Setting Your Sites
Identifying and evaluating new sites is not about finding the cheapest place; it’s about locating where you can serve customers most effectively, manage inbound flows and inventory most efficiently, and keep costs competitive. Ready for some site seeing? Read on.
Fred Walker: Logistics at the Speed of Life
In his first job after high school, at a Sears Roebuck catalog warehouse, Fred Walker spent his days on roller skates. “We used to skate into a huge elevator to get to the building’s various floors,” recalls Walker. “We picked items, took them back to our tables, and packed them for shipping.” The eight-story building […]
The Three Sides of SCE Implementation
In part one of this two-part article (April 2005), we explored relationship building among partners in a Supply Chain Execution (SCE) software implementation. The players in that successful SCE implementation included: Major Brands, an alcoholic beverage distributor that sought an SCE system to cut costs by improving inbound and outbound shipment processing, and refining picking […]
Getting a Leg Up on Logistics
Leg Avenue jumps feet first into demand forecasting and warehouse management systems to meet demand for its provocative Halloween costumes.
Premium Freight: Costly Expense or Strategic Initiative?
Today’s lean manufacturing environment, shaped by just-in-time stocking and razor-thin margins, has made the use of premium freight a daily reality for manufacturers. Though once used only on occasion to protect plants, shipping goods via premium freight is now a regular occurrence. While this shipping method can be expensive, manufacturers that incorporate premium freight as […]
Negotiating With Railroads
How can you get the best bang for your buck when negotiating with railroads to ship your products? Following a systematic approach and developing a list of priorities helps ensure good rail service at a good price, according to Todd Hoyt, director of business development, supply chain services, BNSF Logistics. 1. Prepare a history. Before […]
Automate, Optimize, Audit for Smart Supply Chains
While politicians argue about the domestic effects of outsourcing manufacturing operations, logistics professionals know the practice only increases our responsibilities. The frenetic pace of global trade, coupled with the impact of outsourced manufacturing around the world, has transformed delivery of products into a complex engineering task that is quickly creating new jobs. Academia is already […]
Time to Deliver the Donuts
Installing creme-of-the-crop technology helps a Dunkin’ Donuts regional distribution center brew up transportation and delivery efficiencies.
Stick to the Core When Playing IT Pong
Do any of you old-timers recall the first Atari video game, Pong? It was the only video game in the world back then. You just hit a video puck back and forth, forth and back, no matter how long you played it. One reader told us that evaluating the myriad logistics IT choices sometimes feels […]
Transportation Transformed!
How seven companies of all shapes, industries, and sizes, transformed their transportation and logistics operations through the use of technology.
Managing Inside and Outside the Box
Increasingly, businesses rely on technology to improve efficiency, accelerate flows, reduce costs, and create more effective communication among all channel partners involved in distribution. From integrated WMS and TMS solutions to web-based systems, technology has helped turned the four walls inside-out.
When the Customer is King
Customer relationship management (CRM) helps companies maximize the value of every customer interaction and drive superior corporate performance. And the value of CRM grows considerably when it is tightly integrated with supply chain functionality. A “customer is king” approach is replacing the factory-based push supply chains of the 20th century.
Ken Bailey: Logistics Fun-damentals
“Selling fun” is the main priority at Leisure Bay Industries, says Ken Bailey, the company’s vice president of operations. Since 1998, Bailey has been in charge of moving the furniture of fun—above-ground pools, portable spas, billiard tables, tanning beds, gas grills, and patio furniture—from Leisure Bay’s Orlando, Fla., distribution center into retail outlets. Those include […]
Plugging Cargo Liability Leaks
Q: I own a fleet of tank containers. A customer recently used one of my tanks for a shipment of concentrated juice. During transit, the tank developed a leak and a significant amount of concentrate was lost. The customer filed a claim against me, but my insurance company—which covers my cargo liability—says I may not […]
Collaborate for All-Star SCE Implementation
Building relationships among partners in a Supply Chain Execution (SCE) software implementation is like getting an all-star team to work together. Each player can be great, but it is the combined teamwork that makes the difference when the game begins. To achieve success, roles and objectives have to be clearly defined, and teams must work […]
Cutting out the Middleman
Finding third-party middleware an ill fit, chemical coatings manufacturer Colorcon selects software for remote data collection devices that tightly integrates with its Oracle system.
