Disruptive Technologies Shake Up Supply Chains

When efficiency is the primary focus in integrated supply chain management, every little bit that helps to tighten both front- and back-end processes helps. Increasingly, companies in a variety of verticals are achieving such efficiencies by leaning on disruptive technologies. These envelope-pushing solutions could take the form of artificial intelligence used in automation software, robotics, […]

The Automotive Supply Chain: Disruption Down the Road

As electric and autonomous vehicles, and new business models shift into gear, automakers and their suppliers will need more than GPS to navigate the bumpy terrain.

Internal Audits: The Cornerstone of Compliance – A.N. Deringer

Internal audits are the cornerstone of your compliance program. Monitoring your performance, and that of your Customs broker, is the only way to determine if the policies and procedures you’ve put in place are effective. You may be asking yourself: How often do we do this? How do we do this? Who has time for […]

Footwear E-Tailers: Shoe Me The Money

E-commerce footwear sellers woo shoe shoppers with generous shipping and return policies designed to ensure a perfect fit.

What Can Humanitarian Supply Chains Learn from the Private Sector? – SCTL at the University of Washington

For-profit corporations have spent the past 20+ years optimizing their supply chains to provide superior customer service, improve responsiveness and cash flow and, ultimately, to boost profits. And a handful of stand-out enterprises like Amazon have actually altered expectations about the sort of results a best-in-class supply chain can deliver. Consumers, in both their personal […]

Dual Dynamics

If you are using a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for truck brokerage alone, you are leaving money on the table. I wrote that eight years ago, when commenting on the results of our annual 3PL market research. Why did I say that? Because logistics providers have evolved and developed an array of solutions that bring […]

Are You Ready for Omnichannel Retail?

An omnichannel retail strategy provides a consistent shopping experience across different channels and devices, requiring your supply chain to offer a smooth, positive experience for customers—no matter where and how they interact with your brand. Some supply chain challenges to address when dealing with an omnichannel retail strategy include: Supply chain visibility. Consumer expectations are […]

Safely Transporting Cold Chain Pharmaceutical Products – MD Logistics

Pharmaceuticals typically require special attention and handling throughout the supply chain. Consider the following attributes in a potential transportation provider.

What’s Driving Truck Regulation?

The trucking industry presents a rich example of the intersection between the public’s demand for safety and consumers’ demand for low-priced goods delivered when they want them. The essence of the trucking intersection is the presence of very large vehicles mixed among the very small vehicles motorists drive. Even the dumbest motorist knows that when […]

Fleet Operators Get No ELD Satisfaction

Slightly fewer than half of fleet operators responding to a Coretex Electronic Logging Device (ELD) satisfaction survey say the mandate is good for the transportation industry. Coretex surveyed 303 U.S. trucking companies of various sizes. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of responding companies say ELDs do not improve driver satisfaction, and 33 percent indicate it […]

Industrial Development Returns to the Rails

The United States’ inadequate supply of Class A industrial space located close to international shipping facilities adds complexity and cost to distribution networks. With sky-high land acquisition and development costs, and limited land availability around the busiest ports, companies are forced to scatter operations in several smaller facilities or pay premium prices for adequate space. […]

IoT: Where We Are, What Comes Next

The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to disrupt all industries, including the supply chain. While excitement around this disruptive technology is enticing, IoT still has a long way to go. Supply chain executives must be thoughtful and selective when it comes to investing in it. Let’s break down some benefits and drawbacks of IoT […]

The Future of Supply Chain Visibility – Freightgate

We are evolving to the point where we can share information between members of the supply chain, automate processes such as ordering, quotation and route optimization, and collaboratively work together to manage the exceptions.

Fresh Fish Shippers Breathe Easy

The world’s only approved airfreight oxygen delivery system will revolutionize live seafood transportation throughout continental Europe and the UK through an agreement between FloatPac, the owner of FishPac live seafood oxygen transport systems, and LipFish AS, based in Troms, Norway. Lipfish currently has its first 42 units on the water for delivery to Norway, with […]

Securing Capacity for Freight Moving In and Out of Mexico – Landstar

Shipping freight across the U.S.-Mexico border is a complex operation and requires a trusted, reliable logistics provider. With 80 percent of Mexico’s exports currently coming to the U.S., and with so many companies having their own Mexican entities for building or supplying components, the overall supply chain between the U.S. and Mexico has become very […]

Special Projects: Navigating Every Twist and Turn

Logistics professionals called on to execute an outside-the-box project need to think across dimensions and time zones while puzzling through every challenge.

