Florida: Logistics & Distribution—The Future is Here

Florida’s state-of-the-art seaports and airports, and strong highway and rail networks, have helped establish a strong and growing logistics sector.

Warehouse Upgrade: Of Boxes and Briefs

MeUndies used to get its knickers in a knot during the holiday rush. But a new WMS has it in better shape.

Betting the Farm on YRC’s Success

James Welch has worked for YRC Worldwide for nearly his whole career. At 23 years old, he joined what was then Yellow Freight System as a sales representative in Houston. Over the next 29 years, he took on a series of management positions with increasing levels of responsibility. MORE TO THE STORY: Safety First Welch […]

It Happens Automagically

I heard the phrase “it happens automagically” not long ago, and it reminded me of an editorial I wrote in 2000, when I mused that one day we’d have “a global internet without wires, melded with interaction free detection—finding something without looking.” Today, it is real and it happened sooner than I expected. The Internet […]

Supply Chain Goes Back to School

U.S. Online Shoppers Click With International Retailers

Nearly half of avid U.S. online shoppers bought items from international retailers, demonstrating the need for retailers to offer more personalized services as a way to compete against lower prices, according to UPS’ sixth annual Pulse of the Online Shopper study. Almost all avid U.S. online shoppers (97 percent), made purchases on marketplaces, up 12 […]

Global Supply Chain Suffers Disruptions Amid Diplomatic Crisis

Disagreements in the Middle East left the supply chain reeling as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen cut political and business ties with Qatar and accused the small Middle Eastern nation of supporting radical Islamic terrorism in the region. As part of efforts to sever contact, the countries shut down […]

Could Self-Driving Ships Become Reality by 2020?

"This is happening. It’s not if, it’s when. The technologies needed to make remote and autonomous ships a reality exist." So said Oskar Levander, vice president of innovation for Rolls Royce, at Amsterdam’s Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium in 2016. He wasn’t wrong about the technology, considering the United States and China already have unmanned naval […]

Supply Chains Double Down on Climate Change

President Donald Trump pledged to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, but stakeholders involved with the American supply chain—often supportive of the President’s business-friendly policies—aren’t so ready to fall in line this time. Rather than push American businesses away from sustainable initiatives, many companies seem to have reaffirmed their commitments. A few […]

Retailers Struggle to Control Fulfillment Costs

Walmart’s recent announcement that it is testing a delivery system where its associates will deliver online orders to customers’ doors makes sense in light of a new study by Radial, in partnership with EKN Research, which finds the average cost for a company to fulfill an order is 70 percent of the average order value. […]

Amazon Files Patent To Parachute Packages

Amazon teased consumers with drone delivery during a 2017 Super Bowl commercial, though the ad bore a disclaimer: "Prime Air is not available in some states (or any really). Yet." Back in December 2016, Amazon made its first successful customer delivery in a trial area in the United Kingdom; in March 2017, the online retail […]

Empowering the Shipper

After more than 14 years in the trucking industry—at USF Group and Central Freight Lines—Dan Clark decided it was time for a change, both for himself and for the shipping community. MORE TO THE STORY: The Parking Spot Lesson Trucking companies were depending on legacy information systems, often inherited through corporate acquisitions, that couldn’t share […]