8 Steps to Protecting Against Parcel Fraud
Parcel fraud is currently one of the most disregarded crimes in American business. But with an estimated $400 billion in losses per year due to employee theft, parcel fraud should not be overlooked. The most obvious type of parcel fraud occurs in the workplace, with crimes ranging from the seemingly harmless—shipping personal packages on a […]
Have ERP, Have Inventory Control? Not Necessarily
Here are five reasons companies often lose control of inventory despite having an updated ERP system—and five solutions for regaining that control.
Air Freight Needs New Business, Fresh Thinking
Let’s tear our eyes away from China. During the past decade, the China market’s enormous growth has hypnotized the airfreight industry. The vast scope and volume of goods winging their way across the Pacific has blinded many in air cargo to negative trends elsewhere. Almost all of air cargo’s other international lane segments—Europe, Latin America, […]
Shippers Make Tracks to Rail
A CSX-GATX joint initiative helpsbulk liquid shippers realize economies of rail.
Flying Under the Global Radar
Earlier this month, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer completed the first round-the-world flight in 67 hours, two minutes, and 38 seconds. Four days later, and to considerably less fanfare but arguably greater importance, Boeing’s 777-200 LR Worldliner, the longest-range commercial airplane in the world, completed a three-hour test flight from Everett, Wash., to […]
Raising the Steaks
A meat processor beefs up operations with new technology and a warehouse redesign.
Small Companies Take on the World
These days it seems if you’re not global, you’re missing all the action. Small- to mid-sized companies without the resources of mega brands face an uphill battle. Or do they? Here’s how undersized companies use savvy supply chain strategies to stand out and compete with the big boys in the global marketplace.
Protecting Your Cargo: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Each year cargo theft takes a major toll on companies that transport goods, with estimated losses totalling more than $15 billion annually—and rising. Advanced technologies and anti-theft devices now on the market help companies maintain the integrity of freight in transit. Here’s a look at the products that can protect your cargo.
Switzerland Banks on Logistics
With a dense transportation infrastructure, financial stability, and a favorable corporate tax structure, Switzerland is quickly becoming a stepping-stone for global businesses targeting new markets.
Wayne Thompson: Different Spokes
The path to Wayne Thompson’s logistics success began in the jungle. Fresh out of college, he took a job conducting helicopter surveys for a mining firm. As project manager, Thompson directed the movement of equipment in and out of field locations in Africa, Asia, and South America, handling documentation and arranging security clearances. When the […]
RFID: Setting the Standards
Anyone who thinks RFID and all it entails will quietly fade away is going to be terribly disappointed. Any new technology or strategy operates like a dog preparing to lie down—it goes in circles. First we circled around Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense mandates. Now we are circling around establishing standards for the RFID […]
Bid Farewell to 12 Cents On the Dollar
An online trading platform for liquidating and sourcing electronic components has laser manufacturer beaming with delight.
5 Best Practices to Boost Import Efficiency
In today’s heightened security environment, where cargo entering the United States faces ever-increasing scrutiny, importers must tackle many challenges to keep goods flowing through international trade. The complexity of moving commerce in a safe, quick, efficient, and compliant manner is frequently overlooked. The processes behind importing often cause confusion and frustration for all parties involved, […]
Can Collaboration Cure the Capacity Crunch?
Today’s capacity crisis is a perfect storm of volume limitations spanning three major modes of transportation: truck, rail, and ocean. Driver pay and work/life balance are key issues affecting capacity in the trucking industry. The industry is losing drivers to careers with higher pay and more attractive lifestyles. Carriers today are also more disciplined about […]
Keeping an Eye on RFID Challenges
In The Prince, savvy politician Machiavelli asserts, “there is nothing more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than taking the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” That 16th-century admonition should serve as warning to those who espouse the advancement of RFID. The swirling hype, promises of opportunity, and […]
Getting a Handle on Enterprise Resource Planning
A small business ERP system from American Express helps handbag retailer Yak Pak pack a punch with customers, retailers,suppliers, and employees.
Power to Our People
Have you seen Wal-Mart’s new supply chain commercial yet? It’s exciting for this industry because it builds on what UPS started with its “What can Brown do for you?” ad campaign: an attempt to make consumers more aware of the complex logistics behind everyday purchases. The commercial starts with a two-liter bottle of ginger ale […]
Pushing Your Career to a Higher Degree
Whether you’re looking to broaden your professional education, gain expertise in a particular area, or land a management position, advanced education in logistics and supply chain management is quickly becoming a must for industry professionals. Here is a closer look at how the right degree program can fast-track your logistics career.
