Articles
Commentary
Retail Combats a $351-Billion Problem
The next time you think about returning an item to Amazon, be forewarned: Return too many items in one year, and you might just be exiled for good. Amazon’s controversial decision to ban return-happy customers in an effort to reduce returns costs shows the lengths retailers are willing to go. Last year, total merchandise returns […]
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The ABCs of Supply Chain Cybersecurity
Supply chain cybersecurity is one of the biggest issues facing logistics planners.
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | Should the United States Postal Service be privatized? Why or why not?
Readers weigh in on whether the USPS should go private.
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Is Your Supply Chain Ready for 2019?
Some of the most relevant topics in today’s headlines—technology, commerce, international relations, the legal landscape, and even immigration policy—will impact supply chains over the next 12 months and beyond. The key for supply chain and logistics professionals is to contextualize these issues and think strategically about how they will play out. Here are a few […]
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Minimize Returns While Improving Sales
The popularity of free shipping has led to a growth of online sales. It has also created a problem: a large number of online returns. The shipping world defines the returns process as reverse logistics. Minimizing costs and even making a profit in reverse logistics is critical to an e-commerce company’s health. Here are some […]
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Fighting Counterfeit Products
As pharmaceutical and food supply chains become more global, the risk of fraud, substitution, and counterfeiting increases. Consumers are demanding more transparency and safety adherence as these issues arise. Consumers are also increasingly concerned about the source of their products and the conditions under which they are manufactured. In the pharma supply chain, patients are […]
Read MoreGood Question: What’s your best supply chain tip?
Industry professionals share their best supply chain tips.
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When Worlds Combine
Inbound Logistics continues to provide actionable content to help drive supply chain change.
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When Worlds Collide
In retail there are two worlds or approaches: online and traditional. It appears the online retailers have been winning in the market with all types of consumers, even in manufacturing and industrial products. But don’t count the traditional retail world out yet. Good supply chain management practices, along with blended approaches to serving the customer, […]
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Today’s Technology, Tomorrow’s Demand
The late actress Carrie Fisher said, “instant gratification takes too long.” Her prescience is spot-on. Consumers don’t just want convenient, personalized products and services—they want them immediately. Speed and flexibility are the most significant aspects of meeting this heightened sense of “must have it now.” Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are in a fierce race […]
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Six Ways to Develop Character in Leaders
One of my hardest days in the military came in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. I was leading a Special Operations Planning Team and we were using an event tracking system to predict where, what type, and when acts of violence would occur. We predicted a huge rise in attacks with little end […]
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Using Technology to Cut Freight Costs
The bad news: Tight capacity and higher freight rates are the new normal. The good news: There are ways to handle the impacts far better than your competition. Aside from securing reduced freight rates from your carriers, here’s how you can cut freight expense while improving service: Coordinate business intelligence Improve load planning Provide carriers […]
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Using FTZs to Treat Pharma Challenges
Every day, pharmaceutical manufacturers navigate complicated regulations while managing costs and reducing risk. Foreign trade zones (FTZs) can help, but only if manufacturers understand what they are, their potential benefits, and how to best use them. FTZs—areas in or next to U.S. ports of entry under the control of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) but […]
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Maximizing Global E-Commerce Profits
With 7 billion prospective customers out there, how can e-commerce companies not grow wealthy by expanding internationally? But, as with most things in business, international e-commerce is not as simple as it sounds. It takes work, planning, and investment, but the profit potential is very real. When branching out internationally, you’ll be able to get […]
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Riding Out the Rapids
It seems that we are moving from crisis to crisis—tariffs, a plummeting stock market, cyber-attacks, recalls—at an ever-increasing pace. While we can’t avoid these crises, we can minimize their impact with a lean, agile supply chain. While that’s easy to say, it’s hard to do. Some key components to focus on include: Supply chain visibility, […]
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The Cure for Meeting Pharma Requirements
Complying with global pharmaceutical serialization and traceability regulations without collaboration and system interoperability represents a significant challenge for pharmaceutical trading partners. Collaboration preempts disagreements among supply chain trading partners simply because complete, accurate data is important to both parties. Contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) are a crucial component of the pharma manufacturing ecosystem, and many pharmaceutical […]
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Driver Shortage or Lack of Innovation?
The trucking industry has faced a driver shortage for many years now. In a world where every industry seems to be evolving, the stagnant nature of trucking is hurting the employment pool. While trucking was a popular profession for two previous generations, millennials have drastically different career expectations. Almost all millennials were raised using technology […]
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Pushing Blockchain Past the Hype
Businesses across the supply chain are finally embracing blockchain as an asset capable of unlocking tremendous value, especially as supply chains grow more globalized and susceptible to compromise. Yet many companies still approach blockchain with apprehension. Misinformation and lack of clarity loom over businesses curious about blockchain. Supply chain companies are understandably wary of having […]
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Not So Fast: Rethinking Multi-Item Orders
In the name of speed and satisfaction, many retailers think they’re doing the right thing by delivering products to customers as quickly as possible, shipping partial orders, but that isn’t always the case. High on the list of shopper frustrations is placing a multi-item order online only to have it arrive in multiple shipments over […]
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Why Millennials Deserve Our Attention
By 2020, global millennial spending power will total $20 trillion plus. Not paying attention to the needs of this burgeoning demographic is business suicide. The sooner supply chains can adapt to millennial attitudes, the better placed they are to thrive in the future. Agile logistics buyers who can secure providers offering millennial-focused services will reap […]
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