Articles
Commentary
The WMS Quandary: Where’s My Savings?
Several times a year I get a call that goes something like this: “Albert, we automated our distribution centers with a new WMS and we haven’t seen the savings. In fact, our costs are higher! We did our due diligence in selecting the best package. We did the training and wrote interfaces. We toured sites […]
Read MoreIs It Time to Jettison JIT?
Manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers have come to rely on Just In Time inventory management, or JIT, as a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency. There is no doubt that JIT management has improved companies’ bottom lines and saved manufacturers billions of dollars. While JIT offers the potential to create significant savings for firms, it […]
Read MoreJettison JIT?
Is it time to jettison JIT? It may be, according to industry observers Ike Brannon, senior economist on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and Michael Gorman, assistant professor at the University of Dayton (see Viewpoint, August issue). Let’s think about that. Ike and Mike say that increased transport costs offset savings companies using just-in-time regimes […]
Read MoreCogistics Part 2: Cutting Costs on Urgent Shipments
Last month I introduced you to Cogistics, a Lakeland, Fla.-based service provider that helps companies plan and execute their transportation and supply chain operations through collaboration and data management. This month, I follow up by concentrating on Cogistics’ Urgent-1 service and pre-audit/carrier payment process. “Cogistics’ critical shipment call center, Urgent-1, does not pertain exclusively to […]
Read MoreOrchestrating Successful Product Launches
Successful product launches are like a well-orchestrated symphony. Each instrument must work in harmony to produce the melody, and every musician plays a critical role. As the conductor of a product launch, you want flawless orchestration, but getting products to the retail market presents many challenges. In today’s economic environment, companies cannot afford any missteps, […]
Read MoreTechnology Fights National Security Threat
The nature of national security threats against the United States has changed since Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. officials and citizens alike perceive the threat to be from terrorists who would attack with conventional explosives or weapons of mass destruction moving through the international supply chain. The United States Government (USG) has responded through three developments; […]
Read MoreBuilding Security Into the Supply Chain
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the term “security” primarily addressed cargo theft. Now the term addresses the broader set of security requirements and challenges associated with the increasing terrorist threat. Historically, competition has heightened information-sharing tensions among regulatory agencies, manufacturers, freight forwarders, carriers, and retailers—they have “protected” their piece of the information technology system. The […]
Read MoreNavigating by Gyroscope
Sociologist David Reisman suggests that there are two types of political people: gyroscopic—those having internal guidance on issues, and radar—those bouncing off and navigating their issue positions by interacting with others. We find similar behavioral patterns in operation by those providing outsourced services in a stressed economy. Do they navigate their way to survivability and […]
Read MoreCogistics: Harnessing the Power of Collaboration
Given the direction of today’s economy, most companies continue to focus on ways to reduce costs and increase their return on investment. There are many means to achieving these goals, but clearly better use of data—that is, transforming raw information into actionable knowledge—is a sound approach. In the supply chain, where all activities are interlinked […]
Read MoreRiding Outsourcing Waves: Hang Five to Thrive
Improving supply chain performance by outsourcing has been in vogue for decades. But has the outsourcing process kept pace with the emergence of the supply chain manager (SCM)—a single provider responsible for end-to-end performance? The first wave of outsourcing focused on exchanging fixed assets for leaner balance sheets and variable logistics costs in warehousing and […]
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