Higher Learning
In today’s fast-paced, demand-driven, global business environment, an advanced logistics/supply chain management degree can be your ticket to the top of the profession. Choosing a program that best meets your specific needs—and bumps you up the corporate ladder—is imperative.
From Cost to Profit: Service Parts Logistics
Some companies pay little attention to service parts logistics. Others are tapping its potential to increase revenues and reduce operating expenses. Here’s how to transform your service parts operations from a cost center to a profit-driven business.
Bradley Morris: Change Gets Under Your Skin
One thing that never changes for Brad Morris is the need to manage change. When he joined NuSkin Enterprises as warehouse supervisor in 1988, the company had annual revenues of $50 million, and shipped 150 orders a day, nearly all to U.S. customers. Today, NuSkin is a $1.1-billion enterprise with customers in 39 markets worldwide. […]
Fencing in Cargo Theft Concerns
Q: I operate a warehouse with a fenced yard. As a favor, I recently allowed a truck driver to park his rig with a trailerload of cargo in my yard over a weekend. I did not issue him a standard warehouse receipt because it was a temporary arrangement, and the goods were not unloaded from […]
RFID Mandates: Gorillas in the Mist
Embracing a new technology can sometimes feel about as good as a hug from an angry gorilla. Implementing RFID within a customer-mandated time frame is a good case in point. Rushing to implement is less wise than doing finely tuned planning, regardless of the scale of the demand. RFID is not just about tags, readers, […]
Selecting a 3PL Without an RFP
Eleven years ago, Chuck Franzetta, president of logistics consulting group Franzetta Associates, was asked to consult for a major transportation entity trying to to jump-start its struggling third-party logistics division. He discovered that the 3PL was primarily focused on preparing detailed responses to a slew of RFPs (Request for Proposal), which cost the company a […]
Choosing a Warehouse Location: Look for More than Just Price
The pressure on corporate supply chains has never been greater. Major supply chain glitches can impact a company’s shareholder value by as much as 20 percent or more within six months—regardless of who is at fault—according to industry estimates. Companies feel increasing pressure to reduce inventories and increase inventory turns. And, in a post-Sept. 11 […]
Short Sea Shipping: Long On Benefits
To help meet the current congestion crisis on U.S. highway systems and rail networks, the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Maritime Administration are promoting short sea shipping as an environmentally friendly, timely, and cost-effective way to expand freight capacity. The practice uses existing vessels and infrastructure to move freight between coastal ports, and between […]
Multi-Enterprise Computing: Competitive Advantage for Those Who Do it Well
Logistics managers know how vital it is to keep things moving. Failure to deliver products on time, in the proper quantities, and to the right place carries very real consequences: assembly lines halt, shelves lie empty, perishable goods grow stale, and the window of business opportunity slams shut. Tangible, bottom-line metrics back up these anecdotal […]
Distribution Takes Center Stage
A paradigm shift has occurred within the supply chain, and distribution is taking center stage. In the midst of a total revival from its undistinguished past, distribution is now more instrumental than ever to an organization’s success. Traditionally, distribution took a back seat to manufacturing and other supply chain activities—not surprising given its historical perception […]
LTL Lowdown: Choosing a Regional Trucking Carrier
By partnering with a regional LTL carrier that understood its goals, needs, and challenges, NCH Corporation achieved elevated service levels, decreased costs, and increased efficiency.
Building a Better Mousetrap (Felecia Stratton)
Striving to build a better logistics mousetrap—changing and tuning your process to balance competing demands within your supply chain system—is a tough game. It requires skill and split-second timing to orchestrate ever-morphing variables to exceed your logistics goals. And it is growing increasingly difficult. But stasis is not an option. Not with growing and changing […]
Tipping Point, Again? (Keith Biondo)
We are at a tipping point in terms of America’s ability to compete globally. Go one way and we can expand our economic growth and leverage the trend toward globalization. Go the other and we may reach a point where others drive the well-being of our economy and workers. And if it is now true […]
Merger Combines Two Companies, Two Languages, Two DCs
To make the most of a merger, GlaxoSmithKline prescribed a new DC, new equipment, and new logistics technology.
Optimization: Game On
Like the Mousetrap game, optimizing logistics requires precision timing, nerves of steel, and a little bit of luck to reach your goal. While you may not care about catching mice, you certainly care about speeding shipments, reducing inventory, delighting customers or just plain cutting costs. Here are the strategies of several logistics leaders who put their optimizing game face on and play to win.
