Can Your Supply Chain Turn on a Dime?
Shifting and more demanding consumer expectations are changing the way organizations work. According to the EY Americas Supply Chain Reinvention Survey 2019, 53% of respondents say fast-changing customer preferences require supply chains that can turn on a dime. The survey covers topics including technology adoption, leadership and talent, investment prioritization, sustainability, and other factors in […]
Losing Waste, Finding Value
Michael Wasson is chief operations officer of Tosca, which provides reusable packaging solutions for perishable food supply chains. Responsibilities: Lead and direct Tosca’s supply chain and plant operations, including asset management, logistics, supply chain planning, environmental health, and food safety. Experience: Vice president, supply chain and operations, Tosca; several director- and manager-level supply chain planning […]
Who’s Paying for Free Shipping?
As someone who specializes in logistics, I see my fair share of Amazon-related studies and reports. One of the most recent — the 2019 Amazon Consumer Behavior Report from Feedvisor — offered some eye-opening statistics. Perhaps most compelling is the degree to which Amazon’s dominance and influence continues to grow. For instance, nearly 9 out […]
Chemical Supply Chain: Innovative Solutions in the Mix
From specialized requirements to capacity considerations, formidable challenges face chemical shippers. In reaction, logistics providers are rolling out solutions of substance.
Blowing in the Wind
If a transportation route, supplier, customer, or other essential supply chain partner is located in an area at high risk for hurricanes, then your business could risk a major disruption. Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science predicts the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season will bring 13 named storms—including five hurricanes and two Category 3, 4 […]
Is Your IoT Deployment Secure?
Transportation and logistics companies recognize they must strengthen their approaches to cybersecurity but are not yet taking the practical steps to safeguard their industrial Internet of Things (IoT) deployments, according to a study done on behalf of Inmarsat. According to the study, which surveyed 125 businesses across the transport industry, 64% of respondents say their […]
What to Look For When Taking Stock of an Inventory Management System
As e-commerce grows, online retailers can benefit greatly from modern automation tools. Choosing the right online inventory management system, for example, can impact both sales and the entire enterprise, and allow e-commerce retailers to retain their competitive advantage. According to Multiorders, here are five factors to consider when selecting an inventory management system. 1. Centralized […]
Automation Innovation
Innovations in materials handling solutions help cut costs and boost accuracy in the supply chain.
Making Space for Intermodal
Intermodal-friendly sites combine a strategic location with well-designed physical spaces.
Achieving Transportation and Logistics Success in the On-demand Age
With heightened consumer demand for rapid delivery of items such as clothing, technology and even food products showing no sign of slowing, companies and their transportation partners are under immense pressure to produce, manage, fulfill and distribute an unprecedented amount of consumer goods, while at the same time deliver positive shopping experiences for customers across […]
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT | Robots
Boston Dynamics Handle: This robot uses legs and wheels to provide an agile and small-footprint materials handling solution. Featuring an active counterbalancing system, Handle can pick up and move cases weighing more than 30 pounds. It can tackle pallet building, depalletizing, and truck unloading tasks. Berkshire Grey mobile robotic fulfillment system: Able to pick, pack, […]
8 Great Ways to Waste Money in a B2C Warehouse
Outdated warehouse processes and procedures reduce productivity and raise costs, but some simple changes can help you save money and improve efficiency, according to Realtime Despatch. 1. you don’t use warehouse locations. If you rely on staff knowing where everything is, or having to arrange SKUs in alphabetical order to find them, you’re tying yourself […]
Meeting Your Retailer’s Expectations
A leading CPG company uses Hub Group’s consolidation expertise to eliminate cost and improve service.
Pallets Support Supply Chain Strategies
No mere beasts of burden, pallets are a vital logistics link. Optimize your supply chain by choosing the best pallet for the job.
