Archive: Mar 2021

Jamin Dick

It’s Time to Upgrade Your Tech Capability

Many manufacturers and business-to-business (B2B) companies are built around large volumes, making them traditionally slower to adopt e-commerce; yet, it’s becoming imperative to do so. Customer expectations are evolving, and the pandemic highlights the need for more supply chain flexibility and visibility.

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Ken Bays

Achieving a Sustainable Returns Program

A good returns management program is a sustainability effort in itself. The right approach can improve value recovery, increase efficiency, and lower transport and labor costs, all while reducing your carbon footprint, food and landfill waste, and fossil fuel consumption.

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Vertical Focus: Personal Care Products & Cosmetics

Vertical Focus: Personal Care Products & Cosmetics

What’s In Store? In-store shopping accounted for up to 85% of beauty product sales in most major markets before the pandemic, finds a McKinsey report—even millennials and Gen Zers made almost 60% of their cosmetics purchases in stores (see chart). What will happen to physical beauty product stores in the future? About 30% of premium […]

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Keith Biondo

Buddy, Can You Spare a Can?

According to a CNBC investigation, shipping lines rejected U.S. export containers worth hundreds of millions of dollars during the last quarter of 2020. Empties were loaded and shipped back east to be filled with Chinese exports. But press reports blaming “congestion” are off the mark. Those empties are getting moved and loaded on ships somehow. […]

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Charles Sauer

Rail Price Controls? Ridicule the Thought

In 1980, CNN, fax machines, and camcorders made their debut, and for the first time since 1887, the rail industry was deregulated. Today CNN has many competitors, fax machines have been surpassed and their technology incorporated into other products, and camcorders are not only cheaper, almost all of us carry a better quality one in our pockets. Also, rail rates are 44% lower, and the market is flourishing.

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Do you expect a resurgence in reshoring to the United States? Why or why not?

Do you expect a resurgence in reshoring to the United States? Why or why not?

No. I don’t expect a significant increase in reshoring. I do expect a significant increase in multi-sourcing of key products in the supply chain. Reshoring to a significant degree requires huge infrastructure changes that I do not believe today’s consumer is ready to fund in price increases and reductions in convenience. —Bill Denbigh Senior Director, […]

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John Thielens

How Ransomware Kidnaps Supply Chains

The volume and sophistication of cyberattacks has increased in recent years, but even more so with COVID-19 and the shift to remote work. Most notably, there has been a particularly concerning rise in ransomware attacks.

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An All-American Leader

Growing up around a family-owned business, establishing a tireless work ethic, and pursuing an early career as a teacher helped shape Jessica Tyler’s "open book" leadership style. Long before Jessica Tyler became an airline executive, she was an educator. "My earliest understanding of relationships and engagement came from being a teacher and coach," says Tyler, […]

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