Transportation: Negotiating Contracts Without Getting Soaked
To stay competitive, companies must continue to optimize all modes of transportation. Here is a look at one particularly complex mode—ocean.
Strategy and Process: DaimlerChrysler Corporation
As part of an ambitious optimization effort, DaimlerChrysler Corporation realigns and rebuilds its supply chain organization to kick innovation and efficiency into high gear.
Cross-Functional Teams: Petter Supply Company
An optimization project using cross-functional teams helped Petter Supply Company boost performance, reduce inventory, and cut costs.
Speeding the Process: The J.R. Simpot Company
To support a rapidly expanding business, J.R. Simplot used 3PLs to optimize a seamless merger and warehouse transition—while maintaining customer service expectations—all in 90 days.
Flexibility: AM General
Cutting-edge technology helps AM General optimize supply chain operations, enhance manufacturing flexibility, and add horsepower to marketing efforts.
Scalability: Sportsman’s Warehouse
By optimizing warehouse operations and implementing an ERP system, Sportsman’s Warehouse meets aggressive growth and expansion goals.
Supply Chain Strategies: On-Demand is In Demand
“We’ve always had a supply chain. But until fairly recently, it was an adjunct to the ‘real’ business. Something to be managed rather than used as a strategic weapon. “The supply chain was plumbing. It was back office—the unglamorous work of negotiating contracts, procuring parts, getting them to the people making the products, then loading […]
Business Continuity: Ready, Set, Prepare
From labor slowdowns, port congestion, and power outages to wildfires, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks, we’ve seen no dearth of disasters that can shatter a company’s supply chain and transportation networks. Here’s how to plan for supply chain continuity—no matter what the obstacle.
Panama Gold
Increasing congestion at West Coast ports, greater demand for predictability in the supply chain, and growing capacity constraints magnify the importance of the Panama Canal as a viable alternate route. Are global shippers and supply chain partners ready to take the all-water plunge?
The Real Story on RFID: 5 Questions for 6 Experts
RFID experts answer your questions about compliance, ROI, costs, and implementation.
Build to Scale: Bringing PLM to the Masses
As globalization continues to level the playing field, smaller enterprises embrace PLM solutions as a go-to-market strategy for managing and scaling growth, and enhancing visibility and communication within the supply chain.
Environmental Compliance: Seeing Green
The EPA’s 2007 low-emission diesel engine specifications loom large in the minds of shippers and carriers. Will the industry take the high road and embrace the eco-friendly policies?
Supply Chain Security: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility
Issues surrounding supply chain security top the corporate priority list these days. Do governments bear the burden of keeping the global supply chain safe, or, by working together more effectively, can the private sector get the job done? Which is steeper—the cost to implement security procedures, or the price we pay for being unprepared? Differing opinions, strategies, and outlooks abound. Two industry experts share their thoughts on mitigating the risks of today’s threats to supply chain security.
Reverse Logistics: Customer Satisfaction, Environment Key to Success in the 21st Century
During this past holiday season, an estimated $13.2 billion in holiday gifts were returned to retailers – more than a third of the $36 billion reverse logistics market in the U.S. These figures pose several questions and challenges. What becomes of these products? How do retailers cope with the management of these items? Are customers […]
Cheri McCaslin: She’s Got Game
Cheri McCaslin first gained a taste for logistics when she taught herself to run a transportation brokerage. A few months into her job at a local delivery service in St. Louis, the company earned its brokerage authority. “The company decided it needed someone to start the brokerage,” McCaslin says, “and they handed the job to […]
Talking Tactics with IBM
The global outsourcing trend has generated enough excitement in the media and the business community to heat a small Midwest city for a year. At issue is the concern that outsourcing strips away many U.S. jobs, and does detriment to America’s general long-term economic well being. The fact that outsourcing is by no means new […]
Got Milk? ERP System Lets You Know
Milk processor Milnot takes control of inventory with an ERP system designed for process manufacturers.