SAP Requests an Uber
With a goal to modernize freight transportation through intelligent process automation and better access to a network of connected and reliable drivers, SAP SE and Uber Freight have teamed up. The integration of Uber Freight into the SAP Logistics Business Network will let customers access transportation rates from Uber’s digitally activated carrier network and gain […]
Your Next Walmart Run: Don’t Forget the AI
A Walmart Neighborhood Market in Levittown, New York, featuring artificial intelligence-enabled cameras, interactive displays, and a massive data center is the retailer’s new Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL). While the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in e-commerce is now table stakes, few companies have physically explored its potential. Until now. Positioned within one of the company’s […]
Germany, Austria Retailers Go for BOPIS
Germany and Austria retailers display a balanced market of omnichannel practices, reports OrderDynamics’ Omni-2000 Research: Germany|Austria. Collectively, at 43%, the region falls third behind France (50.5%) and the U.K. (64%) in the number of retailers offering buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) services. Germany and Austria lead in active inventory visibility when compared to all […]
Warehouse Focus as the Key to Optimizing Your Supply Chain – Ruan
To optimize their supply chains, shippers should leverage warehouse innovations, implement an optimal TMS and WMS, and determine the best warehouse site.
How to Get Profitable Insights from Fleet Data
Fleets today deal with a huge volume of data — more than they’ve ever collected before — pouring in from ELDs, dashcams and other trucking technology. It’s a double-edged sword. Data has become indispensable because it provides key insights that help inform critical business decisions and, used properly, can boost productivity and minimize expenses. However, […]
In Search of the Next Great Niche
As CEO of the company her father founded, Megan Smith draws on strong empathy skills and employee engagement to keep Symbia Logistics on the path to growth.
Addressing the Most Pressing Needs of the Warehouse – Serco Entrematic
Food and beverage, industrial, and cold storage facilities are entering a new era as technological gains lead to new capabilities and new challenges. With improved equipment, those facilities are poised to feature a data-driven operation that is safer and more efficient—both reducing mistakes and more effectively managing resources. Improved technology and equipment also raise the […]
Ethan Frisch: The Spice is Right
Ethan Frisch is co-founder/co-owner of Burlap & Barrel, a single- origin spice company. Responsibilities: Establishing supply chains linking farmers with chefs and home cooks; sourcing unique spices; building relationships with restaurants and manufacturers. Experience: Co-host, Why Food? podcast; NYC Team Lead and Senior Operations Manager, Zomato; Logistics Manager, Doctors Without Borders; Policy Advisor and National […]
Identifying the Role of Technology in Managed Transportation Services – Transplace
Q: What’s the current state of technology within managed transportation services? A: Growing expectations from consumers and the "Amazon effect" continue to put pressure on today’s supply chains to provide minute-by-minute location updates as goods are delivered directly to the doorstep of a customer within days or even hours. To successfully navigate this increasingly challenging […]
HyperX Game Plan: Win at Demand Planning and Replenishment
Kingston Technology Company Inc.’s expertise comes from making and selling memory products. The supply chain model that shaped its success didn’t hold up, however, when its high-performance product division, HyperX, got into the gaming peripherals business.
Strategies for Success Following Business Growth – Hollingsworth
Growth is exciting and generally means increased revenue, but it also presents some new and sometimes unique challenges to overcome, regardless of your industry. It can be difficult to expand operations in order to sustain the additional business. You might also need to make changes to some processes in order to accommodate new or additional […]
GOOD QUESTION | What’s one supply chain myth you’d like to debunk?
Myth: Reducing labor costs is the best way to improve a supply chain operation. Much bigger gains can be made in reducing total supply chain cost by improving service levels and reducing lead times.
The Latest TMS Capabilities for Brokerage and Managed Services – 3Gtms
Transportation management systems have enhanced their brokerage capabilities while managing the full order-to-cash process in real time and within a single system.