Simplified Pricing Model Improves Efficiency and Cuts Costs – Celadon Logistics

When a customer needed help with an inefficient consolidation process, Celadon Logistics created a solution.

Finding Hidden Talent

Employers worldwide are facing the most acute talent shortage since 2006, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey. Of the nearly 40,000 employers surveyed, 45 percent are struggling to fill roles. Skilled trade workers, sales representatives, and engineers are the most difficult to find. MORE TO THE STORY: The 4 B’s of Finding Talent […]

An American in Paris: UPS Invests in France

UPS officially opened a new 30,000-square-meter, advanced technology package sorting and delivery hub outside Paris in Corbeil-Essonnes/Évry. The new facility, which employs nearly 1,000 people, facilitates cross-border trade and enhances package delivery service in the Île-de-France area. “This $100-million advanced technology facility spans four soccer fields,” says Nando Cesarone, president of UPS International. “And it’s […]

J&J Uses Sustainability to Strengthen Carrier Relationships

Shipper of choice and sustainability are trending terms among supply chain managers but they’re nothing new to the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in North America. The company’s logistics operation has a long track record of attracting carriers that share a commitment to customer service, efficiency, and sustainable transportation. With for-hire trucking capacity in […]

2018 Top 100 3PL Providers

It’s a boon year for third-party logistics providers offering innovative, flexible, and reliable solutions to meet shipper demands. Presented alphabetically, these are the 100 3PLs Inbound Logistics editors chose as the best of the best. Search the 3PL Decision Support Tool for an even deeper dive.

How an End-to-End Strategy Can Help You Overcome The Capacity Crunch – Unyson

The 2018 capacity crunch has created what many consider one of the most challenging markets we’ve ever seen. Today’s shrinking driver pool faces an upcoming wave of retirements and disinterested millennials, resulting in constrained truck availability. The ELD mandate has also impacted capacity, with restrictions on the amount of hours driven in a day leading […]

Managing Global Supply Chains: A Shore Bet

Should you offshore, nearshore, or reshore? It helps to understand how each model impacts the supply chain before you ante up.

Setting the Standard for Perishables

The air cargo community should drive its own standard for perishables, without waiting for other groups and agencies to establish them, according to Stavros Evangelakakis, global product manager, healthcare and perishables, for Cargolux and chairman of the Cool Chain Association (CCA). A lack of accountability is contributing to the 1.3 billion metric tons of food […]

Demand Segmentation Drives Forecast Accuracy, Customer Service Improvements

How companies are adopting demand segmentation and leveraging its benefits in tackling demand volatility and channel shifts is the subject of a new report, Demand Segmentation Users are Better Equipped to Manage Their Channel Challenges. Authored by Bryan Ball, vice president and group director, Aberdeen, and sponsored by Logility, the report examines how the ability […]

Recall Logistics: The Value of Information

Massive recalls—such as the contaminated romaine lettuce in summer 2018 that led to the deaths of five people—provide some lessons helpful to anyone facing a future recall. With any recall, the first step is alerting the public and removing any harmful product from store shelves and customers’ homes. Unlike the romaine lettuce recall, the majority […]

How to Choose a TMS – Fortigo

Q: What are some important things to consider when selecting a TMS solution? A: Deploying a Transportation Management System (TMS) can be complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. Fortunately, this does not need to be true, thanks to systems with a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model, which help you navigate the process of selecting and deploying a TMS […]

Getting Wise to Smart Ports

The nation’s ports are testing technologies and investing in infrastructure improvements to adapt to a world where the ultimate consumer increasingly embraces Amazon-like expectations.

Expertise, Strategic Warehousing Facilitates Unexpected Spike in Inbound Deliveries – Hollingsworth

Hollingsworth assisted a leading automotive manufacturer with an unexpected surge with strategic negotiations and savvy adjustments to inventory management.

Fulfillment Makeover Reveals A Glowing Supply Chain

Thanks to a new strategic fulfillment location and automation makeover, Rodan + Fields has skin in the social commerce game.

