Articles
Commentary
A Plan for Freight Excellence
The U.S. Department of Transportation took many by surprise recently when it introduced the first-ever National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP), designed to upgrade the American freight system and maintain the country’s competitive edge. Anyone who has been around our industry as long as I have has seen federal initiatives that address transportation inequities without moving […]
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Lessons Learned: Risk Mitigation Strategies for the Future
Companies can help avoid at least some of the pitfalls of supply chain risk—including COVID-19—by developing risk mitigation strategies such as supply chain mapping.
Read MorePower Through Logistics Challenges with New, Modern Chassis
When the pandemic rocked the world this spring, many companies were utilizing “pool chassis” in major ports and inland rail locations. However, with many pool chassis ranging in age from 20 to 25 years old, this led to serious problems, including: Breakdowns: This results in lost time on the road, missed appointments, and increased maintenance […]
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10 Ways to Leverage Intermodal
Intermodal, the movement of containers and trailers, has been a boon to the supply chain for decades. It embraces standardization—standard container sizes and rail schedules, and standard trucking from ports and terminals to customers—which has reduced transport costs and mistakes, and improved freight service across the globe.
Read MoreControlling Your Own Destiny: Why Shippers Must Find Ways to Ensure Supply Chain Resiliency
The challenge with today’s supply chain is that one glitch, at any mile, can impact the entire chain.
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What’s the most significant way COVID-19 has changed the supply chain?
The pandemic has increased uncertainty to a level never seen before in supply chains. Demand patterns are all over the place, supply lines are disrupted, lead times are uncertain, and nobody is quite sure when and how things will change going forward. Supply chain planning? More like supply chain prognosticating!
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5 Lessons Learned During the Crisis
As a major player in the freight forwarding industry, and having been through the SARS epidemic in China, I have learned and implemented some key lessons that are vital not only in navigating a pandemic, but doing so efficiently.
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Let’s Not Forget
Virus Times has reminded us that we have the capacity to quickly adopt "new" technologies, adapt to new working conditions, and remain highly productive. Certainly the "new" technologies for collaborative work are not really new. They are new just to a large swath of workers who had no reason to Zoom under pre-COVID-19 working conditions. […]
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3 M’s to Cut Supply Chain Costs
As the global supply chain settles into the COVID-19 technology-driven and customer-centric decade, there’s no time to pause and reflect on what has happened. Now is a time for action. Pick up the pace and ensure your processes are leaner and faster, and you are equipped to meet your customers’ expectations.
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Return-to-School Period Will Test Retailers and 3PLs
Retailers and their logistics partners are having to find ways to navigate through uncertainty in a way that they can take advantage of whatever demand there is while keeping costs down, all at a time when the pandemic is already placing significant strain on their operations and sales. In many ways, the return-to-school shopping period […]
Read MoreIn Allocating Virus Crisis Relief, U.S. Policymakers Can’t Ignore America’s Ports
COVID-19 has profoundly altered our ways of life. Thankfully, one aspect has remained relatively stable…the movement of essential goods through our ports. During the pandemic, America’s ports have ensured store shelves remain stocked and commerce continues to flow. Due to the supply chain in which ports are a central link, people have been able to […]
Read MoreThe Great Freight Debate: What’s Next for the Industry?
Several months into the pandemic, trends are emerging across the freight landscape that could shine a light on what the future may hold. The abrupt changes in demand of various items sent supply chains hurdling in different directions, with new, unforeseen consequences emerging from a world sheltering in place. Plans were quickly squashed, and forecasts […]
Read More5 Tips for Evaluating Logistics Service Providers
During the last decade, companies have increased their spend with outsourced logistics service providers in the United States. This increased spending and continued growth in the logistics services industry have led to continuous improvement within the field, and also rising consumer expectations. As a business owner looking to select a best-fit provider for your company, […]
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Automating Short-Haul Intermodal with Electrified Overhead Rail
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, container shipping was hit as hard as any industry. In the best of times, this vast, labor-intensive network is prone to worker and truck driver shortages, unbalanced hand-offs between distribution nodes, and traffic gridlock and movement lockdowns. In the worst of times, like the pandemic, they face additional delays caused by customs clearance inspections, ports and crew refusals to address certain vessels, and operational shutdowns for decontamination.
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Addressing Shippers’ Top Concerns
Due to the current uncertainty of the global economy, shippers are experiencing new, unique challenges. As they navigate these challenges, understanding the shifts in consumer behavior and how they impact their supply chain is critical.
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Becoming the Next Leading Logistics Hub
More and more consumers turned to e-commerce and online grocery sales for their purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding pressure on the supply chain and making the location of distribution and fulfillment centers even more important.
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Power of Prevention: Compliance Audits
Organizations historically performed supplier contract audits to monitor and manage contracts and ensure all parties meet their agreed-upon terms. This includes finding past billing errors and recouping funds when overbilling is identified.
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Fixing Our Broken Supply Chain
Supply chains are long overdue for a complete overhaul. This was made abundantly clear amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Online Grocery Shifts into Hyperspeed
The retail grocery industry was upended by the COVID-19 outbreak. As consumers rushed to stock up on food and other items during quarantine, retailers and their partners collaborated in new ways to respond to skyrocketing demand.
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What supply chain technology would you accelerate?
Actionable big data—simply because it is the key to unlocking the fully optimized supply chain.
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