Articles
Commentary
IT Doesn’t Matter? Better Run That By Wal-Mart
In his May 2003 Harvard Business Review article, “IT Doesn’t Matter,” Nicholas Carr famously claims that information technology, much like the railroad and the electricity grid before it, has become an infrastructure tool that doesn’t confer any strategic benefit. Carr’s main point is that because IT is ubiquitous and increasingly less costly than in previous […]
Read MoreEasing Your LTL Carrier’s Burden
Managing transportation costs is more important today than ever before. With the new Hours-of-Service rules, shippers will likely look to LTL carriers to play an increasing role in their supply chains, particularly handling a portion of their previously truckload multi-stop shipments. These volume shifts will likely lead to LTL capacity issues, and shippers may find […]
Read MoreTraveling the 3PL Continuum
Grab your Star Trek mug and take another look at this magazine’s cover. Then come back because I want to talk to you about parallel 3PL continuums. Yikes! Back? What did you see? Don’t worry, the cover is not a Rorschachian intrusion into your childhood. Rather it is meant to represent the continuing evolution—from infancy […]
Read MoreAchieving Success with AS/RS
Storage is one area of the supply chain that can provide increased efficiency, cost savings, and other benefits. In fact, automated storage/retrieval systems (AS/RS) can eliminate the need for physical inventory, according to Jurgen Conrad, CEO and president of Viastore Systems Inc., which develops and implements AS/RS and other automated material handling systems. “Correlating equipment […]
Read MoreThe Logistics of Doing Business in China
Earlier this year, one of the United States’ most famous apparel manufacturers closed its last U.S. manufacturing facility. Like many companies, it now relies on plants in countries across the world for manufacturing. At least one is likely to be in China. China already accounts for a vast amount of the world’s production, including 75 […]
Read MoreRethinking the Role of Public Incentives
When you consider changing a logistics center location, or expanding an existing logistics network, a myriad of crucial factors influence and shape the decisions your logistics team makes. Traditionally, the availability and applicability of local and state incentives is not a make-or-break factor in logistics placement decisions, but perhaps the time has come to elevate […]
Read MoreFinding a Demand Forecast You Can Trust
A forecast is like a flight plan. How far off do you want your trajectory to be when you come in for a landing?
Read MoreNurture, Don’t Neglect, Our Waterways Infrastructure
For logistics professionals who already see the rising costs of the nation’s traffic congestion reflected in their bottom line, it is troubling to know that the Federal Highway Administration estimates use of the nation’s highways for freight transportation will increase by 40 percent over the next 10 years. It is clear that the saturation point […]
Read MoreNot Your Father’s Airfreight Forwarder
“We’ve been using airfreight forwarders since the beginning of time,” says Andy Bordash, head of the logistics and operations team at Bayer Health Care. Many IL readers can say the same thing, but times have changed. As we report in The Plane Truth About Airfreight Forwarding, written by Leslie Hansen Harps, smart forwarders, both large […]
Read MoreMaking Sense Out of Transportation Insurance Policies
Q: I am a freight forwarder, providing freight transportation services to my customers. I use all modes of transport to all parts of the world. I operate a small warehouse, own two trucks, and when necessary, partner with other operators to give my customers a complete intermodal service. Can you help guide me through the […]
Read More