Backward vs. Forward Integration: Their Key Differences
When looking at backward vs forward integration, each offers unique advantages within supply chains.
How to Become an Employer of Choice
While millions of federal dollars are being poured into rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector, top talent is tough to find and keep.
The Power of Regionalizing Inventory
Regionalizing inventory and spreading stock across multiple locations near consumers can help mitigate rising shipping costs, expedite delivery, and drive a better consumer experience.
Wholesale Distributors Put AI to Work
Looming above all the day-to-day business pressures that wholesale distributors face is one overarching strategic imperative: Find ways to grow profitably—without increasing staffing levels. To meet that challenge, companies must attack it from multiple angles.
What’s the Word? The Language of Logistics
What are the components of supply chain diversification? What’s the difference between GenAI and general artificial intelligence? Here are explanations of some oft-used but not often well-defined supply chain terms.
Supply Chain Metrics: Definition, Types, and Importance
Supply chain metrics critically enhance logistics and shipping operations by providing precise, actionable data to streamline processes and optimize efficiency. These key metrics, from inventory turnover to freight cost analysis, empower businesses to make informed decisions that improve overall supply chain performance.
Cold Chain Logistics: Definition, Industries, and Elements
Cold chain logistics is important in maintaining the quality and safety of temperature-sensitive products. By understanding and implementing the key elements of cold chain logistics, businesses can ensure that their products remain safe and effective throughout the supply chain.
How to Build a Sustainable Supply Chain
Climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality are pressing issues, making sustainable supply chains increasingly important. By adopting sustainable practices, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint, conserve natural resources and promote social equity while cutting costs through improved efficiency and reduced waste.
Increasing Efficiency with Third-Party Transportation
Working with 3PLs can bring challenges, including coordination issues and the need for precise planning and execution. Technology solutions can overcome these obstacles by enhancing coordination between stakeholders.
6 Steps to Diversify Your Carrier Portfolio
2023 was one of the most disruptive years in supply chain history… except that it really wasn’t. Even with the UPS/Teamsters negotiations, Convoy unexpectedly going out of business, and Yellow declaring bankruptcy—to name just a few—this level of supply chain disruption is starting to feel like Life.
4 Ways AI Provides Meaningful Impact
In transportation and logistics, the basis for impactful utilization of the full scope of AI capabilities lies with access to and understanding of data, which often is trapped in paper and manual processes.
IN BRIEF: New Services and Solutions
Gather AI, a provider of computer vision-based artificial intelligence solutions for warehouse inventory monitoring, launched two new capabilities: inferred case counting and location occupancy. The capabilities enable warehouses to get automated, digitized counts and location utilization reports.
Interview with RXO CEO: Building Solutions and Relationships
Through innovation, valuable internal and external relationships, quality service, and technology, Drew Wilkerson helps keep customer supply chains moving, even during tough times.
NOTED: Supply Chain Highlights
Premier Trailer Leasing launched a new human trafficking awareness campaign that addresses the signs of human trafficking and how to report it.
Sealing the Deal: The Art of Balanced Shipper-Carrier Contracts
When shippers and carriers understand each other’s priorities, they can more effectively craft contracts that ensure handshake harmony for everyone.
What Supply Chain Practice or Belief Would You Declare Dead ?
Is just-in-time no more? Time to put globalization norms to rest? Our readers share the supply chain practices that should be deemed defunct and the strategies that are approaching obsolescence.
Inventory Tracking Solution a High-Flying Success
The meteoric rise of On, a Swiss sportswear brand, started with a shoe. But not just any shoe. The company’s signature product, with its unique cushioning system and distinctive sole design, has attracted serious runners and casual wearers around the world. Since launching its premium footwear line 14 years ago, On has expanded offerings to include apparel and accessories.
Sorting Out Automation Needs: Finding the Ideal Partner and the Right Fit
Engineering Innovation CEO Don Caddy clears up misconceptions about automated sorting systems and reveals that finding the ideal fit for your sorting needs goes beyond the sorting function. Here’s how to get started on the selection process.