Three Steps to Addressing the Staffing Shortages in Manufacturing & Logistics
As baby boomers in manufacturing and logistics look toward retirement, there aren’t new workers to take their place. Millennial and Gen-Z workers just aren’t interested in the work—and, as a result, valuable jobs are being left unfilled.
Solving the Three Toughest Challenges In E-Commerce Fulfillment – DHL Supply Chain
E-commerce is continuing to create opportunity for a range of businesses, but supply chain challenges can limit growth and compromise customer relationships.
The Bot Revolution: 3PLs Go High-Tech to Streamline Warehouse Operations
The invasion of robots, co-bots, or bots – call them what you will – is coming to a warehouse near you. But, before a sci-fi thriller plays out in your head, think of this as a welcome invasion. In fact, from the 3PL executives charged with making their company’s operations more efficient and cost-effective to […]
Time to Stop Hating the ‘A’ Word
To small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the “A” word usually coincides with fear and frustration. While small business owners love to hate Amazon, the time has come to embrace the changing purchasing and distribution landscape.
Networking, Transportation Education at the Core of SMC³ Logistics Technology Conference
Connections 2019 offers thought-provoking supply chain content that benefits every transportation and logistics professional.
75 Green Supply Chain Partners
Selected by Inbound Logistics editors, these 75 companies go above and beyond to help shippers maintain sustainable, eco-friendly supply chain operations. AAA Cooper Transportation AAACOOPER.COM AAA Cooper is a SmartWay partner. The company installs enhanced/full aerodynamic fairing packages; converts oil to lighter-weight synthetic for better fuel economy; installs tire pressure systems designed for drive tire […]
Managing Change in Turbulent Times
We are now in a "white water rapids" phase in terms of the global economy, requiring flexibility from the processes, technology, and people in the supply chain to navigate these rough waters. Making the transition to a truly flexible and lean supply chain, especially during these turbulent times, involves changing the three elements necessary for […]
IN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-June 2019
Products The new TD 4 Desktop Thermal Printer Series from mobile and desktop printer maker Brother Mobile Solutions prints barcode labels, tags, or receipts for supply chain applications in warehouses, manufacturing plants, and retail environments. To increase speed for small-to-midsize businesses and warehouses, the printer integrates with warehouse management systems and uses thermal imaging technology. […]
Four Tips for TMS Buyers – WSI
Shippers and intermediaries of all sizes can benefit greatly from the increased functionality and simplified processes offered by a transportation management system.
Help From Your Warehouse
Your warehouse and fulfillment operations—and the people, partners, and processes that make them run—have just gotten monumentally more important, because a series of convergent events are raising national supply chain costs at every touch. Let’s unpack the why. In the industrial and manufacturing sectors, added costs on materials and products impacted by ongoing trade friction […]
No Challenge Too Great – Milestone
Milestone’s mobile warehousing & storage solution enables a manufacturer to create an efficient distribution process with timely deliveries.
2019 YMS Guide
A yard management system (YMS) can provide significant benefits to your operation by managing shipments from the yard gate to the dock. A YMS provides real-time visibility into trailer locations and contents to drive efficiencies, improve decision-making, and reduce detention fees. An efficient YMS includes: Yard management. Directs trailers to a specific location in the […]
Saving More Than $38 Million In Less Than 24 Months – nVision Global
By utilizing nVision Global’s Impact TMS, a shipper saved more than $38 million by avoiding expedited freight costs and improving transportation planning.
VERTICAL FOCUS | Beauty Products
The latest news and trends impacting the beauty products supply chain.
Cutting Transportation Costs
Transportation market volatility stems from an inevitable pendulum swing between a buyer’s and a seller’s market. Here are some innovative ways to reduce transport costs.
Choosing a TMS: How to Make the Right Move
What features do you need? What benefits are you looking to gain? How much should you spend? Answering these questions while managing the implementation process prudently is crucial to selecting the right transportation management system for your organization.
