inventory […]
Read MoreTransport Funding: Who Gets the Big Piece of Pie?
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s second round of stimulus funding for infrastructure development exposes a widening gap between U.S. roads, rails, and bridges and government special interests.
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CSCMP Annual Conference: Can We Talk?
Discussed in general sessions and overhead in the hallways: Shippers are focused on reducing risk and managing volatility, developing supplier relationships, and creating supply chain resilience.
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Supply Chain Velocity: Shifting Into Overdrive
When expediting shipments, visibility, communication, and customer service get into gear.
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How to Select Expedited Services
MORE TO THE STORY: 5 Steps to Expediency, Efficiency, Economy Expedited delivery is a necessity for all companies, whether they are meeting unexpected seasonal demand or managing shipments by exception. They use expedited service to move parcel and temperature-sensitive packages, specially packaged product, oversized equipment— and everything in between. Cost is secondary to timeliness and […]
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How to Drive Collaborative Distribution
MORE TO THE STORY: Playing the Part In the retail space, competition among small and medium manufacturers is fierce. But many are missing out on significant cost savings by failing to recognize and execute shared strategies that consolidate shipments in the interests of all supply chain stakeholders. The collaborative distribution concept leverages freight consolidation as […]
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How to Develop a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model
MORE TO THE STORY: Is a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model Right for You? Speed is the name of the game in today’s retail landscape. How quickly products are purchased from store shelves depends on a myriad of factors: consumer preference, special promotions, and brand recognition, to name just a few. The real trick to gaining speed […]
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How to Find the Best EDI Solution For Your Operations
MORE TO THE STORY: 7 Rules to Finding the Best EDI Solution In today’s supply chain, change is a constant. Businesses have to gather and communicate information in real time to manage variability and efficiently match supply to demand. Flexibility and scalability are important. But with new sets of transactional requirements and data elements emerging, […]
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How to Enable a Proactive Supply Chain
MORE TO THE STORY: 5 Steps to Supply Chain Empowerment Tomorrow’s supply chains will be intertwined supply networks predicated on responding to supply and demand changes as they happen, not after the fact. Transaction and shipment exceptions are common, so businesses must be able to account for these variables by enabling a proactive supply chain. […]
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How to Leverage Rail/Intermodal For Refrigerated Freight
MORE TO THE STORY: A Refrigerated Case Rail/intermodal solutions are fast gaining traction among shippers looking for additional capacity, exploring more cost-effective transportation options, and seeking means to reduce their impact on the environment. While there has always been a captive rail audience among bulk commodity and dry goods shippers, more specialized freight, including refrigerated […]
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How to Ship to Alaska
MORE TO THE STORY: Finding the Right Partner Alaska RFP/RFI Alaska can be a challenging place to move freight. The state’s vast and varied terrain, harsh and unpredictable weather, and distance from the rest of the United States present unique challenges for shippers. Whether the task is transporting consumer goods to cities in southeastern Alaska, […]
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How to Select a Transportation Management Solution
MORE TO THE STORY: The TMS Revolution Selecting a new transportation management system (TMS), whether fully outsourced, hosted, or internally installed, requires much due diligence to pair functional need with strategic vision. Shippers can get the most out of their TMS solution and service provider by following five progressions. Know what you need before you […]
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How to Ship Air Freight in Alaska
MORE TO THE STORY: 4 Air Freight Takeaways Spanning 570,374 square miles of land mass— more than twice that of Texas— Alaska has the third-lowest population in the United States and the lowest population density at approximately one person per square mile. North to south, the state covers 1,400 miles, compared to 2,700 miles side […]
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Logistics Outsourcing: An Active Culture at Dannon
Partnering with a 3PL keeps Dannon’s supply chain light and fit.
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Gaining Alignment With Your 3PL is Key to Supply Chain Success
When choosing a supply chain partner, it is essential that goals, expectations and strategy are all in alignment. In order to achieve this synergy, open and honest communication between business partners needs to be in place to move the relationship beyond one of simply executing services to one of real collaboration. Measurement, monitoring, and corresponding […]
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Elephants Chasing TIGERs
It wasn’t that long ago that Rajahs in India used elephants to hunt tigers. It seems the hunt is on again. The recent Republican resurgence is hunting for a very specific type of TIGER: Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants as part of the TARP fund. The latest round of grants continues the spending […]
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