Articles

Case Studies

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Charles Graffeo, Sr.: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Coffee drinkers in certain regions of the South should raise their cups in salute to Charles Graffeo, Sr. At Community Coffee Company in Baton Rouge, La., Graffeo is responsible for the whole process chain—purchasing, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution—that takes coffee from bean to cup. Graffeo joined Community Coffee in 2006 as general manager of manufacturing. […]

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Airfreight Costs Touch Down

Customer service scores big points at Irving, Texas-based Easton-Bell Sports, which manufactures a wide array of sports equipment, including Ridell football and hockey helmets; Easton baseball bats and gloves; Bell bicycle parts and equipment; and a variety of racing, fitness, and yoga products. Easton-Bell’s brand names have been well-known in the sports world for more […]

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Bill Justus: Home Sweet Home

Throughout your industry, sales are down. But the cost of materials keeps going up, and those higher prices sure don’t help you draw in hordes of new customers. What to do? Get all your partners working together to drive costs out of the supply chain, says Bill Justus, vice president, supply chain services at David […]

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James Bradley: Supply Chain Management is in His DNA

Is there a gene for supply chain management? If so, James Bradley must have it—his father worked in logistics and supply in the Air Force, and Bradley has been focused on the field since college. If scientists do discover such a gene, chances are they’ll be working with technology from Bradley’s employer, Affymetrix, a Santa […]

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Steve Schad: Navigating a Career in Supply Chain Management

As a college student studying business management, Steve Schad thought a lot about links, but not the ones in the supply chain. “I thought I’d be on the PGA tour,” says this avid golfer. “But that didn’t work out.” What did work out was a 30-year career in supply chain management and operations. And for […]

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Shawn Surber: Going Whole Hog

Farmers feed the world, and Shawn Surber moves the feed. As logistics manager for Premier Feeds in Wilmington, Ohio, Surber coordinates ingredient flow into three feed plants and product delivery to distributors and farmers in his region. He manages a 26-truck fleet, occasionally hopping into the driver’s seat himself. When needed, he also lends a […]

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Jose Flores: Zooming Right Along

On April 24, 2008, Jose Flores broke a record. That day marked his 45th year at Yamaha Corporation, and with that milestone he became the Japanese company’s longest-serving U.S. employee. Since Flores joined Yamaha in 1963, much of his work has had a strong logistics component. Currently, he’s administration manager in Yamaha Motor Corp. USA’s […]

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Autumn Bayles: Taking the Cake

Autumn Bayles has a big job, but it’s also a sweet one. Most people who grew up in the mid-Atlantic region know the Tastykake brand as a popular lunchbox staple. Bayles’ employer, the Tasty Baking Company, has been turning out snack-sized cakes and pies under that name in Philadelphia since 1914. During three tough years […]

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Fred Clark: Just What the Doctor Ordered

In January 2003, Army sergeant Fred Clark was on leave at his home in Fort Hood, Texas, when his colonel called him into the office. Clark, a senior logistician, learned that the Army was moving him to a different unit, which would deploy to Kuwait in 10 days. For 48 hours, Clark and his new […]

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