Greg Skrovan: Doing What’s Good for Intel and for the Environment
RESPONSIBILITIES: Leads the global organization responsible for warranty and reverse logistics strategy, service delivery, customer service and fraud mitigation for all Intel products, as well as more than $1 billion in returns. Oversees management of more than 15 3PL return depots and repair centers. EXPERIENCE: Global program director, circular economy, supply chain innovation and business […]
Modernizing U.S. Infrastructure
In a strategic effort to invigorate the foundation of the nation’s supply chain, President Biden’s 2025 fiscal year budget initiative marks a substantial commitment to modernizing U.S. supply chain infrastructure. By prioritizing the enhancement of highways and ports, this initiative directly tackles longstanding infrastructure challenges.
On Track for Major Savings: How RSI Logistics Helps Rail Shippers
Using a multi-faceted approach that involves data analytics and seamless communication, RSI Logistics secured 30% in savings for its clients through successful demurrage disputes.
From Dynamic Updates to AI: How Tech Turbocharges Last-Mile Delivery
Gone are the days of consumers gazing out the window waiting for a delivery to show up. Tech innovations make it faster and cheaper for shippers to deliver their products to the doorstep, while enhancing the customer experience.
Retail Inventory Management: Definition, Importance, and Key Components
Effective retail inventory management is crucial for the success of the retail and logistics sectors. By adopting automated inventory systems, demand forecasting, and supplier relationship management strategies, businesses can maintain optimal inventory levels and improve their inventory turnover ratio.
Chemical Warehousing: Definition, Types, and Safety
Understanding the complexities of chemical warehousing is crucial for ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. Effective chemical storage solutions help manage diverse chemical properties and mitigate physical hazards.
Looking to Scale & Flex Your Supply Chain? 3PLs Don’t Toy Around
When you’re ready to play, 3PLs are the hit of the day, making sure supply chains stay scalable, flexible, and resilient.
Medical Warehousing: What It Is, Challenges, and Best Practices
Medical warehousing is vital in healthcare logistics, securing the safe and efficient storage and distribution of critical medical supplies. Facilities dedicated to medical warehousing manage everything from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, ensuring these items retain their integrity from the warehouse to delivery. Effective management in these warehouses is essential for maintaining product safety and supporting […]
Inventory Turnover Ratio: What It Is, How to Calculate and Significance
Understanding the inventory turnover ratio provides invaluable insights into a company’s operational efficiency and financial health. It measures how often a business sells and replaces its stock within a given period, offering a clear snapshot of inventory management efficiency. An optimal inventory turnover ratio measures indicates a company sells goods quickly, suggesting strong customer demand […]
Partnering with Customers and Leveraging Data to Boost Health
In May 2023, Kenvue, the company behind iconic brands such as Tylenol and Listerine, spun off from Johnson & Johnson, becoming the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by revenue. The spinoff also meant Kenvue’s leadership team had to establish strong supply chain operations as a consumer goods company, rather than as part of a pharmaceutical firm.
American Standard: Flushed With Success
As a leading North American brand, American Standard has been offering innovative products for more than 150 years. One of its products—the humble but essential toilet—is practically synonymous with the company name.
The World Keeps Changing. When Change Happens, Logistics Plus Delivers.
Working behind the scenes, Logistics Plus, Inc. continues to help businesses address a constantly changing world filled with all-too-frequent supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions.
Synching Up for Demand-Driven Supply Chains
A demand-driven supply chain can help organizations glide through the choppy waters of today’s business challenges. It takes close collaboration and teamwork across the entire value chain to get there.
10 Tips for Shipping by Rail
Shipping by rail is a cost-effective and carbon-friendly way to move large volumes over long distances. However, managing rail shipments requires careful planning, coordination, and attention to detail. Here’s how to manage rail shipments effectively.
Is Your Enterprise Flexible Enough To Scale?
Scalability is important. In this annual Third-Party Logistics edition, you will find partners and resources to ensure your enterprise is flexible enough to scale.
How to Develop an Agile Supply Chain
Businesses need to prioritize building supply chain strategies that can effectively navigate today’s increasingly volatile environment marked by supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and ever-changing consumer demands. Agility, resilience, and outside-the-box thinking have become critical to protect the customer experience—and the bottom line.