Managing Warehousing Requirements During Peak Periods (Without Committing to Long-term Contracts) – Capacity, LLC

Managing peak period shipment volume is a structural challenge in the U.S. economy. Those preoccupied with executing order fulfillment services spend much of the year thinking about and planning for it. The surge is a three- to four-month peak in first inbound, and then outbound shipments, with overlap. Shipments to retailers come first, followed by […]

A Blockchain Reality Check

Blockchain is the topic of the moment in supply chain. But what can it really do for supply chains today, and where can it take us tomorrow?

5 Ways to Mitigate High Freight Rates

Consistent economic growth in industries dependent on logistics has increased freight demand, creating more loads than available trucks. Spot market rates are up 25 to 35 percent over 2017, and analysts expect tight capacity and higher costs to continue into 2019. The main factors impacting the current freight market during this historic time include: Driver […]

Is Your 3PL Provider Causing You Headaches? Here is What to Look for in a 3PL Partnership – Ascent Global Logistics

It’s 2018, which means that shippers are looking for 3PLs to perform at higher levels than ever before. Because of various market conditions such as the driver shortage, record freight volumes, a volatile trade environment, and increasingly complex retailer delivery requirements, many 3PLs are only offering customers enhanced technology. While technological innovation is necessary, there […]

Thinking Beyond Home Delivery – SEKO Logistics

Consumer expectations are becoming increasingly demanding, and matching supply to demand is crucial for any successful supply chain. Speed is where it’s at—if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. As consumers become increasingly savvy online, companies are quickly learning the importance of being at the forefront of change. Providing consumers with all […]

Jack Buffington: Here for the Beer

Jack Buffington is supply chain leader with MillerCoors and professor at the University of Denver. Responsibilities: Oversees U.S. warehousing operations for MillerCoors. Developing a supply chain program and supply chain, materials science, and sustainability research projects for the University of Denver. Experience: Post-doctoral fellow, Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden; adjunct professor, University of Denver; […]

Admiral of the Fleet

In the early 1990s, John Burke worked for Northside Foods. “We offered redistribution services on a very small scale in the restaurant space,” he says. That meant bringing smaller-volume shipments into a consolidation center and then shipping mixed truckloads, with multiple SKUs, to customers’ distribution centers. MORE TO THE STORY: Try It All That simple […]

Why do you use a third-party logistics provider?

We use 3PLs in regions where it is too costly for us to perform services in-house at the service level we require. 3PLs tend to have more density in the regions we use them in, and they can leverage their other partnerships to give us the service level we need at the best possible cost. […]

Readers Choice: Top 10 3PL Excellence Awards 2018

From truckload capacity constraints to the intricacies of trade compliance, the global supply chain presents shippers with an ever-shifting set of logistics conundrums. That’s when they turn to the experts: third-party logistics (3PL) providers. MORE TO THE STORY: Ones to Watch About the Survey Respondents What Is More Important? In Their Own Words: A Sampling […]

Pork Processor Brings Home the Bacon

To ensure the path from pigs to people is the shortest possible, Smithfield Foods cooks up a sizzling supply chain.

Transplace TMS Causes Chemical Reaction

Transplace’s technology and expertise help Brenntag streamline operations and realize greater visibility.

Ports Too Busy to Worry About Trade Tensions

Despite trade tensions, port business in the United States and Asia is booming, reports the latest Global Kuehne + Nagel Indicators (gKNi). U.S. ports are experiencing increased container volumes, with heavy traffic in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York/New Jersey, according to real-time data collected by LogIndex, part of the Kuehne + Nagel Group. […]

The Bionic Warehouse Worker

IoT, Robotics, Machine Learning to Transform the Supply Chain

Transport and logistics businesses are investing in Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart technologies to help them take advantage of the wealth of opportunities the Fourth Industrial Revolution offers. The sector is prioritizing IoT, machine learning, and robotics to increase efficiencies across the supply chain, according to research data collected by Inmarsat, a provider of global […]

The Logistics Long(er) Run

The current expansion phase for U.S. industrial and logistics real estate appears poised to surpass the typical lifespan of an economic cycle due to demand from e-commerce companies, according to a new report from CBRE. U.S. economic cycles tend to run for seven to eight years. Yet the current expansionary cycle, which started in 2009, […]

People and Culture First, Strategy Second

Some years ago, Dan Curtis took a crash course in logistics operations. It started in 2002, when he joined Greatwide Logistics Services as vice president of finance. MORE TO THE STORY: Balancing Act “We were a very acquisitive company,” he explains. “I immediately began working on the mergers and acquisitions transactions we were pursuing.” In […]

News & Trends Impacting the CPG Supply Chain

What’s The Difference? CPG, or consumer packaged goods: merchandise that customers frequently use up and replace. Examples include food and beverages, cosmetics, and cleaning products. DG, or durable goods: merchandise that is not consumed or destroyed in use and is generally not replaced until the merchandise experiences a problem. Examples include cars, appliances, and furniture. […]

Put Me In, Coach! Next-Gen Leaders are Ready to Play

As next-gen supply chain professionals set their career goals, mentoring by seasoned professionals can help them up their game.

