Commentary

GOOD QUESTION | What’s the first thing to look for when selecting a logistics partner?

Common goals and transparency.

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Tariffs: Is it Time to Rethink What Goes Where?

Did you think the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were temporary bargaining chips to get concessions from China? Now that essentially every item imported from China is subject to tariffs, are you thinking again? As the U.S.-China trade war shows little sign of ending, supply chain managers have to find new ways to keep costs […]

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The View From the Control Tower

As discussed in my last column, Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a process that uses “outside-in” thinking by integrating demand forecasts, supply plans, inventory projections, and financial plans into one medium-term strategic model. That’s a great starting point. But the leading-edge way to manage your short- to mid-term global supply chain in real time (or […]

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Blockchain-as-a-Service: Building Transparent Supply Chains For All

Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), which gives businesses the ability to connect their supply chains through simply an internet browser, will add more fuel to Blockchain adoption.

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Choosing a 3PL: How to Make a Mature Decision

Relationships between shippers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers commonly focus more on tactical and operational elements rather than strategic elements. When sourcing to 3PLs, the shipper’s RFP often focuses on lane costs rather than strategic elements such as systems integration, real-time visibility, and total-cost performance. The transactional lane-focused relationship is appropriate for companies looking for […]

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GOOD QUESTION | How Can Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Compete with Amazon?

Don’t try and compete with Amazon. Identify what your customers want most and over deliver. Optimize the supply chain to provide flawless execution.

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I Was a Shipment at Disney

On a recent trip to Disney World with my family, I felt like one of the shipments you manage. I experienced firsthand the recent technological magic Disney has invested in. The impact of that technology investment starts before you hit the park—advance planning, if you will. Disney encourages everyone seeking information about park attractions to […]

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Eight Ways to Minimize Supply Chain Risk

Supply chain attacks aren’t anything new, but threat actors continue to find new ways to breach networks. The 2013 Target breach and more recent NotPetya, Trisis, and Wipro compromises serve as not-so-gentle reminders that supply chain attacks are damaging and costly and present many risks to both businesses and their suppliers.

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Training: The Hidden Value-Add

Any business involved in import and export activities falls within the scope of all laws and regulations applicable to those activities. These laws and regulations are far-reaching and can be highly complex.

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Collaboration Grows Freight Economy

At the heart of St. Louis’ strategy to advance as a global trade hub is a focus on collaboration to strengthen and promote the region’s already robust freight network. The entire bi-state region has united behind that common goal—establishing partnerships that bridge government boundaries, public and private sector, various industries, and multiple transport modes. The effort is paying off.

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4 Steps to Streamline Global Shipping

For global manufacturers, managing logistics and carriers across locations, countries, and regions is no easy task, particularly given the current unpredictable business environment. But while shippers can’t control fickle global relations, they need not be at their mercy.

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How to Recruit and Retain the Best Interns

If you hire summer interns, you’ve already decided where to source students. But what about the decisions around post-intern hiring?

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Reinventing Logistics in the Age of Amazon

n 1909, Henry Ford said, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” Decades later, Jeff Bezos said, “Customers are divinely discontent. Their expectations are never static—they go up.”

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Leveraging Real Time Information to Better Manage Logistics

When it comes to shipping freight around the world, costs and on-time delivery top the list of concerns for everyone from shipping managers to CEOs. Having strong, accessible data is essential.

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Blockchain Moves Beyond the ‘Walled Garden’ Stage

On Halloween 2008, a mysterious paper entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System appeared on a cryptography mailing list. Its author used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and to this day no one is sure of their true identity. Nevertheless, the the paper unleashed a revolution. While the Bitcoin paper’s objective was to establish an alternative […]

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3PL Growth Spurt. Why?

The managed logistics sector thrives both in times of positive change and in times of uncertainty. We’ve recently had plenty of both. In today’s bipolar economy, it’s no wonder that U.S. 3PLs had their best-ever year in 2018. Forty percent of 3PLs report top-line sales growth of 20% or better in our annual 3PL Perspectives […]

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IBP and Lean: A Match Made in Heaven

Acknowledging that we are in a “whitewater rapids” phase of today’s global economy, and hence supply chain, leads us to the question: Who is steering the ship and how?

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Operating a Purpose-Driven Supply Chain

Leading with purpose creates an impact that resonates across a business—including employees, customers, partners, and shareholders. It can often be a complicated process, but it doesn’t need to be. For global brands that source raw materials, move products through global supply chains across borders, and ultimately deliver a product or experience to a customer, understanding […]

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