2024 Inbound Logistics Perspectives 3PL Market Research Report
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers are adapting to tougher-than-usual times these days. The industry has seen revenues fall, and demand for 3PL services isn’t growing at the pace we’ve seen in recent years. Also unfolding: Challenges such as inflation, high taxes, and government regulation increase costs for 3PLs. Those are some of the insights that uncoil […]
Top 10 3PLs: Readers’ Choice Excellence Awards
The votes are in. It’s no stretch to say these third-party logistics providers rule when it comes to customer service and responsiveness.
3PL Partner Is Instrumental in Guitar Amp Maker’s Growth
For an American boutique guitar amplifier manufacturer with less than 20 employees, the usual shipping route from Southern California to Japan typically involves enlisting a distributor for execution.
Watch as Inbound Logistics Reveals the Top 10 3PLs of 2024
Inbound Logistics’ highly anticipated 2024 Top 10 3PLs Readers’ Choice Excellence Awards list is here! The prestigious Top 10 3PLs are selected by reader voting—and this year, we received more than 12,500 votes on our platform. Readers cast ballots for their favorite 3PLs based on a high degree of satisfaction with service, cost, and technology […]
What is Inventory? Definition, Types, and Challenges
Effective inventory control and management ensure that companies can meet customer demand efficiently while maintaining optimal inventory levels.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
When a construction materials company realized that transporting a massive rock crusher for repairs would put them between a rock and a hard place, it knew who to call: Landstar.
2024 State of the Supply Chain Labor Market
Over the past 28 years, MD Logistics has hired individuals who embrace and create its culture. The 3PL remains poised to use new technologies to find the best cultural fit for the organization.
How to Build Decades-Long Partnerships in a Dynamic Supply Chain Industry
Discover how Comprehensive Logistics can revolutionize your supply chain with cutting-edge 3PL solutions that foster long-term global customer relationships.
Overcoming Global Uncertainty and Wide-Ranging Supply Chain Challenges
Q. What does the future hold for domestic and global freight incoming to the United States? A. Since no one has a crystal ball, the surest way to look forward is to track the nuances in the global market. The economic recovery post-pandemic is expected to continue pushing the global freight market. We are starting […]
CtrlChain Launches Advanced Connectivity Feature for Shippers and Carriers
CtrlChain, a pioneer in logistics and transportation management, continues to revolutionize the industry by enhancing logistics process visibility and transparency even further for shippers and carriers. CtrlChain has been focusing on advancing its offerings to make carriers’ lives even easier. Now, transport planners can easily provide live updates to their customers, from pick-up to arrival […]
Fast Fashion Forward: Apex Logistics Streamlines Global Shipping In Style
Thanks to its partnership with Apex Logistics, a fashion and accessories distributor delivers transportation visibility and cost-effectiveness to its garment and accessories customers.
Convergint Technologies Ensures Safe Shipping with EchoInsure+
Security solutions firm Convergint found peace of mind with Echo Global Logistics’ supplemental cargo insurance offering EchoInsure+. Through an expedited claims process with faster resolution, Echo made shipping Convergint’s high-value freight stress-free.
4 Types of Pallets and Their Uses
Understanding and selecting the correct type of pallet—considering factors like load capacity, compatibility with goods and handling equipment, cost-effectiveness, and compliance with international standards—is vital for optimizing operational efficiency and ensuring safe, compliant transport of goods.
What Grade Would You Give Brands on Reverse Logistics Operations?
I would give a range of grades from A to F for how brands are handling reverse logistics. There is still a lot of variation in this area—from consumer spending to B2B direct spend. A stellar reverse logistics program can lower the bar to buy. It’s so much easier to make a purchase decision when you know you can send the product back if needed, with no hassle. This is an area for improvement.
–Doug DeLuca
Product Marketing Manager
SAP Business Network, SAP
Tips for Closing the Visibility Gap
With modern supply chains being so intricate and involving numerous stakeholders, maintaining full visibility is becoming increasingly challenging. However, many businesses operate with fragmented and legacy systems where data lives in different silos and across different platforms. This lack of integration makes it difficult to track and monitor the entire supply chain in real time.
