Articles
Commentary
Think Big, Act Small
Business disruption is creating disproportionate opportunity for mid-size forwarders, logistics solutions providers, and 3PLs. The maxim “He who is closer to the customer wins” is in play here. Says who? A recent survey by Barclays/BOD on the state of logistics confidence levels finds that “larger companies have generally found things more difficult than smaller ones, […]
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Reshoring Starts with Mapping Suppliers
When the book How COVID-19 Changed Supply Chains is written, it will include chapters on reshoring—bringing manufacturing back to the United States—and nearshoring—bringing them closer to home. But there won’t be a chapter titled “How COVID-19 Ended China’s Manufacturing Dominance.”
Read MoreWhat’s the most unusual or unexpected transportation move or logistics project you’ve been involved in?
The most unusual thing I’ve transported is rhodium “dust.” Rhodium is a precious metal 7 times more expensive than gold. The rhodium was used in an industrial chemical process and dust generated from the process was collected and transported to a special recovery facility. It required an escort because each drum was valued at more than $1 million.
Read MoreFleet Electrification Offers Opportunity in Shipping, Logistics
Electrification is driving transportation to become more sustainable and innovative. For shipping and logistics managers, electric trucks (e-trucks) offer opportunities to advance supply chain efficiency, decrease operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, improve driver safety, adhere to carbon emission regulations, and potentially monetize energy by establishing predictable long-term costs and grid services. The market for e-trucks […]
Read MoreHow to Protect Your Supply Chain from Cyberattacks
Supply chains have been stretched to their limits by COVID-19 lockdowns, border closures, and sudden shifts in consumer demands. Now, they’re facing a growing threat from hackers. According to the FBI, cyberattacks have surged by 400% during the pandemic. One of the top targets: supply chains. In 2019, there were around 300 major hacks on […]
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Omnichannel and Supply Chain Work Together for Competitive Advantage
The days of going to a department store to shop for a TV, viewing the options, and making a purchase now seem quaint. The emergence of the internet, smartphones, social media, and other technologies has opened a world of new options for consumers and businesses to review, research, and buy online with ever-increasing delivery choices.
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Do You Like Raspberries?
Initial and erroneous reporting on a Wuhan wet market renewed a focus on food supply chain management, or FSCM. The virus episode reminds us that reputations of food value chain partners—vendors, transport providers, governments, buyers, and retailers—can and will be severely damaged by any food chain fail. Twenty-three million people get sick from unsafe food […]
Read MoreHow Cold Chains Can Be Optimized for the Delivery of a COVID-19 Vaccine
Cold chains need to be able to provide the right vaccines in the right condition and at the right time to be successful. Pharma companies can successfully distribute the COVID-19 vaccine if they can achieve true visibility and collaborate to creatively solve cold logistics issues.
Read MoreCreating a Smart Asset-Tracking Solution for Pallet Monitoring and Beyond
Corporations around the world are acknowledging the importance of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the need for a solution that has the ability to identify, locate and track assets. This year, Gartner predicts that over half of major new business processes will incorporate some element of the IoT, and the industry where increased internet-connected […]
Read MoreHow IoT Solves Global Supply Chain Challenges
Today’s supply chains are more complex than ever before, with goods changing hands multiple times between global suppliers and consumers before they reach their final destinations. Such a high scale of production can quickly present logistical challenges, like how to keep track of returnable industrial packaging (RIP), the loss of which can significantly harm a […]
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If you could switch jobs with someone for a day, who would it be?
A presidential debate moderator. What a thrill it would be to channel creativity with a journalistic flair to craft questions for some of the most powerful leaders in the world to discuss. What an adrenaline rush…until the candidates don’t observe the rules.
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Solving Distributor Liquidity Shortages
The pandemic is inflicting financial hardship on the supply chain—from manufacturers down to the end consumer—with particular pain for distributors, who are the critical intermediary agents responsible for delivering goods from producers to retailers and other businesses that sell to consumers.
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The World Is Your Warehouse 3.0
In a column I wrote 20 years ago called "Millennium Musings," I used the phrase "make the world your warehouse." It took two decades, but it appears that we may be on the cusp of that actually happening, not just in developed countries, but across the entire world. How? Enter Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, […]
Read MoreHow Election Results Will Impact Supply Chain Stakeholders
The coronavirus, and the associated lockdowns, has brought a great deal of logistics activity – and many business decisions – to a grinding halt. Especially when it comes to international trade, it’s hard for business decisions-makers to decide at the moment if they want to invest heavily in a certain market, or to make commitments […]
Read More3 Signs a Warehouse Needs a Wireless Site Assessment
A properly designed wireless network, as well as enhancements made to an existing network, can maximize benefits of the Wi-Fi system and enhance efficiencies across all areas of a business. Connectivity poses a unique challenge for warehouse operations given constantly shifting inventory, shelving, racking and vehicles, along with potential interference from other wireless equipment. Ensuring […]
Read More3 Ways Retailers Can Fully Prepare for the Holiday Season
Retailers know Americans will still be spending this holiday season, even if it is in a wildly atypical manner. Smart retailers are taking the following steps to ensure they’re not left with a lump of coal this holiday season. 1. Finalize any online fulfillment and inventory management decisions. Retailers of all sizes are aggressively wrapping […]
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Shopping for E-Fulfillment Efficiencies
Online grocery shopping has morphed from a temporary necessity to a new way of life. Retailers with the best order fulfillment process and the highest-quality customer service will gain the upper hand.
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Should the Emergency Suspension of Hours-of-Service Rules be Extended?
Yes, the Hours-of-Service exemption should be extended until the country removes the emergency declarations for the pandemic and the CDC no longer declares the United States under a pandemic.
Read MoreServing Eye Surgeons During the Pandemic: Relying on Ingenuity and Partnerships
Flight cancellations, inconsistent supply, increased demands on our customer service teams…these aggravations are not about pleasure or business travel, but the urgent need to rush a cornea to someone waiting in darkness for a transplant.
Read More3 Tips for Using Data-Driven Technology to Augment Worker Safety
The adoption of wearable technology in the supply chain space has accelerated during the past six months, as the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new wave of workplace safety concerns. Now, in addition to reducing worker injuries, IoT technology is increasingly used to protect workers from the virus with newly added social distancing and contact-tracing […]
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