Bringing Logistics In-House
Enterprises are facing either a perfect storm or a perfect opportunity in delivery, depending on how you look at it. With consumers demanding faster delivery, more flexibility and greater convenience, the fastest enterprises to adjust will be catapulted to the top of the pack. The statistics are clear – online e-commerce is growing over 6 […]
A Good Night’s Rest With Peace of Mind
Boll & Branch promises full comfort with zero chemicals.
Automating AP Processes Takes the Bottleneck out of Manufacturing Supply Chains
The manufacturing industry has its roots intertwined with one of the biggest advances in the history of modern civilization – the Industrial Revolution. The manufacturing process was dramatically transformed, seemingly overnight, from a labor intensive, manual process to one that utilized machines in order to exponentially increase the production of goods. More recently, the manufacturing […]
USMCA’s Impact on the Industrial Truck Industry
The United States Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) is critical to ensuring a robust North American economy. The agreement, signed by the respective country’s presidents on November 30, 2018, modernizes and enhances trade relations between the three countries and is now pending ratification by each country’s legislature. Passage is crucial to maintaining a healthy U.S. […]
GOOD QUESTION | What’s the first thing you would do to address the supply chain talent gap?
Cast a wider net. Recruit graduates with non-traditional degrees. Work with vocational schools to create two-year-degree supply chain programs. Perhaps even create near-shore supply chain centers of expertise.
Leon Spencer: Oil’s Well that Ends Well
A look inside the journey of a Thomas NextGen for Industry award winner.
The Impact of Technology on Trucking
Trucking companies and fleet managers must incorporate emergent tech and process innovations to stay relevant and retain their competitive edge.
Singularity: Shape-Shifting Self-Aware Supply Chains?
Recent AI advances indicate that self-aware, or cognitive supply chains, may be closer than we think.
Electric Truck Market Powers Up: 1.5 Million by 2025
The future looks bright for the electric truck market.
How Freight Agents Can Utilize Data To Grow Their Businesses – Landstar
No matter what technology freight agents consider investing in, or have access to through the transportation provider they work with, it should be as mobile as they are.
Industry 4.0 and the Agile Supply Chain: Materials Inventory Meets AI
Materials inventory is no small matter for manufacturing companies. Duplicate parts in your storeroom place a needless burden on your books, while depleted or inaccurate inventories threaten your supply chain with unexpected downtime when equipment fails. To top things off, managing inventory can become a headache for employees tasked with harmonizing or syncing data from […]
Tackling the Talent Gap From the Inside Out
To address the logistics talent gap, we need to put far more emphasis—and money—on sourcing future leaders from inside our companies.
Japan Tests Self-Driving Delivery System
A self-driving delivery system could be the key to helping areas in Japan hit by the 2011 Fukushima earthquake.
What to Look for in Real-Time Track & Trace – RateLinx
If you’re interested in real-time track and trace systems, here’s what you need to know.
CRM System Brings Ease of Use and Multimodal Benefits – DLS Worldwide
Customers want their processes to be simple and efficient. That’s where CRM systems come in.
Soy to the World
The longer the trade tensions between the United States and other countries persist, the more the U.S. agricultural industry needs to rally around containerized soybean shipping to overseas markets.
How to Leverage a 3PL’s Expertise with Packaged Applications
Using adaptable applications doesn’t force customers to fit into a single box, but rather creates a unique box for each customer.
Last-Mile Logistics: How Sellers Can Make It a Strength and Not a Setback
The last mile, defined as the movement of items from a transportation hub to the final delivery destination often residential, is often the most challenging, costly, and technologically deficient portion of the delivery process. But as more and more consumers use e-commerce to order and ship everything from medicine to artwork, the shipping and logistics […]
IT Gap? 3PLs Close the Loop
To help shippers meet technology needs and manage customer relationships, 3PLs come armed with solutions and expertise.
