Commentary

Robots Do Yardwork, Too

Efficient warehouse operations provide the levels of service that customers demand as America’s economy scales up. In many instances, yard operations impede that efficiency. Safety, driver facilities, cooperation, and consideration for truckers’ time are ongoing challenges. One driver tells us that a yard he regularly serves is "like a moonscape." The confluence of e-commerce growth […]

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How would you summarize the supply chain in 2021 in five words?

A never-ending game of whack-a-mole.

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Big Transportation Impacts Small and Mid-Size Businesses

One often overlooked budget item in growing companies is transportation and logistics. As companies focus on growth, the oversight of logistics programs frequently becomes a complimentary duty of employees whose primary focus might be in other company disciplines.

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6 Reasons You Should Control Inbound Logistics

If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s this—supply chains are brittle. If raw materials or parts don’t get to where they need to be on time, manufacturing plants grind to a halt, orders are not fulfilled, customers are unhappy, and the bottom line suffers. A pandemic—and its knock-on effects of shortages—is not something companies […]

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What’s the most challenging time-critical shipment you ever pulled off? How?

I worked for a 3PL in Holland that distributed surgical products. A Luxembourg hospital contacted us after hours, after realizing they did not have the right-size heart valve for a patient needing immediate surgery. One of our employees delivered the valve there in his car, saving the patient’s life.

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Pulling Levers and Finding Value in Transportation

Value is not always easy to measure. It’s the same when discussing transportation costs. Lowest cost is not always the best, as poor quality can cost you much more. Corporate supply chain managers need to understand which levers to pull so they can get the best value for every transportation dollar spent.

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Is the Healthcare Supply Chain Ready for the Netflix Effect?

Have you ever marveled at how Netflix seems to know what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, and sets expectations with a high percentage of likelihood that you’ll enjoy their recommendation? What if we could apply that same degree of accuracy to the healthcare supply chain? Armed with the right information, we could know who needs which supplies and when, down to the patient level. The result would be a more resilient supply chain and better patient outcomes.

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Unleash Short Sea?

The ports around the Great Lakes would love to help offset some of the pain of the horror show called the "shipping crisis." Guess what. They can’t by law. Thank the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF), a well-intended policy perfect for the 1980s, along with related regulations, for sidelining port capacity around the Great Lakes. The […]

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