Choosing an SCM Graduate Program
An increasing number of companies now expect their top executives to understand supply chain management. To feed this need, many universities have added supply chain education programs to their curriculums. For some executives, a professional certification program is all they need, but for many, a full-fledged graduate degree program is appropriate. And executives now have […]
Freight Forwarding Goes Native
The future of international freight forwarding technology lies in the adoption of Internet-based solutions. To date, however, most freight forwarders have lagged behind when it comes to embracing this technology and making it part of their work processes. An Internet-native international freight forwarding system offers the ability to utilize electronic data exchanges, and is easily […]
Turning Returns Into a Competitive Advantage
Growth of direct-to-consumer sales through catalogs, television, and the Internet continues to explode. Business-to-consumer retail e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2003 totaled $13.3 billion, a 27-percent increase over 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While direct shopping makes it easy and convenient for customers to buy merchandise, it does not allow them […]
Outer Limits
“We’ve reached the limit of what our grandfathers invested in infrastructure.” So says one top rail executive. If you manage supply lines originating overseas, you already know that port and intermodal capacity are sorely strained. An unexpected uptick in imports caused many to come up holding the short end of the intermodal capacity stick. Worse, […]
Supply Chain Roundup 2004: What worked. What didn’t. What’s next?
Supply chain management received a great deal of attention in 2004. What does it all mean for the logistics industry? Here, a look back at the year’s top trends, including homeland security, RFID, using data to improve results, transportation capacity constraints, the war, and more.
Materials Handling Strategies: A Fork-Free Future?
While forklift trucks may be the tried and true solution for many materials handling operations, forklift-free applications are attempting to shake up manufacturing with the emergence of carts and dollies. Thinking of going forklift-free? Make sure you have all the facts before jumping in.
Career Solutions: Hiring a Logistics Problem Solver
Executives and recruiters in the supply chain industry spend a lot of time interviewing prospective employees. And while many logistics candidates look good on paper, their resumes don’t always reveal the level of problem-solving skills they possess. Companies need to hire logistics problem-solvers—people who can walk into an operation and help make its problems disappear. […]
Supply Chain Careers: An Inside Look
Whether you are a supply chain newbie—fresh out of school perhaps—or an industry veteran, chances are you give great thought to the future of your logistics career. Every industry—pharmaceutical, services, automotive, even the military—needs purchasing, operations, and logistics managers. The demand for supply chain managers is rising, and will continue to increase due to the […]
Dave Moynihan: A Toast to Streamlined Sourcing
To achieve a successful supply chain career, Dave Moynihan believes it’s important not to get comfortable too soon. Young people entering the field, he says, should “jump around to different industries, gain experiences, and work in different departments” to acquire the deep and broad understanding they’ll need for leadership. Moynihan gained this insight first-hand. Starting […]
Compliance the Top Concern of 2004
Q: Looking back at 2004, regulatory compliance issues posed a big concern for my business. Am I facing this challenge alone? What were the biggest issues logistics professionals faced this year, from a liability standpoint? A: Security issues dominated the news in the supply chain industry throughout 2004, as various government agencies took steps to […]
Sensing the Future
If you think that RFID and its tempestuous application is the only game in town, think again. It isn’t. Bar codes are still everywhere, and in most cases are doing a fine job. Remember, bar codes and RFID can, and will, work in tandem, with each serving the application it fits best. Nevertheless we may […]
Bad Boy Makes Good With Customers
A web-based logistics solution helps retailers satisfy customers with tight delivery windows.
It’s Capacity Crunch Time. Can Multi-Shipper Collaboration Help?
Everyone knows a hot commodity when they see it—demand is high, supply is low, and price is no longer an object. So what is currently the hottest commodity in the motor freight industry? Capacity. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but capacity is tight. Trailer and driver shortages, the uncertainty surrounding the new Hours of […]
Managing a Transportation Bid Event
MORE TO THE STORY: Create a Bid List It’s that time again. The market has shifted and your current transportation solution is not meeting one or more of your key goals—service, capacity, and/or cost. Or, perhaps your company’s strategy has changed and so have your transportation requirements. Either way, you need a better transportation solution. […]
Protecting Your Assets While Maximizing Efficiencies
Think about this scenario: Your leased distribution center is part of an industrial park consisting of millions of square feet of warehouse space, thousands of trailers and containers, and hundreds of millions of dollars of entrusted products. On weekends, the operation often goes unmanned for periods, but much of the perimeter is protected by natural […]
Attracting Hi-Tech DCs to Your Community
As consumers continue to drive the supply chain, the role of technology in providing better collaboration between the manufacturer and the retail outlet has increased. To stay competitive, public entities—cities, counties, economic development districts—must be able to accommodate the needs of high-tech distribution centers. Economic development commissions and other public entities seeking to attract new, […]
Streamlining Communication Creates Change and Opportunities
From walking factory floors for more than two decades, I know it doesn’t take long to build a car. Fender to tail lights, it takes about 72 hours. But it takes another six weeks for the car to reach the consumer. Why? Demand data takes about one week to travel from one tier to the […]
Uncle Sam to Food Importers: Register
This past August, Friday the 13th meant more than just bad luck for food importers. Those companies not registered under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new Bioterrorism Act faced a slew of problems—including delayed deliveries, fines, and heavy scrutiny of all cargo—by failing to meet the Aug. 13 registration deadline. Set forth in February […]
SCM Stew
This issue features a diverse collection of articles that spotlight best practices and logistics challenges readers face—globalization, the importance of supply chain and inbound logistics practices, and a growing strategic, high-level executive management involvement in logistics. The editorial lineup kicks off with Lisa Harrington’s inside look at what’s behind the drive for velocity as global […]
Coty U.S. Warehouse Network Gets a Facelift
Coty U.S. went for the one-two punch by consolidating and modernizing at the same time.
