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Our Wiki, Wiki Ways
The best way to move forward in these challenging times is to innovate collaboratively – emphasizing the quality of openness and the values of networked connectivity, shared knowledge, and rapid information exchange. Humanity has generally been successful when “we the people” act in concert – but we didn’t arrive at the “we” factor overnight. Adam […]
Read MoreImproving Fleet Management Performance
The nation’s trucks hauled 10.7 billion tons of freight in 2005, according to the American Trucking Associations’ truck tonnage index. This figure represents nearly 70 percent of tonnage, including manufactured and retail goods, carried by all domestic freight transportation modes. Yet many in the trucking industry have been slow to recognize the strategic importance of […]
Read MoreFour Fast Ways to Cut Transport Spend
Transportation costs have become a bullish line item in virtually every corporate budget. Fuel costs have hit an all-time high and companies’ shipping needs are only becoming more complex. No wonder carriers are raising rates and transportation costs are rising. But the truth is, many companies simply lose control over transportation costs as shipping demands […]
Read MoreLess Pie in the Sky And More Meat and Potatoes
When asked about the economy, Harry S Truman said he wished for a one-handed economic advisor so he could never say, “on the other hand.” In certain sectors, the economy is bad and likely to get worse. Why? Could it be that the decades without a national energy policy are coming home to roost as […]
Read MoreSeattle’s Second-Best?
When people think of Seattle, they are reminded of its coffee, salmon, and fir trees. It’s also the hometown of American titans such as UPS, Boeing, and Starbucks. But as these companies grow, and take their operations elsewhere to compete globally, cities such as Seattle are losing a vital part of their economic identity. The […]
Read MoreTechnology Standards Hold the Key to Security
Since the advent of globalization, logisticians have sought a technology that provides real-time tracking of goods, documents, and information across supply chains. Considered a luxury for many years, the development of a Supply Chain Technology Standard (SCTS) has become an operational mandate to meet the need for heightened security. Unfortunately, no single technology creates real-time, […]
Read MoreSelecting the Right Warehouse Management System
The typical warehouse buzzes with activity every day. Products arrive at the loading docks, forklift drivers shift pallets around the floor, automated retrieval systems pull goods for shipment. Warehouse management systems (WMS) provide tools for keeping track of all that action. Today, dozens of technology vendors – from well-established to relatively new – offer warehouse […]
Read MorePerfect Order Fulfillment: Getting it All Right
The journey through the supply chain is filled with constant movement and activity, and each step holds the potential for delays, wasted money, and errors. The complexities of an extended supply chain make the odds against fulfilling a perfect order overwhelming. The Supply Chain Council describes perfect order fulfillment as a discrete measurement defined as […]
Read MoreHanging in the Balance
If one theme threads its way throughout this issue – from cover illustration to featured articles to the logistics solution providers we have selected for our annual Top 100 Logistics IT Providers list—it’s balance. Businesses today routinely balance on the brink between too much and too little – whether it’s forecasting demand, carrying safety inventory, […]
Read MoreTaking on One-Offs
Q: I operate a marine terminal, and I have an insurance policy with a $1-million limit to cover loading and discharge operations. A customer wanted me to discharge a heavy piece of machinery valued at $75 million. When I asked my insurance company to increase its limit just for this one operation, it refused to […]
Read MoreInfrastructure Triage 101
The U.S. logistics system is the nation’s life and supply line and deserves our highest attention. A sobering assessment of our regard for America’s infrastructure is found in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) most recent report card. Here are the grades: Rail: C- Aviation: D+ Roads: D Bridges: C Navigable Waterways: D- It’s […]
Read MoreChoosing a 3PL: Safety First
When negotiating transportation services with a third-party logistics provider (3PL), you may find that they emphasize efficiency, customer service, competitive pricing, and timeliness. Safety is rarely a selling point and may go unmentioned during discussions. When shopping for 3PL services, however, a good safety record should be at the top of your checklist. Contracting with […]
Read MoreLocation-Based Services Put Efficiency on the Map
Enhanced productivity. Cost savings. Revenue increases. Improved customer relations. These are among the most important – and most widely acknowledged – benefits of deploying location-based service (LBS) tools such as geographic positioning systems (GPS) and street-level routing (SLR). Add one more benefit of emerging importance that will have significant impact over time: reduced emissions. Corporations, […]
Read MoreCan We Create a Viable National Transportation Policy?
State and federal transportation departments, the White House, and Congress have failed to promote and fund a coherent and dynamic national transportation policy to meet the infrastructure demands of our 21st century global business environment. Today’s overburdened and congested infrastructure cannot meet the economic and energy demands of a population that has doubled since 1950. […]
Read MoreUp and Atom
Some thought leaders, visionaries, and business gurus claim the United States is transforming from an “industrial” to a “post-industrial” economy. More guru-speak: “Wealth in the United States will be created more and more by electrons, and less and less by atoms.” In English, that means our information and service businesses will continue to grow (electrons) […]
Read MoreHamilton on Wry
One misty day, I wandered about the graveyard at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. I spotted a figure sitting on the steps of a square granite box with four urns at its corners and a truncated pyramid in its center. It was the tomb of Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), who for many Americans is merely the […]
Read MoreCommunity Developers: Take the Intermodal Initiative
My Sears vacuum cleaner, made by Panasonic in Japan a decade ago, quit working recently. Replacing the original relay with a part now made in Indonesia fixed the problem. Clearly, it’s not just America that is outsourcing. Manufacturing worldwide has morphed into production sharing, where companies assemble and sell products made from subassemblies sourced around […]
Read MoreWith SaaS, You Make the Rules
Most companies spend 40 to 80 percent of their annual transportation budget on moving inbound shipments from suppliers. Despite these whopping costs, businesses boast relatively little control over their selection of inbound carriers or their service levels. Instead, most depend on suppliers to correctly assign carriers, then provide tracking information to the buying organization. This […]
Read MoreReverse Logistics: It Pays to Do It Right
Returns management and reverse logistics represent a significant source of untapped profitability for many organizations. Specifically, reverse logistics is rapidly emerging as a core driver of competitive advantage and financial performance among leading manufacturers, according to a recent Aberdeen Group report, Revisiting Reverse Logistics in the Customer-Centric Service Chain. Optimizing reverse logistics operations also can […]
Read MoreTraining Daze
The importance of logistics education is often overlooked and underrated, not only here in the United States, but abroad as well. A reader alerted me to a Financial Times article skewering the state of logistics training in the United Kingdom: “Poor productivity and high staff turnover in the UK’s logistics industry are undermining the competitiveness […]
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