Improving the Warehouse Startup Process
Q: What trends are you seeing with customers and their warehousing needs? A: We are seeing a larger number of existing and prospective customers looking for space in short time frames. They might be looking to outsource their warehousing at the end of an existing lease or they may have short-term warehousing needs. Customers do […]
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Awake at the Wheel: Delivering Customer Satisfaction
When Sleepy’s customers got tired of short notice and missed deliveries, the specialty mattress retailer brought in a technology partner and dreamed up a solution that put those problems to bed.
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An Expanding Palette of Pallet Choices
The seven trends you need to know before you choose your next pallet system.
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Riding the Rails
America’s great rail intermodal sites serve as vital hubs in the logistics landscape.
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The Changing Face of the Warehouse Workforce
How does a warehouse manager transform a group of people with different backgrounds, outlooks, and abilities into a high-powered workforce?
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Building a Smarter Warehouse
Cloud computing, omnichannel management, and big data are the questions. Can your warehouse supply the answers?
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Five Ways to Mitigate a Truckload Capacity Crunch
Many factors have led to increased costs for truckload services, and created challenges to the freight pricing status quo for shippers. In the wake of the disruptions caused by the current capacity crunch, many are asking: "Am I overpaying? And if I am, what can I do about it?" To avoid paying too much for […]
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How Amtrak’s Supreme Court Case Affects Freight Shippers
Track-sharing among railroads has long been a complicated issue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently reviewed a case determining whether Amtrak has the authority to regulate privately owned freight railroads with which it shares rail. The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 was supposed to reinvigorate a national passenger rail system. The legislation created Amtrak to […]
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Finding an Inventory Solution That’s Just Right for Your Small Business
Inventory management, put simply, is ensuring you have the right amount of product in the right place at the right time. It helps you determine which items sell well, and which do not, giving you the ability to adjust product levels accordingly. As such a crucial step in the supply chain, the importance of good […]
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The Driver Shortage—Not Just a Carrier Issue
Q: The transportation industry’s nationwide driver shortage is getting worse. What is the cause? A: Tougher regulations, a lack of interest by younger workers, and the graying of today’s drivers are contributing to the driver shortage. The problem will continue to grow over the next several years—especially as freight volumes increase. Despite the fact that […]
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Tight Market for Industrial Real Estate Impacts Supply Chain Costs
The industrial real estate market is still recovering from the effects of the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The hangover from those years is now having a dramatic effect on the cost and availability of warehousing and distribution space in most key markets across the United States. Additional factors, such as positive demographic trends, expanding trade […]
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Global Logistics—May 2015
China Picks Pakistan for Trade Corridor China’s "global diplomacy" holds few bounds. From Central and South America to Africa, the country has been aggressively asserting its influence and injecting capital into new infrastructure developments that also pave the way for further commodity sourcing. But China’s impact in Asia is far greater, especially as it relates […]
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Trends—May 2015
U.S. Ports Critical to Sustained Economic Growth Transportation budgeting at the state and federal levels has become a contentious battleground as politicians and private sector lobbyists search for new funding mechanisms to execute much-needed infrastructure upgrades. One point of consensus is that U.S. ports are key to sustained economic growth—and therefore should be a priority […]
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Lori Harper: Running a Tight Ship
Lori Harper is vice president, supply chain management at Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Pascagoula, Miss. HII was spun off from Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2011. Harper has served in this position since 2012. Responsibilities: Sourcing, procurement, receiving, warehousing, inventory, distribution, cost control, and analytics. Experience: Subcontract management specialist, material site […]
Read MoreImproving Shipper/Carrier Relationships
From shippers, receivers, and purchasing agents to carriers and third-party logistics companies, everyone has an opinion on how to reduce trucking costs. But they all agree that to help save money, shippers should build strong relationships with their less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers. Mark Hamblin, vice president of sales, west, for LTL carrier Saia, offers some advice […]
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When the Walls Come Tumbling Down
It might sound like two things I did this month—traveling to Phoenix for ISM’s annual conference and working on this Warehousing issue—have nothing in common. Ah, but they do. What happens in the warehouse, the orchestration of products coming in and going out to where they need to be, hinges on the convergence of many […]
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7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Incentive Program
Incentive pay programs are becoming an increasingly popular supply chain initiatives to increase productivity without the need for large capital improvements. These programs motivate employees to perform to the best of their ability every day, even during stretches of long workdays and difficult tasks. The problem is that an incentive program can hold an adverse […]
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Manufacturing Skills Gap Calls for New Approaches to Talent Development
As manufacturers seek to achieve growth, their search for the right talent to help them execute on their business strategy tends to be a challenging one. More than 75 percent of manufacturing respondents to Accenture’s 2014 Manufacturing Skills and Training Study identified a shortage of skilled workers. That gap also stands out in the so-called […]
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Improving Customer Satisfaction with Consumer Engagement Apps
Walking into a retail store today, customers are presented with myriad options for every product. But how can they know which is the best for their needs, among two, five, or 10 different options? Before the digital age, we might have asked a friend or neighbor which product they use. Now, we turn to the […]
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