Missouri Gets Shipping
Missouri’s central location, sixth-largest public road and highway system, service by all seven Class I railroads, third-largest inland port in the nation, and major airfreight centers in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield might be enough to attract the attention of most nationwide shippers looking for a strategic Midwest location. But Total Quality Logistics (TQL) […]
Read More
Use Supply Chain Modeling to Mitigate Port Shutdowns and Other Risks
Recent massive strikes among dockworkers on the California coast brought the reality of supply chain continuity planning to the forefront once again for global businesses. The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports handle nearly half of the nation’s cargo, and are the main gateway for imports from Asia, including automobiles, furniture, clothing, electronic products, and […]
Read More
When Real Estate Intersects With Logistics
Fulfillment centers across the globe are adapting to better suit customer demands. We’re seeing increased automation and robotics, more office improvements, higher levels of complexity, greater security, and stepped-up employee workplace amenities, among others. In short, businesses are expecting more. And they want more now. Leasing new property is an important part of expanding or […]
Read More
2015 Trucking Perspectives
Inbound Logistics’ exclusive trucking market research report delivers shipper and motor carrier insights into trucking challenges and trends.
Read More
Nourishing a Healthy Supply Chain
A 3PL partnership helps nutritional life sciences company Nutrabolt stay lean and fiscally fit.
Read More
Outsourcing to a Third-Party Logistics Provider
Q: From a shipping perspective, how can manufacturers best address today’s increasing regulations and demand volatility? A: Outsource your shipping to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider. The answer might sound a bit self-serving, but I believe most manufacturers would agree if they took the time to crunch the numbers. A 3PL is much more familiar […]
Read More
Leveraged Platforms: The More Efficient Road Ahead
Q: What is a leveraged platform? A: A logistics services provider leverages its platform to employ the same best practices to manage its own supply chain needs as it does for its own client base of direct shippers. By augmenting their global scale with a vast network of local stations, these service providers are better […]
Read More
Temporary Bills and Lack of Investment Threaten U.S. Infrastructure
Q: The House just passed a three-month highway bill. Will that impact infrastructure investment? A: On July 28, 2015, the House voted to approve a temporary $8-billion bill extending federal transportation funding until the end of October. They sent it to the Senate only two days before the nation’s road and transit spending would have […]
Read More
Opening a Dialogue on Freight Payment
Q: A recent report revealed that only 18 percent of shippers discuss best practices in freight payment processing with outside organizations. Were you surprised by that number? A: As a company that works hard to help our clients think strategically—and views payments as a strategic function of any company—we’d love to hear that shippers are […]
Read More
Freight Payment and Auditing Services: Cash is King
Freight audit and payment companies help shippers find the hidden cash in their supply chains by eliminating overbilling, and paying invoices accurately and quickly. Ready to partner with a provider? It’s your move.
Read More
What’s in Your Warehouse?
The latest ways to optimize proficiency in your distribution facilities.
Read More
XPO Goes Long with Con-way Play
Merger and acquisition activity in the transportation and logistics sector has been fast and furious over the past few months. Still, it’s hard to imagine that UPS’s acquisition of Coyote Logistics ($1.8 billion) and Infor’s GT Nexus move ($675 million) have become little more than sidebars to this summer’s blockbuster feature—XPO Logistics’ bookended $3 billion-plus […]
Read More
Transportation Metrics: Keeping Score
Track key performance indicators to make sure your carriers are up to par.
Read More
Positive Train Control: Negative Impact On Railroads?
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) mandates that Positive Train Control (PTC), a set of advanced technologies designed to stop or slow a train before accidents occur, be implemented across approximately 60,000 miles of the nation’s rail lines by Dec. 31, 2015. Class I railroad main lines that handle any poisonous, inhalation, or […]
Read More
Why Excellence in Supply Management Matters More Than Ever
In today’s competitive business environment, having visionary leaders and great products is not enough. In the past 20 years, companies have experienced a profound shift, and have dramatically increased their spending on external suppliers. This places the supply management function in the spotlight as a key driver of profitability. The better supply management teams are […]
Read More
Using Analytics to Differentiate Your Customer Service
Differentiated service is about making your company easier to do business with, anticipating the needs of your customers, and having products available when needed. For example, when I travel last minute, I expect my preferred rental car provider to have a vehicle available for me when I arrive. I don’t think about their current demand, […]
Read More
Intelligent Technology Provides Visibility into Supply Chain
As more and more companies scale and expand, managing transportation is quickly becoming a challenging factor of growth. More so, companies need to have complete visibility into their entire transportation process in order to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. While many TMS providers can promise transportation management, intelligent transportation technology also provides organizations […]
Read More
Global Logistics—September 2015
Ocean Carrier Dependability Ebbs Over the past few years, steamship lines have been juggling assets and throttling back transit times to better balance supply and demand. A slowdown in global trade—especially between Asia and Europe—and the industry’s well-publicized struggles with overcapacity have forced the issue for many carriers. While shippers and supply chains have adjusted […]
Read More
Trends—September 2015
Rising Labor Costs Eat Into Fast Food Supply Chains When New York State’s wage board voted to raise minimum pay to $15 in July 2015, it set tails wagging around the country. The wage hike, which will be phased in over the next three years upon approval by the state’s labor commissioner, only applies to […]
Read More
Reader Profile | Jeff Larson: A Gem of a Job
Jeff Larson is director of distribution engineering analysis at Tiffany & Co. in Parsippany, N.J. He joined Tiffany in 2001 and has held his current position since 2009. Responsibilities: Process improvement, distribution strategy, user testing and integration for the warehouse management system, and some procurement activities. Experience: Process engineer, manager – engineering analysis, Tiffany & […]
Read More