Articles
Commentary
Moving Logistics Technology to the Cloud Dispels the Fog of Uncertainty
Cloud computing offers democracy to logistics and transportation providers, putting small and mid-sized providers on the same playing field as large global companies. With a strong technology platform, cloud computing can serve as a logistics company’s differentiator for its intellectual capital and other critical information and data. The advantages for logistics companies of moving to […]
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Expecting the Unexpected: The True Test of Leadership
Regardless of whether you run a global organization or are just starting your logistics career, you already know that no two days in this business are ever alike. Every day is unique depending on what customers are being served, and where their goods are being shipped. Some days require more fortitude than others, however. Issues […]
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Three Top Myths About Foreign Trade Zones Dispelled
When supply chain and logistics managers think Foreign Trade Zone—the program that allows companies to defer paying customs duties, fees, and taxes on merchandise imported into the United States until consumed, used in construction, or leaving the zone—several adjectives come to mind. Usually those descriptors are not: smooth, cost-effective, and easy to manage. Instead they […]
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We’re All in This Together: Teamwork in a Lean Workplace
While some Lean practitioners focus on manufacturing pioneer Taiichi Ohno’s Seven Wastes (transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, and defects), many add an eighth waste: behavioral waste, or under-utilized employees. It takes a real change management effort to successfully implement a Lean program—especially when it involves changing workers’ habits. Someone who has been doing a […]
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When Government Oversight of Motor Carriers Fails, Shippers Pay
While overall truck accident rates have been trending lower over the past several years, avoidable carrier accidents are still common. Comprehensive safety compliance reviews (CRs) by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) protect lives and property. In the year after a CR is conducted, crashes decrease 16.3 percent, according to […]
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Consumer Electronics and Reverse Logistics: Play It Again
Shoppers return between 11 and 20 percent of consumer electronics devices, according to industry experts. While returns are the beginning to device recovery, all the steps in the reverse logistics process, including repair/refurbishment and remarketing, can be improved. Recognizing the importance of reverse logistics in maintaining and growing profit margins, many consumer electronics manufacturers and […]
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Keeping Track of Time
If your average day is anything like mine, you face an endless barrage of internal emails, corporate memos, newsletters, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to refinance a home loan. Spam filters, email notifications, and custom preferences help organize this self-perpetuating info soup, making it easier to manage communications—then act according to priority. Complicating matters is the reality […]
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Get Airborne with Asset Tracking
In today’s complex global supply chain, transportation delays, security issues, and spoiled or lost cargo too often disrupt the distribution process. In air transportation, cargo often travels via multiple airports, airlines, ground handlers, and across geographies, creating ample opportunity for problems to occur. While other transport modes have had the benefits of GPS technology to […]
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New Transatlantic Trade Pact Could Be Favorable “TTIP-ing” Point for Logistics Sector
In announcing the start of negotiations to forge a new trade agreement between the United States and the 27-nation European Union (EU), British Prime Minister David Cameron said at the G-8 summit meeting held in Northern Ireland in June 2013 that there is "no better way to drive growth and prosperity around the world" than […]
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Business Process Improvement? Flexibility.
In his futile search for the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de León walked right past untold riches. If you are not evaluating your third-party logistics providers for their ability to drive strategic improvements in your enterprise, you may be doing the same thing. Thirty-three percent of respondents to our annual 3PL Perspectives market research survey […]
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