Articles
Checking In
Are You Talkin’ to Me?
Some results from our annual third-party logistics survey caused the publisher of this magazine to quote a line from Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” When 3PLs and their customers were asked the same question, but provided diametrically opposed answers, the publisher suggested that more shipper/3PL communication may be called for. […]
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Shading Green
We know the positive arguments for embracing green. This magazine regularly demonstrates how shippers and service providers are developing sustainability practices across their supply chain touchpoints. Reducing fuel, cube, weight, packaging, waste, and power consumption in the supply chain blends the two shades of green—sustainability and profits. You’ll find measurable examples of both in this […]
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Deere Customer
Any devoted demand-driven logistics practitioner might take issue with the catchy headline on a recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article: "Low Inventory Angers John Deere Customers." The article quotes unhappy dealers who can’t get equipment from Deere as quickly as they want. One reports losing "half a dozen deals a month." Farmers aren’t happy, either. The culprit, […]
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Transformative Technology
Yes, technology continues to transform transportation. But your demands also transform those providing technology to you. For example, JDA Software’s acquisition of i2 Technologies in January 2010, and their shared roadmap for future integration, serve as a telling bellwether for the logistics technology industry and its customers. From a macro perspective, consolidation among IT companies […]
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Retail Week at a Glance
Ispent one week last month immersed in retail logistics. After attending Fashion Week in New York, I headed straight to the Retail Industry Logistics Association meeting. Retailers are adapting and evolving at an ever-quickening pace. Here’s the latest: Monday: Emerging Markets. Some global fashion and apparel brands expect emerging markets to drive 70 percent of […]
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America’s Got Supply Chain Talent
Every state says it wants to attract logistics business that can keep its workforce employed. Florida is actually doing something about it. The state has gotten behind the Talent Supply Chain, an association of state, local, education, and business organizations whose goal is to boost Florida’s economy by encouraging and expanding workforce development, training, and […]
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Brought!
In tough times, logistics managers react to demand and respond to adversity. Every day, your customers and CEOs raise new questions and challenges, which you meet through creativity, innovation, and a "bring-it" attitude. A logistician’s resilience is valuable when opportunities are ripe, but it’s invaluable when problems persist. This indomitable bring-it attitude was pushed to […]
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Bring It!
Last weekend, I went through a stack of newspaper clippings of economic and industry news from the past year, and made two piles: good news and bad news. Guess which pile was larger? In an ostrich moment, I went to the shredder and irrationally fed the bad news in, sheet by sheet. As I fed […]
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Less Lip Service, More Customer Service
When times are good, everyone says they are focused on customer service, but admittedly some of that is lip service. When times are bad, are carriers and service providers truly focused on providing you good customer service, or are they cutting customer service corners? Are you as concerned about customer service these days, or is […]
Read MoreJust Say No to Slow-Mo
When the economy slows, so does the pace of shipments. To cut costs, some companies shift to less-expensive deferred delivery services. But there are cases where speed helps reduce overall costs, even when economic activity is flat. Here’s one example that bucks the slow-mo shipment trend line. Acoording to press reports, an Australian retailer, Coles […]
Read MoreA Lesson From Ghana
“Ghana will not become a middle-income status country without a coherent supply chain strategy.” So says leading African academic Dr. Douglas Boateng in an open letter to Ghana’s government (http://snipurl.com/ilghana). Dr. Boateng takes the government to task on its lack of supply chain vision, pointing out that despite the abundance of natural resources≠gold, cocoa, diamonds, […]
Read MoreDialing Into Truck Tone
You pick up the phone and get a dial tone. You move to a keyboard and you have Web tone. Many of us take these amazing enablements for granted, rarely considering how they work, just expecting that they will—all the time, every time. We only consider their absence when and if they fail. But what […]
Read MoreShades of Green
Inbound Logistics is green—as a mission and as a magazine. Matching demand to supply, our founding principle, is an evergreen strategy that eliminates waste: energy, money, and time. By embracing demand-driven practices, companies optimize transportation, reduce warehouse inventory and costs, increase transparency, and trigger countless efficiencies elsewhere in the enterprise. Executing on demand, and specifying […]
Read MoreI Love My Customer
If you think your love for a 3PL is an exclusive one-way street, think again. The feelings are mutual. Sure, you appreciate the value a logistics service provider brings to the relationship: the core intelligence, the sense and sensibility, the thoughtfulness when planning on future demand. But don’t be fooled. 3PLs have a vested business […]
Read MoreI Love My 3PL
Based on the 6,000+ responses to our annual survey of the third-party logistics market, readers really love their 3PLs. Despite the economic downturn in 2008, more companies responding to the survey—from small B-to-C startups to large multinationals, from healthy businesses weathering the maelstrom to names in the news suffering through privation detailed in today’s headlines—increased […]
Read MoreWrong Street Journal?
A recent Wall St. Journal article, “Clarity is Missing Link in Supply Chain” (May 18, 2009) wrongly defines just-in-time (a small and strictly defined subset of demand-driven logistics), then concludes that practicing JIT in a recession makes things worse. The article opens with the CEO of chip designer Zoran Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., wondering why his […]
Read MoreFrom Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse
Turning adversity into opportunity is standard practice for logistics professionals, but it seems everyone is taking that approach in today’s economic climate. Like most businesses, warehouses and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are feeling the pinch. The part of their business based on creating value for customers, and sharing in that, is doing OK. But for […]
Read MoreSaaS: A Distribution Model For Tough Times?
The lead article in our annual technology issue 15 years ago featured Barbara Barnhill, transportation supervisor for Elizabeth Arden. She excitedly shared the details of her company’s “revolutionary” inbound transportation program, which racked up million-dollar savings by using the latest technology—a fax machine. Times have changed since the fax machine and its dial tone were […]
Read MoreA Speaking Truth to Power
In a monumental case of bait and switch, the current White House administration is set upon a course that will handicap every U.S. worker and business, and give global economic advantage to all who are not lucky enough to live here. Energy policy—specifically, the carbon offset cap and trade plan—will transfer wealth to the government […]
Read MoreA New World of Logistics Enlightenment
Our annual education issue honors the importance and value of logistics education. Acing logistics basics helps practitioners master supply chain complexity. It’s practical to the core and strategic when it needs to be. But it isn’t static. The challenges of globalization continue to present new ways and means to engage learning. In this sense, history […]
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