If you could speed the development of a supply chain-disrupting technology, what would it be and why?

Heavyweight drones that move ocean containers from a port to a distribution center within 50 miles are well into development. Once integrated into air traffic control systems, this technology becomes a game changer for road congestion and cost containment.

Chemical Logistics: The Price of Success

These are good times for chemical manufacturing in the United States. But an active market creates special challenges for companies that need to transport chemical products.

American Airlines Says Hola to Cuba Cargo Service

American Airlines becomes the first U.S. passenger carrier to begin cargo service to Cuba. The airline now offers mail service, including correspondence, parcels, and express mail, into and out of José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana, Cuba’s capital city and leading commercial center. Havana is American Airlines’ principal destination from the United States, with […]

Clarifying The Business Case For Green Supply Chain Management

For most companies, sustainability is not a simple case of “profits vs. planet” but a more subtle issue of people looking for jobs and inexpensive goods versus others who seek a pristine environment. Here’s how your supply chain can satisfy these conflicting motivations to achieve both economic growth and environmental sustainability.

GDPR: Privacy, Yes. Innovation, No

If you spend too much time clearing privacy protection notices from your email box, thank the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But what exactly is this regulation and how might it impact future supply chain technological innovation? GDPR is a new rule with the goal of protecting European Union residents’ personal data and adding privacy […]

Partnering for Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings – Transplace

Transplace helped a frozen pizza business expand its transportation network to increase operational efficiency and maximize financial savings.

Load and Expedite – Crane Worldwide Logistics

If you have spent any time in manufacturing logistics you can appreciate the classic problem of, ‘Load and Expedite.’ At Crane Worldwide Logistics®, we see the same thing all over the world with clients in nearly every industry. By not having adequate logistics visibility, setting proper tolerance levels and accurate production forecasting, companies are being […]

New Services and Solutions

These are the latest supply chain solutions and services you should know about.

Last-Mile Technology Needs a Radical Rethink

We need to stop viewing last-mile logistics as solely a delivery challenge. The broader challenge is ensuring processes and their supporting technologies work together to allow supply chains to meet the market’s insatiable appetite for faster, more precise deliveries. Supply chain management technology is boldly exploring sophisticated new developments such as driverless vehicles and the […]

4 Ways to Tell If Your Alcohol Carrier Knows the Hard Stuff

Transporting alcohol is a time- and temperature- sensitive move that requires superior logistics. Selecting a carrier that can meet the stringent requirements and provide value to a shipper’s business is crucial. To demonstrate they would be a good fit for your business, consider alcohol carriers that: Know the law. Every state has its own process […]

Combat Cargo: The Challenges of Military Logistics

Think you’re a project cargo master? If you really want to be all you can be, try moving difficult cargo into an area with terrible infrastructure and hostile combatants, something military logisticians do every day.

Choosing a TMS: What’s Your Endgame?

With so many choices available, shippers must truly understand what they want a Transportation Management System to accomplish in order to make the right selection.

Logistics Hot Spots: What it Takes to Make the List

With a combination of compelling traits, some places are particularly well suited to supply chain operations. Here are 8 characteristics that define a logistics hot spot.

Full-Service Fulfillment Solution Helps E-commerce Company Deliver – Saddle Creek

Saddle Creek helped allheart get orders out quickly, control costs, and keep up with demand spikes.

St. Louis: World-Class Multimodal Freight Network

Thanks to its strong global and fast-growing market, the St. Louis region is a leader in freight, setting records and gaining national and global significance.

Can You Handle the IoT Big Data Onslaught?

Supply chain managers (SCMs) recognize the potential benefits of big data platforms, leveraged and fed by the Internet of Things (IoT). Yet, the combination of IoT and real-time data collection creates an overwhelming data flow, threatening to drown organizations unprepared for the influx of that data. Companies need to understand their analytical goals and underlying […]