Taking a Shine to Lab-Grown Diamonds
Marketed as an eco-friendly alternative to mined diamonds and offering more transparency, lab-grown diamonds are disrupting gemstone supply chains. Here’s some clarity:
Readying the Supply Chain Workforce
Educators reveal how they’re preparing future supply chain management professionals for growing complexity and advancing technology.
Securing an Unmatched, Fully Streamlined Solution
A private equity firm engaged Hub Group to evaluate its supply chain network and improve operational efficiencies for one of its prominent CPG companies. Hub Group delivered an end-to-end solution.
Micro Warehousing: Definition, Trends, and Benefits
Micro warehousing presents both advantages and challenges. Its benefits include faster delivery, reduced shipping costs, and improved customer satisfaction. However, it also involves higher operational costs and increased complexity in inventory management.
Manufacturers Are Optimistic; Truck Drivers Want Better Pay and Equipment; and Other Supply Chain News
Takeaways that are shaping the global supply chain.
EV Battery Investments Surge; Other Clean Energy News
DHL Group is expanding its charging infrastructure for electric trucks, thanks to a partnership with energy provider E.ON. The contract calls for E.ON to establish fast-charging infrastructure at DHL Group distribution centers. DHL service partners will also have access to the new charging infrastructure.
Are We Ready for Fully Digital BoLs?
While the advantages of electronic bills of lading (eBoLs) are clear, several hurdles—complex implementation, legal concerns, and a reluctance to let go of established processes—hamper its adoption.
What Can Rail Shippers Expect?
The rail industry finds itself at a critical juncture, poised for transformative progress that extends well beyond individual companies. Building on the progress freight rail companies made in 2023, this year holds the promise of a secure future marked by reliability, resilience, and commitment to sustainability.
Are Supply Chain Managers Running the Company?
Supply chain managers are playing a greater role in directing company operations and creating shared enterprise value as silos between suppliers and customers start to come down. Technology plays a part in opening those pathways because it cuts across company barriers. Third-party logistics (3PL) providers promise to do the same by cutting across inter-company barriers […]
Revolutionizing Local Delivery: The Future of Multi-Store Order Fulfillment
Implementing new shipper types for business deliveries, optimizing capacity, and adopting an income model based on stops are key strategies in reshaping last-mile delivery services.
A Supply Chain With Beauty and Brains
While selling beauty products may seem like a straightforward endeavor, “When you talk about cosmetics, it’s a world of complexity,” says Germán Ricardo Rodríguez Parra, operations strategic planning senior manager, supply chain, for Latin American direct-sales beauty firm Belcorp.
Hawaii Logistics: Shoring Up Supply Chains
The Aloha State offers a stunning location and presents unique challenges for shippers. Here’s how top logistics companies ensure smooth sailing—and seamless air and ground movement—for cargo.
Supply Chains Stabilize, But Risks Ahead
In 2023, it seemed like the supply chain was finally starting to calm down from the turmoil and instability that the pandemic set in motion. But storm clouds are appearing on the horizon, and manufacturers and distributors should pay close attention to them.
NOTED: Supply Chain Highlights
GOOD WORKS: DHL Group expanded its GoHelp program to Europe due to the growing number of recent catastrophes. With the launch of GoHelp Europe, the program now covers all global disaster hotspots.
Logistics vs. Transportation: Their Key Differences
Understanding logistics vs transportation is crucial for anyone involved in supply chain management and commercial shipping. These terms, while often used interchangeably, have distinct meanings and roles. Logistics involves the planning and coordination of transportation and distribution services, managing the supply chain, and ensuring efficient transportation of goods. Transportation, on the other hand, focuses on […]
Artificial Intelligence in Supply Chain Management: What’s One Human Capability AI Can’t Match?
Are there limits to what artificial intelligence can achieve in supply chain management? Readers share the uniquely human skills that AI can’t yet (or ever?) replicate.
IN BRIEF: New Services and Solutions
Aloha Marine Lines, part of the Lynden family of companies, added a new barge to its fleet to serve customers in the Seattle to Hawaii trade lane. Constructed at Gunderson Marine & Iron in Portland, Oregon, the Makani Loa joins the Kamakani and Namakani—all Makani Class barges that serve Aloha Marine Lines’ bi-weekly barge service between Seattle and Hawaii. The Makani Class barges are fitted with high binwalls which help to keep freight secure while minimizing the amount of lashing needed.
