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The Lights Are On But No One’s Home
We have a saying in the big city, “the lights are on but no one’s home.” By the time you read this, in California at least, everyone may be home but the lights may be off. Chalk another one up to federal and state energy policy pooh-bah’s polymorphic foul-ups. They hit the off switch. Few […]
Read MoreAutomatic Information: The Supply Chain Goes Live
As the pressure for speed and accuracy increases within the supply chain, companies constantly search for technology to deliver goods quickly and reliably. To meet that demand, an ever-increasing number of end user communication solutions—such as RF devices, subtle bar-code readers, cell phones, and personal digital assistants—have been developed and marketed in the past 10 […]
Read MoreStress-Free Shipping: The Reseller’s Way
Are you the owner of a small- to medium-sized business looking for ways to give your customers better service? Have you encountered stress in your business even as you’ve searched for something as seemingly simple as an overnight shipping service? In addition to the cost of transporting a package, perhaps you’ve had questions of dependability […]
Read MoreOnline vs. Offline Shopping: Retailers Must Respond
E- tailing has emerged as a significant retail force—consumers are shopping online. Now it’s up to traditional brick and mortar retailers to respond. With even more recent pressure on pure-play dot.com retailers, an integrated retail strategy seems to be in mode. Whether you adopt the creative label, or simply treat the Internet as a channel […]
Read MoreThis Land is Your Land: Real Estate Cuts Costs
As competition among 3PL firms continues to increase, finding new ways to reduce your operating costs and maximize supply chain efficiencies becomes increasingly important. A 1999 analysis of the logistics industry found that an estimated eight cents on each dollar spent on logistics can be allocated to the warehouse with the majority, or 59 cents, […]
Read MoreSharing Your Logistics Wealth
Hats off to the National Industrial Transportation League, which has joined with Transportation.com and Transportation for Tots to collect toys and cash for needy kids at its annual conference and at other transportation-related events. Transportation.com also teamed up with e-Toys.com this holiday season for a six-week online toy collection campaign. These folks know that logisticians—and […]
Read MoreDelivering B2B Supply Chain Flexibility
The stakes continue to rise in the online business-to-business world. Despite the still rapid entry of new dot.com players—1,000 new sites since the beginning of the year—Forrester Research predicts that within three years, less than 200 will remain. While there are many reasons for the falloff, the main reason is that many sites do not […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Revolution Is In Your Hands
Corporate leaders today recognize what logistics professionals have always known: supply chain performance can have a significant dollars-and-cents impact on an organization’s market share and profitability. The evidence is compelling. For example, best-in-class companies spend five to six percent less on supply chain management as a percentage of sales than median performers, according to The […]
Read MoreGetting On Board with Windows CE
Although on-board computers have been used in the transportation and logistics industry for more than a decade, most have been single-function proprietary devices that users could not customize. Now, multi-function, open-systems devices are available that operate all applications, are user programmable, and can be connected to corporate data networks with widely used protocols. Industries such […]
Read MoreSecuring America’s Future by Riding the ITS Wave
Ocean liner service is the backbone of international transportation for manufactured goods. General cargo ships, sailing on regular schedules along established trade lanes, annually move more than 1.2 billion metric tons of consumer, industrial, and military commodities ranging from fatigues and milling machines to perfume and designer jeans. In the past 10 years, the number […]
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