Speeding Global Shipments
The increasingly complex nature of supply chains makes velocity imperative in the global air/expedited freight sector. From port congestion to increased security measures to demand for visibility, here’s an inside look at what’s driving the need for speed.
Shipping Spree: Unlocking the Secrets to the Holiday Rush
In preparation for the peak holiday season, retailers and manufacturers reassess their supply chains to optimize planning and combat increased demand.
RadioShack’s Supply Chain Tune-up
Thanks to a strong foundation created after a three-year, company-wide supply chain project, RadioShack has a new direction, new goals, and new customer markets.
CLM 2004: Following The Leaders
What are the hot logistics topics for 2005? IL sat down with a number of different logistics solutions providers and practitioners at this year’s Council of Logistics Management conference to track the latest buzz in global supply chain trends.
Drew Alexander: Building Logic and Discipline Into the Supply Chain
You could say Drew Alexander grew up with Wal-Mart. As a boy in Bentonville, Ark., he worked at a local pancake house where Sam Walton sometimes ate. “I never got a tip from Sam,” he says. Throughout his teens, he loaded trucks at a Wal-Mart distribution center. And he later took a job in the […]
RedPrairie Sees RFID Forest for the Trees
As the RFID implementation pace quickens, the race will be won by the fast and the nimble. One fast and nimble player is RedPrairie, Waukesha, Wis., a founder of the RFID Center of Excellence. In the last few months, the company has developed four RFID initiatives: “Bolt-on” RFID EPC compliance An RFID laboratory RFID-enabled supply […]
You May Have It, But We Can See It
New software module gives parts distributor an accurate picture of inventory it consigns to suppliers.
Mission Possible: Expand Business Without Adding DCs
Suppose you are in charge of supply chain management for a retailer with 1,150 store outlets, eight distribution centers, and a network of 600 vendors. You are tasked with building the optimal supply chain to support three times the current business volume seven years from today. The DCs are already jammed with inbound shipments and […]
Selecting an International Freight Forwarder
Price, security, and compliance rank high on the list of criteria for selecting an international freight forwarder. Auctions have gained popularity, with freight contracts going to the lowest bidder. But choosing on price alone can leave a company shortchanged. In the decision-making process, factors such as value, IT support, and service capability should be considered […]
Warehouse Networks Keep You Close to Customers
Both new trends and familiar old factors are driving the development of American supply chains and warehouse networks. These trends and factors include: Time sensitivity. Our comprehensive, pervasive sensitivity to time stands as the single most important trend driving supply chain development today. We are a connected society. Wireless connections, e-mail, voice mail, pagers, PDAs, […]
Software by Subscription: Pay for What You Need When You Need it
Companies can achieve great efficiency gains by getting real-time visibility into their transportation activities, such as last-mile deliveries. Peering real time into the delivery process to track delays, report exceptions, and measure performance can have a major impact on overall operations, and the bottom line. The challenge, however, lies with gathering data cost effectively and […]
The Question? Globalization. The Answer? SCM
Mention globalization to a group of Inbound Logisticsreaders and be prepared to get an earful, as we did at a recent logistics conference. Globalization challenges vary based on company, trading partners, and markets, but many readers share key areas of convergent concern. Their top three globalization issues are: China. Capacity and infrastructure issues top the […]
Going Global: 3PL or Solo?
As companies expand their global reach, they are increasingly leveraging the infrastructure, resources, networks and expertise of third-party logistics providers to enhance capacity while minimizing risk.
Maritime Security: Open to Risk?
The U.S. maritime sector offers an attractive target to terrorists. But the ocean community is taking steps to help protect maritime trade from catastrophic events.