FCL: Meaning, Importance, and Key Characteristics
Understanding FCL meaning and its significance in commercial shipping and logistics is essential for businesses engaged in international trade. By opting for FCL, businesses can enjoy cost savings, reduced handling, and greater control over their shipments.
Circular Supply Chains Go Round and Round
Circular supply chains can be resilient and sustainable, and can help meet growing demand for environmentally friendly products. But shifting from linear to circular supply chains requires intense research to determine how best to reuse many materials, implement new technology and processes, optimize returned goods, and educate suppliers and customers on circularity’s challenges and benefits.
Port Houston’s People Person
John Moseley dreams big, champions diversity, relies on constant communication, and touts relationship management as his superpower.
Chemical Logistics: Providers Fuel Innovations
In response to the challenges ahead, chemical logistics providers are moving forward with innovative approaches and substantive solutions.
10 Tips for De-Risking Your Supply Chain
The supply chain can be impacted by everything from weather to infrastructure, so creating diversified, resilient networks has become essential. Here’s how to navigate uncertainties, enhance flexibility, and fortify supply networks against disruptions.
Container Chassis: What It Is, Types, and Role in Shipping Operations
Efficient cargo transportation is very important in commercial shipping and logistics. The container chassis, which is essential in transporting containerized goods, is at the heart of this process. In this guide, we will discuss container chassis, offering a comprehensive overview of their significance and usage in commercial shipping. Understanding Container Chassis Container chassis are specialized […]
Assembly Line: Definition, History, and Advantages
Assembly lines are the backbone of modern manufacturing, revolutionizing how we produce everything from cars to consumer electronics. Why is and why was the assembly line important? They enable manufacturers to assemble complex products efficiently, drastically transforming traditional production methods. By systematically adding parts at successive stations, these lines optimize time and labor, making large-scale […]
Retail Logistics: Definition, Challenges, and Best Practices
Efficient retail logistics is crucial for the success of the retail industry, ensuring that the supply chain runs smoothly and meets customer demand.
4 Types of Inventory
Understanding the various types of inventory is crucial for effective inventory management. The four basic types – raw materials, work in progress, finished goods, and MRO inventory – form the foundation of most inventory systems. Managing these efficiently ensures a smooth production process and reduces costs.
Selecting a Consolidation and Fulfillment Partner to Navigate a Tough Landscape
With the many moving parts of the supply chain, it is crucial to form a partnership with the right consolidation and fulfillment partner—especially during times of challenge in the marketplace.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Visibility and Tracking Solutions
Check out some of the latest and greatest visibility and tracking solutions.
3 Ways to Update Your Hiring Strategy
Lingering and new disruptions to the supply chain make it difficult for employers to determine their staffing needs at any given time. Despite these headwinds, employers can use staffing strategies to better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions.
Total Cost of Ownership: Definition, How to Calculate, and Benefits
Understanding the total cost of ownership (TCO) is crucial for businesses in commercial shipping and logistics. It’s more than just the initial purchase price; TCO encompasses all costs incurred over a product’s lifecycle, including direct and indirect costs, operating costs, and maintenance expenses. In the logistics sector, accurately calculating TCO helps businesses assess the full […]
What is Urban Logistics? Definition, Challenges, and Strategies
Did you ever wonder how your online order reaches your doorstep so quickly in a bustling city? Urban logistics, the backbone of city logistics and supply chain management, holds the answer. It’s a critical component in modern urban planning, ensuring smooth delivery operations in densely populated city centers. In urban areas, optimizing logistics operations is […]
LTL Shipping: What It Is, Key Features, and Advantages
By leveraging LTL shipping and staying abreast of industry innovations, businesses can maintain a competitive edge in the global logistics market.
Bill of Lading vs. Packing Slip: Their Key Differences
In shipping and logistics, it’s crucial to distinguish between a bill of lading and a packing slip. This article examines the differences.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Ready, Set Up, Go for Logistics Gold
How do you tackle logistics of Olympic proportions? Official logistics partner CMA CGM Group is preparing to go the distance.
