Articles
Commentary
“Sell By” Dates Cost Shippers Billions in Wasted Perishable Goods
Every milk carton and other perishable packaged food item bears date-stamped tags such as "Display Until," "Best Until," and "Sell By." Did you know that these dates are not intended for consumer use, and do not indicate when the food is spoiled? They are only intended for retailer use. Yet billions of dollars worth of […]
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Mitigating Facilitation Risk
Facilitation is a unique risk for logistics professionals and companies. It is unlawful for logistics professionals or providers to facilitate transactions with any person or entity sanctioned by the U.S. government. The U.S. Justice Department has pursued facilitation cases against half a dozen logistics companies in recent months, and penalties include up to 10 years […]
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3PL Value-Adds Mean Millions
You hate to say it, but everyone knows it: Today’s third-party logistics (3PL) relationship is transitional. Many 3PLs live and die by the freight rates they offer clients. Why? Because your shippers see the relationship as transactional, and trucking-focused. Shippers write checks for shipping expenses nearly every day, and freight is in the forefront of […]
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Filling the Cloud with High-Quality Data
The millions of dollars spent on supply chain software are squandered if data flowing through it lacks integrity. An attractive, feature-laden application is like a Ferrari—it only runs well when the right fuel flows through the engine. In this case, data is the fuel that powers this impressive vehicle. Without it, only the glitzy exterior […]
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Crossdocking Streamlines Freight Movement
How can an organization eliminate or reduce waste and increase speed in their supply chain? One answer is to replace warehouses and/or manufacturing locations with crossdock facilities or “landing pads.” Tremendous pressure from global competition and just-in-time (JIT) operations in the marketplace has spurred many manufacturers to adopt a lean production philosophy—and a lean supply […]
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The Future of Predictive Analytics Looks Certain
One recurring talking point at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professional’s (CSCMP) September 2012 conference in Atlanta was the importance of predictive analytics. This subset of statistics captures patterns within large volumes of information to predict supply chain behavior and events—in effect, forecasting future demand based on past demand. The emergence of cloud networking […]
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Return to Sender: Managing Reverse Logistics
Most e-commerce businesses focus time and money on providing customers with efficient and flexible delivery options. Many companies, however, neglect to extend this attention to the return of unwanted goods. While many factors influence customer loyalty, a well-run returns process drives repeat orders and improves consumer satisfaction. Eighty-five percent of consumers surveyed by research firm […]
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Eliminating Wasted Motion
At some point in our careers, most of us have felt we’ve wasted time or effort accomplishing a job that should have been easier, more efficient, and possibly safer to do. One way to help workers make better use of their time and effort is to identify and eliminate sources of wasted motion. In a […]
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Handling Change: There’s an App for That
Eighty-nine percent of business leaders are either experiencing or anticipating external volatility or change to impact their business, according to a recent survey. And 91 percent expect internal change in products, channels, services, or markets to create planning challenges. Given that most business leaders must manage some sort of change within their demand-supply networks, why […]
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“Second Mouse” Opportunities for Logistics Firms
The saying, "The second mouse gets the cheese" represents an analogy for what is happening today in China’s "fast-learner" economy. The ability to quickly learn and copy products and technologies developed elsewhere has propelled numerous Chinese firms to global stature. These firms will soon become a force in the United States. Examples of China’s ability […]
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