Articles

Commentary

Howard Rosenberg

Rethinking Reverse Logistics for Online Apparel Returns

As virtual shopping bags replace physical ones, it’s important for retailers to update their policies and logistics strategies to align with consumer behavior and expectations. This is particularly the case when deciding how to handle apparel returns, which boast one of the highest return rates: One in three purchases are sent back. This trend, and […]

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Anthony Berritto

The Slow, Steady Decline Of the Owner-Operator Model

Today, we face the slow extinction of independent owner-operators. These self-reliant business owners are dealing with a myriad of regulations that will soon make the owner-operator model impractical, and its survival improbable. Of the 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States, about 350,000 are owner-operators, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. If you […]

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Todd Miller

Solving the E-Commerce Puzzle

Inventory is now on-demand, and predicting what consumers will want on any given day is tricky. Add to that the already challenging scenario that consumers want to shop and purchase goods at any time and from anywhere—and supply chain logistics for e-commerce inventory gets even more complex and complicated. Many retailers and brands haven’t solved […]

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Sven Thiesen

Evaluate Partners Before You Sign the Contract

In an increasingly competitive global environment, every element of the supply chain must be effective and efficient—to deliver the right quality products, on time and at the right price. Empowering your procurement team before supplier selection is key. For companies that outsource materials, parts, and equipment, the potential for quality issues and hidden costs can […]

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Keith Biondo

Wild Ride?

When the IL team came up with the original issue theme for the 2017 Logistics Planner—The Upside of Down—we were anticipating yet another long term of challenging economic stagnation. The theme was that our mantra of demand-driven or inbound logistics practices would help enterprise managers and owners squeeze every last ounce of value out of […]

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Glenn Jones

How to Find Value in Big Data

There’s an endless amount of big data, but only storing it isn’t useful. The value is in what you find in the data. Instead of aggregating all the data you’re getting, you need to define the problem that you’re trying to solve and then gather data specific to that problem. Today we have the capability […]

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Paul A. Myerson

Using Network Optimization Technology To Enable Your Lean Supply Chain

From a lean and agile supply chain perspective, an optimally designed supply chain can significantly improve margins, support expansion into new markets, enhance the customer experience, and reduce operating costs. Optimizing your supply chain network helps achieve more value and less waste through keeping lower inventories, maintaining the right stock levels, and choosing the right […]

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