Integrating Multiple Data Sources in a TMS
Q: What are some of the data management challenges to expect in a transportation management system (TMS)? A:The most important thing is to decide what data you want/need, which trading partner has it, and how you will obtain it in a format that will be required for standardization of reporting and data mining. Typically, for […]
2019 Top 100 Logistics IT Providers
Inbound Logistics’ annual list of the top 100 companies offering effective IT solutions.
2019 Logistics IT Market Research Survey
What’s hot in logistics IT? Which innovations are taking hold?
Can You See Me Now?
New technologies including blockchain and IoT, as well as advances in existing tools such as RFID, are helping companies gain greater supply chain visibility.
On-Demand, One Package at a Time
From launching Silver Top Taxi service in the 1980s, which morphed into Silver Top Delivery, to running American Expediting today, Victor Finnegan puts his entrepreneurial spirit and business expertise to work to move thousands of packages a day, one delivery at a time.
Choose Your Own E-Venture
With e-commerce fulfillment as their endgame, retailers are making their move. From stepping up automation to strategically setting up DCs and integrating inventories, here’s how retailers chart a path to e-tail success.
Advanced Optimization Techniques For Enhanced Solutions – Hub Group
Hub Group’s technology improved efficiency in a leading retailer’s network, maximizing capacity in constrained markets.
Leading a Supply Chain With Dogged Determination
Matt Cantatore is chief operating officer of Ollie, a national service that sells healthful, high-quality pet food direct to consumers. Responsibilities: Oversight of day-to-day operations, including sourcing, supply chain management, fulfillment, logistics, and customer service. Also an executive team member responsible for recruiting, goal-setting, and managing the P&L. Experience: Director of operations, Blue Apron; analyst, […]
5 Insights to Industry 4.0
Nearly all middle market manufacturing executives are at least moderately familiar with Industry 4.0, according to BDO’s Middle Market Industry 4.0 Benchmarking Survey. But while more than half (54%) have either developed or are in the process of developing an Industry 4.0 strategy, only 5% are currently implementing one. Another 25% plan to develop an […]
Alaska: The Last Frontier
Successfully tapping into Alaska’s growth depends on the perseverance, innovation, efficiency, and resources of logistics providers whose experience has withstood the test of time and travel in this most extraordinary state.
Securing Truckload Capacity
2019 promises continued growth and above-average truckload demand. While there are no shortcuts to fixing the capacity gap, shippers can take steps to ensure their freight moves on time.
The World Wide Web Turns 30: Can the Supply Chain Emulate its Technological Feat?
This year, the World Wide Web celebrated its 30th birthday. In honor of the milestone, we take a look at some of the most fascinating parallels between what launched the Internets success and what the supply chain must do to fulfill the same ambitions.
Don’t Gamble With Trade Compliance
Recent trends in tariffs, enforcement, and e-commerce shipping complicate the international trade landscape. To avoid significant fines, businesses must learn to dot every i and cross every t in the compliance process. Even existing allowances and privileges are being threatened, challenged, or taken away from shippers who violate trade regulations, creating an immediate threat to profitability.
Technology Lifts Global Forklift Market
The global forklift truck market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecasted period of 2017-2024, according to Research and Markets’ latest report. Technological advancement to help improve forklifts where they are integrated with sensors and other components, growth in manufacturing industries and e-commerce, along with rising demand in the construction […]
China Turns Attention to Logistics
China is thinking logistics. To prioritize market growth, improve productivity, and reduce costs, the country plans to build 30 high-tech logistics hubs by 2020. By 2025, China predicts these hubs will include 150 devoted logistics facilities, according to China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Within the 127 cities qualified for the project, China will […]
New Freight Train Could Boost Cross-Border E-Commerce in China
China is taking new steps to improve cross-border e-commerce, adding a new route to its China-Europe freight train service. The freight’s maiden voyage was from Zhengzhou to Liege in Belgium. The service, the first of its kind to depart from the capital of central China’s Henan Province, operates under customs surveillance code 9610. China’s General […]
The Leader of the Pack
To meet e-commerce demand for quick deliveries, accessories company Randa finds a solution that enables it to pick, pack, and ship orders in less than two hours.
