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Hidden Heroes Power the Supply Chain (Keith Biondo)
Some people manage simple logistics systems. Others face logistics complexities that stretch beyond their ability to master them. Some people oversee logistics flows across the globe. Others run a seemingly never-ending closed loop of highly disciplined product flow within the confines of a single state. Some logistics managers operate a transport program that flat-lines for […]
Read MoreAll the News…?
Walking past the newsstand last weekend, a New York Times headline caught my attention: As Trucking Rules Are Eased, A Debate on Safety Intensifies. I picked up the article, hoping to learn about safety concerns and actions the industry is taking to address them. Sandwiched between the first and last paragraph of the article, both […]
Read MoreTis the Season to be Shipping
The peak season for holiday shipping used to start in September, but carriers now say November is their busiest month, thanks to manufacturers and retailers better matching demand to supply. You can make the case that demand-driven logistics practices drive retailing excellence by speeding inventory and slashing the sourcing-to-sales cycle. You might even say that […]
Read MoreSAFE, At Home
The shipping community, with government assistance, is the defensive line protecting us from threats caused by nuclear proliferation. Where’s the global anti-nuke movement? They must be sitting this one out, waiting for the next power plant to open. We know exactly where Congress is, however. The Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (SAFE) offers […]
Read MoreRising Costs? Lateral Thinking May Help
There are two sides to the rising trucking costs issue—the carriers’ and the shippers’. Carriers say the confluence of rising diesel prices; the driver shortage; government mandates reducing gas mileage on new equipment and driver productivity; higher taxes, insurance, and compliance costs; and increased security costs for better background checks creates a “perfect storm” for […]
Read MoreInbound We Trust
If I had a dollar for every time a reader asked me, “Why inbound? Why demand-driven?” I’d be living in a nice little house by the beach. And considering the number of new readers asking that question, it soon might be a nicer little house by the beach. Who are these new readers? Last year, […]
Read MoreGoing Above & Beyond: The Norm for Top 3PLs
Whether a third-party logistics provider receives enough reader votes to win an Inbound Logistics Top 10 Excellence Award (page 100), or is chosen by the editors for the Top 100 3PL list (page 128), they share one common attribute—they go above and beyond the norm to meet, exceed, and in some cases anticipate their customers’ […]
Read MoreSelf-Criticism and Shared Pain
Jeff Shane shares our pain. Who is he and what is the cause of our shared transportation weltschmertz? Shane is the Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of Transportation and appeared to be thinking out loud at a recent speech to National Industrial Transportation League members. Shane was right there with us when we spent […]
Read MoreLess is Less and Less is More
Two important trends will impact your warehouse operations in the near term. First, retailers will seek to trim inventory even further to increase profits without reducing customer service standards. Wal-Mart, for example, recently announced its intention to cut $6.5 billion in inventory off an already lean 2:1 inventory-to-sales ratio. The goal? “Theoretical Zero Inventory.” The […]
Read MoreStakeholders Share New Value
The CEO of Procter & Gamble, A.G. Lafley, does not talk much about shareholders; instead he talks about “stakeholders.” I wondered precisely what he meant, so I did a little online research. The original meaning of the word stakeholder was a person who holds money while its owner is being determined—a trustee for a minor, […]
Read MoreLessons From the Neanderthals
What do global trade, cavemen, and a TV commercial have in common? Stay with me. Did you catch the FedEx ad about a caveman using Brand X Pterosaur to ship an important stick? Instant classic! The commercial humorously shows that good transportation was as important then as it is now. Oddly enough, new research by […]
Read MoreLearning for Earnings
When this magazine made its commitment to logistics education in 1990, few undergraduate or graduate logistics studies programs were available. That is not the case today. Logistics undergraduate, post-graduate, and continuing education programs have expanded a hundredfold. MIT, for example, has seen an application growth of 20 percent annually over the last five years, reports […]
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Marking Our First Quarter Century
25 years is a long time to be doing anything. That’s why we recognize anniversaries, sometimes with cards like the one marking Inbound Logistics’ 25th year.You’ll find it in the front of this magazine. Looking at that card, and reading its sentiments, took me on a trip down memory lane, back to our first issue. […]
Read MoreMore Goes In So You Can Get More Out
Most magazines are designed to be read. The Logistics Planner issue is also designed to be used—again and again. The Planner—and its complementary digital and web profiles—help you find and source the solutions you need to be a true supply chain innovator. Many readers tell us they read the Planner profiles from A to Z […]
Read MoreEnvironmentalists: ‘It’s My Way, Not the Highway’
When it comes to balancing environmental concerns with the need to improve and expand the U.S. transport infrastructure, there is a right way and there is a wrong way. Take California, for example. While Governor Schwarzenegger was traveling in China on a mission to forge more trading opportunities, I was touring the part of his […]
Read MoreDiversifying Your Supply Chain Portfolio
Diversification is a sound strategy for investors and logisticians alike. Just as those skilled in arbitrage hedge investments to mitigate risk and allow for modest portfolio growth by taking advantage of small value increases in other areas, supply chain practitioners diversify their proprietary and outsourced logistics assets—abroad and at home—to lay off risk, reduce costs, […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Security: Fact vs. Fiction
Man has always been intrigued by transmutation—transforming one element into another. In days of old, we tried changing lead into gold. Today, some are trying to convert the public’s fear of supply chain vulnerabilities into political currency, or solid gold votes. While concern is warranted, some choose to grandstand by floating obviously impossible solutions against […]
Read MoreWhatever the Obstacle, Truckers Come Through
While covering this industry for more than 20 years, I’ve learned a lot about the people who work in logistics and transportation. One thing that consistently stands out is their passion and dedication to moving our nation’s freight—and economy—forward. This passion and dedication became apparent yet again as we watched Hurricane Katrina play out. The […]
Read MoreMore Lift, Less Drag
There is an inexplicable failure on the part of many in Washington, D.C., to understand that airlines are in business to make money, according to Air Transport Association of America President James May. May’s recent comments to The Wings Club of New York piqued my interest as I sometimes get the impression that our airline […]
Read MoreHere Comes the Judge; There Goes Your Business
Judicial activism impacts all business. Not content to legislate from the bench on social issues, the courts have now gone off the legal reservation and applied the activist and collectivist bias to business, your business. Whether or not you agree with the results of an activist decision is not the point. The point is that […]
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