The Indispensable Edge: TMS Empowers Shippers in a Competitive Landscape
Stop pushing boxes. For companies looking to get ahead, a Transportation Management System (TMS) is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. Leading TMS providers offer solutions and innovations to propel shippers toward efficiency, cost reduction, and superior service delivery.
Solving Problems, Improving Processes
Amy Augustine is senior director of network supply chain with UScellular, the fourth-largest U.S. full-service wireless carrier.
4 Types of Material Handling Equipment
Storage and handling equipment plays a crucial role in warehousing for categorizing and storing products, which supports efficient operations. Read on to understand the four major types of storage and handling equipment.
Today’s Pallets: Leaders of the Stack
Market changes highlight the need for a strategic approach to pallet management. With innovative product and service option developments, pallet providers deliver on a wide range of customer demands.
Blockchain in Logistics: Definition, Role in Logistics, and Benefits
Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the logistics industry, promising enhanced transparency, efficiency, and security in supply chain operations. Blockchain in logistics ensures that all parties involved have access to validated, immutable records, thus reducing errors and increasing transparency. The blockchain technology market in the transportation and logistics industry is estimated to increase by USD 2.23 billion, […]
Nearshoring: Partners Lead the Way in Mexico
Establishing operations in Mexico can streamline and shorten your supply chain. These companies can help you reap the benefits and overcome the challenges of nearshoring.
Supply Chain vs. Procurement: Key Differences Explained
There are critical roles and differences between supply chain and procurement within the commercial shipping industry. Understanding these functions is vital for managing operations efficiently and ensuring organizational success.
3 Keys to Strengthen Safety
Safety is a top priority for any supply chain organization, and communication is paramount to safe operations. Here are three ways that effective communication can mitigate operational risks and strengthen safety across the supply chain.
Outbound Logistics: Definition, Key Components, Benefits
Logistics is like the invisible glue that holds businesses together. It’s how companies move and manage goods from one place to another. Imagine a puzzle where each piece is a part of the supply chain, and logistics fits them together. Outbound logistics is a significant part of this puzzle. It’s all about getting products from […]
What is a Counterbalance Forklift? Definition, Types, and Uses
Counterbalance forklifts are vital machines in commercial shipping, offering versatility and efficiency in handling heavy loads. Whether using an electric forklift for indoor applications or a diesel-powered model for outdoor tasks, these forklifts are designed to meet various operational needs.
LCL: Meaning, Benefits, and Booking Process
Less than Container Load (LCL) is essential for global logistics, providing cost-effective and flexible shipping options for businesses with smaller cargo volumes.
Operating Regenerative Supply Chains; Tech That Attracts Workers; Cargo Theft on the Rise; and Other News
From weighing decisions that offer quick wins against those aimed at long-term gains to coping with workforce shortages, here are the latest issues and developments affecting supply chain managers.
Reclassifying Marijuana Impacts Road Safety
Rescheduling marijuana without explicit provisions for continued drug testing could compromise road safety. The ATA weighs in on the proposed deregulation.
Optimizing Warehouse Efficiency
Tremendous growth in warehousing and related industries in the past decade brings real challenges—inexperienced labor, safety concerns, and squeezing productivity out of limited space. The right strategies and technology can meet these challenges.
WES for Success: Preparing Your Operations for Success in an Ecommerce World
Ensuring your fulfillment center overcomes ecommerce challenges starts with an effective pick, pack, and ship strategy, supported by a robust warehouse execution system that enables continuous processing.
Logistics vs. Distribution: Their Key Similarities and Differences
Distribution and logistics are integral aspects of supply chain management, yet it’s important to recognize that these terms aren’t interchangeable. While both oversee the movement of goods within the supply chain, they possess distinct meanings. Contrasting distribution with logistics offers a valuable opportunity to grasp their unique definitions and disparities. Businesses need to discern between […]
From Earnings to Ergonomics: Optimizing Warehouse Labor
As warehouse labor plays hard to get, organizations turn to a growing range of tools and technologies to support worker safety, boost their productivity, and make their jobs easier, more efficient, and even more enjoyable.