Articles
Commentary
4 Reasons for the Warehouse Investment Boom
Right behind the frenzied investment in ChatGPT and related AI is an investment boomlet in distribution center and warehouse automation and robotics. Four convergent trends are at work here. 1. Driven by current economic challenges is the necessity to extract every ounce of ROI from each sale’s dependency on inventory and the infrastructure that supports […]
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Rail Must Prioritize Safety Over Profits
Since the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, the full impact of the devastation to that community is yet to be seen. Although more than 1,000 derailments happen each year, it’s unacceptable that they are considered a simple cost of doing business. Our communities and the industries that rely on railroads to carry their products need and expect the rail industry to do better.
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Don’t Blame Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing has been blamed for the recent supply chain crisis, with critics claiming lean and just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing encouraged extremely low inventories of raw materials and components. When the pandemic arrived, and supplies were disrupted, manufacturers had to stop production due to material shortages. This had cascading effects all the way down the supply […]
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4 Tips for Procurement Logistics Pros to Weather Economic Storms
For logistics procurement, the past 12 months have been a continual, yet perfect storm. First, the pandemic exposed a decades-old model based on low transportation costs. Then the conflict in Ukraine created a fresh set of problems, including a huge spike in energy prices. The relative certainty that procurement and supply chain organizations enjoyed at […]
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FMCSA – Safety Is in Your Name. Stay in Your Lane.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to further regulate freight rates, building upon a piece of 1980s regulation that requires brokers to share a copy of the pricing for each transaction with their carriers, is anti-free market and anti-business—and does nothing to solve real problems that impact everyone from carriers to consumers.
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Panama Canal: Drought, Shipping, and the Supply Chain
The past few months have been unusually dry across Panama and there is no sign of improvement over the next few weeks, let alone the rest of the spring season. In 2022, nearly 15,000 vessels with 520 million tons of cargo passed through the channel.
This year, there’s simply not enough water – leading to vessel restrictions and ultimately fewer goods able to travel through this area that normally moves about 6% of global maritime trade. Everstream Analytics’ Chief Meteorologist Jon Davis reveals how low rain levels at the Panama Canal are set to impact supply chains.
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How Manufacturers Can Optimize their Supply Chain Workforce
Adopting a 5S workplace organization strategy can be the key to a successful post-COVID workforce. By implementing these policies, manufacturers will be able to optimize their supply chains and workforces in a way that will allow them to overcome the challenges they have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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How Importers Can Comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
Through heightened due diligence, a strong understanding of their supply chains, and the right supporting technology, importers can do their part in the fight to help eradicate human rights violations around the globe.
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Why Mentorship Programs Make a Difference
Creating future leaders within your organization via a mentorship program is instrumental to long-term success, providing a wide range of benefits.
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GOOD QUESTION: How has logistics technology impacted your job?
We’re going through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) switchover that requires a great deal of patience, change management, and transactional discipline. The change is definitely tough and requires a steep learning curve to keep up. The new technology allows for greater control and visibility of product locations as they move from the production team through […]
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