Articles
Commentary
Bullwhip or Just Bull?
Are shipping lines pricing themselves out of business? Blame the bullwhip effect, a distribution channel phenomenon in which demand forecasts yield increasing swings in inventory. Let’s take that idea a bit further. Financial pressures on publicly traded companies drive short-term policies that please The Street analysts to satisfy investor expectations. Yielding to those pressures sometimes […]
Read More
Supply Chain Finance: You Can Bank On It
Supply chain finance programs can successfully keep the cash flowing, enabling companies to cut debt and boost profitability.
Read More
9 Innovative Ways to Manage and Meet Demand Surges
Retailers uncover new ways to respond to anticipated and unexpected order spikes so they don’t lose the sale.
Read More
National Security Starts With Individual Manufacturers
Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical supplies like pharmaceutical ingredients and materials used in key technologies during the earliest days of the pandemic prompted the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021 to outline steps strengthening critical supply chains. It’s a long-overdue move that to some transportation experts may not go far enough in protecting national security.
Read More
Effective Ways to Find and Retain Talent
Even before the pandemic shined a light on how fragile our supply chain is, the industry has grappled with attracting and retaining talent to meet demand.
Read More
Transparency Builds Trust
How transparency enhances and strengthens supply chain partnerships.
Read More
Shippers Stock Up
As the pandemic continues to impact supply chains, retailers go shopping for third-party logistics providers to gain end-to-end control.
Read More
Digital Transformation: The Experience is King
A survey among supply chain leaders reveals that two-thirds of staff struggle to find the information they need to do their job. Alarmingly, 73% waste up to eight hours each week just trying to find data—leading to delays (46%), errors (28%), and bad customer experience (24%).
Read More
Expedited Shipping Can Save Money
As shipping delays and supply chain issues pile up across the country, more businesses struggle to ship and receive products on time. When companies fail to meet important deadlines, the results can be costly, leading to the loss of valuable customers and vendors.
Read MoreWhat is the biggest supply chain lesson you learned from the past two years?
The fragility or brittleness of a global marketplace so deeply dependent on just-in-time inventory. Any event, whether a pandemic, hurricane, or a container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, creates immediate disarray. In response, retailers have reverted to “just-in-case” practices, building up large safety stocks. It has become a choice between risking a stock-out or keeping costly excessive inventory. Where is the balance?
Read More