Articles
Case Studies
John Rickard: Logistics With a Human Touch
Try this logistics experiment: Drop packages of food from a helicopter onto a field filled with football and rugby players and see if anyone gets hurt. That’s the exercise John Rickard and his associates at the relief agency International Rescue Committee (IRC) conducted in 1999 while laying plans for a humanitarian mission in the mountains […]
Read MoreA Labor Management Tool For All Seasons
Raising the heat on worker productivity and efficiency was key for Four Seasons Temperature Control. A labor management system helped it achieve that—plus some cool savings.
Read MoreJ.Jill Arrives Fashionably Light
A new put-to-light system lets women’s clothing retailer J.Jill keep up with growing volume in style.
Read MoreDebbie E. Jackson: Life at the End of the ERP Tunnel
Debbie Jackson is starting to get her life back. It has been on hold since late 2003, while she and her colleagues at Johns Hopkins University endured one of the truly harrowing ordeals of business life: a major ERP implementation. As supply chain procurement team lead for HopkinsOne—the initiative to move all the Johns Hopkins […]
Read MoreI Heard IT Through the Grapevine
When The Henry Wine Group uncorks a new logistics system, accurate inbound freight updates and improved communication pour out.
Read MoreAerial’s DC Makeover: It’s a Beautiful Thing
A beauty supply company gives its DC a makeover. Now productivity comes in permanent waves.
Read MoreBrent Shinall: Bursting with Energy
When Brent Shinall grew bored with his job as manufacturing engineer for hypersonic engine maker Pratt & Whitney, he started exploring new career opportunities. “I saw people in the purchasing department working with suppliers and negotiating contracts, and thought, ‘That looks like more fun,’” he recalls. So when the company’s purchasing manager needed an engineer […]
Read MoreIT Cleanup, Aisle 3
Migrating to a single technology platform and translating SAP transactions onto handheld terminals were high on Wawa’s IT shopping list. It checked off both with SAP.
Read MoreIvan Figueroa: A Man Who Plays Many Parts
Ivan Figueroa leads a double life. As global logistics manager for Radiant Systems in Alpharetta, Ga., he keeps distribution centers throughout the world supplied with spare parts for his company’s point-of-sale systems. In his other role as council member of the newly formed city of Johns Creek, Ga., he wrestles with zoning and planning questions […]
Read MoreBurton Brings Vendors On Board
Snowboarding gear manufacturer Burton bails on its freestyle WIP reports and launches a visibility suite that sticks.
Read MoreFreezing Transport Costs in Their Tracks
To get its potato products from the freezer to the fryer more effectively, food distributor Martin-Brower migrates to rail shipping. The cost savings are gravy.
Read MoreMobile Computers Dispense Productivity
Seaquist Closures opens the door toenhanced productivity and inventory accuracy with mobile computers
Read MorePlugging Into Network Visibility
A networked WMS sparks Eaton Corp.’s electrical business with a broad view of inventory and more opportunities to aggregate freight.
Read MoreLots of Shipments, Loads of Savings
Big Lots nets bigger savings and biggest efficiencies by optimizing less-than-truckload shipments.
Read MoreMichael Mahon: Rolling in Dough
When the music store he managed went out of business, Denver jazz bassist Mike Mahon needed a new day job. He found one driving a delivery truck for Otis Spunkmeyer, a manufacturer and distributor of frozen cookie dough and ready-made bakery products. Soon, Mahon spotted an opportunity that looked too good to pass up. Otis […]
Read MoreVendor/Carrier Accountability: We’ll Drink to That!
A beverage distributor’s thirst for visibility is quenched by a tool that sets delivery performance standards and makes sure they’re met.
Read MoreGiving Voice To Warehouse Productivity
ODW Logistics’ success speaks volumes about the benefits of voice technology.
Read MoreMark Smith: Remaking SC Strategy, Again
It is amazing how much can change in a mere 18 months. When Mark Smith left his job as head of operations for GTSI in early 2005, the company focused mainly on reselling information technology products—such as notebook computers and software packages—to government organizations. But in September 2006, when Smith returned to the Chantilly, Va.-based […]
Read MoreFrom Doughnuts to Dollars
Krispy Kreme finds sweet savings in streamlining financial and supply chain transactions with EDI.
Read MoreTeamwork Wins the WMS Game
Canadian sporting goods retailer The Forzani Group drafts Q4 Logistics to tackle a WMS implementation.
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