dexFreight Offers Early Bird Special
U.S. shippers, carriers, brokers, and forwarders interested in receiving exclusive access to early release versions of the dexFreight decentralized, blockchain-based logistics platform, can participate in the company’s Early Adopters Program. The dexFreight platform provides supply chain stakeholders with an efficient solution for transparent and secure transactions and collaborations. The Early Adopters Program will allow the […]
Why Talent Management Is Business-Critical
As traditional approaches to hiring and maintaining talent have gradually evolved, so has the importance of supporting and investing in people within a company. The results from a recent McKinsey Global Survey confirm the positive effects of talent management on business outcomes. According to respondents, organizations with effective talent management programs have a better chance […]
Planning for Unplanned Spend
2017 and 2018 saw an uptick in unplanned spending as companies struggled with new trucking regulations, brutal weather, and tariff changes. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have high expectations of suppliers, pushing them to comply with production requirements. But because life is unpredictable, suppliers may fall behind on component production. If suppliers don’t meet their deadlines, […]
Bernice Cannon: Shooting for an Optimized Supply Chain
Bernice Cannon is supply chain manager for Nouryon, a global specialty chemicals company, formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals. Responsibilities: Oversight of logistics and supply planning; liaison between the business and the production plant. Experience: Supply chain manager, North America, and customer service manager, both with AkzoNobel; account service manager, FMC Corporation; management trainee, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Education: […]
ERP Drives ROI
In the past, studies have shown a lack of success in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations. But those statistics may be out of date, according to a survey conducted by Mint Jutras and published by Ultra Consultants. Sixty-seven percent of manufacturers and distributors responding to the survey rate their ERP implementations as successful or very […]
The 8th M for Supply Chain Success
In the competitive world of business, every organization is seeking an edge—a catchy marketing phrase, an innovative product launch, improvements in efficiency and productivity—something to create a little separation to provide that illusive competitive advantage. Companies with a strong Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) program constantly use analytics to evaluate their processes to ensure maximum efficiency […]
Find and Fight Forced Labor
The following strategies can help shippers reduce their risk of unknowingly using forced labor in their supply chain, says Danny Shields, vice president of industry relations at risk management company Avetta: Warning signs: Determine if forced labor is part of your supply chain—at any level. Social media can help monitor what people say about your […]
No Light at End of Retail Tunnel
The decline of physical retail stores isn’t expected to slow down any time soon, finds a Coresight Research report. U.S. retailers have announced 2,187 closings to date in 2019, including 749 Gymboree stores, 251 Shopko stores, and 94 Charlotte Russe locations. Payless ShoeSource also is reported to be considering its second bankruptcy. Online retail growth, […]
GOOD QUESTION | What advice would you give someone just starting out in logistics/supply chain?
Ask every question you can. Figure out the "why" and not only will you learn more about the overall process, you’ll understand how a seemingly small change could create significant problems for someone else. Mary O’Connell Pricing Analyst Sunset Transportation Make what it means to be emotionally intelligent a priority and embrace the principles as […]
Let’s Get Digital
Transitioning to a cloud-based platform with real-time visibility and automation capabilities is crucial for retailers to maintain full control of their supply chains. Yet 85 percent of U.S. retailers haven’t digitized their supply chains, finds research from Gravity Supply Chain Solutions. Although only 15 percent of U.S. retail businesses have digitized their supply chains, 60 […]
AMH Equipment Gets a Lift
The Automated Material Handling (AMH) equipment market is expected to reach $53.59 billion by 2024, according to a Research and Markets report. One major motivator behind the market boost is a growing presence of start-up companies that employ robotic solutions for warehouse automation. The increasing popularity of AMH equipment among leading industries, significant recovery in […]