Articles
Case Studies
Bean There, Returned That
Building its business around high-quality outdoor equipment and clothing, L.L. Bean’s sales channels include seven retail stores, one dozen outlet stores, the Internet, and its nearly 100-year-old catalog. But it’s not just the product that Bean built its reputation on—it’s also the retailer’s 100-percent satisfaction guarantee. The roots of that guarantee trace back to 1912, […]
Read MoreVimal Patel: Taking an Eagle’s-Eye View
When Vimal Patel speaks, everyone listens. As manager of merchandise flow at American Eagle (AE) Outfitters’ Warrendale, Pa., distribution center, his job is to make sure all departments – receiving, replenishment, packing, and shipping – pull together to achieve the facility’s goals. “Every department wants to do well individually, but they don’t always look at […]
Read MoreHassle-Free Electronic Invoicing: Now That’s Hot
HVACR wholesaler heats up efficiency with a cool electronic invoicing system.
Read MoreSteve Lash: Loco Like A Fox
“A chicken is actually corn with feathers,” Steve Lash says. He should know. Lash is director of supply chain management for El Pollo Loco, a restaurant chain that built its success on citrus-marinated, flame-grilled, Mexican-style chicken. With more than 360 stores in seven states, and a 12-state expansion underway, El Pollo Loco (Spanish for The […]
Read MoreBox Ho! RFID Replaces Telescopes
Tired of playing hide and seek with its containers, CIMC finds a new RFID system to help locate product in its yards.
Read MoreHello? I’d Like to Order a New Fulfillment System, Please
A new order fulfillment system keeps catalog retailer Redcats purring.
Read MoreJohn 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 […]
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