Articles
Commentary
Carriers Face Challenges, Shippers Pay the Price
Unless shippers have just returned from Mars, they are aware that motor carriers have been hit with severe cost and capacity issues during the past three years. At the same time, however, if they haven’t been visiting other planets, they also know shippers are paying a heavy price. Shippers first became aware of serious industry-wide […]
Read MoreGoing Above & Beyond: The Norm for Top 3PLs
Whether a third-party logistics provider receives enough reader votes to win an Inbound Logistics Top 10 Excellence Award (page 100), or is chosen by the editors for the Top 100 3PL list (page 128), they share one common attribute—they go above and beyond the norm to meet, exceed, and in some cases anticipate their customers’ […]
Read MoreMetals and Liquids: RFID Kryptonite?
A recent conversation with my seven-year-old nephew turned to the new Superman movie. “Superman is cool because he can bend steel with his bare hands,” he told me. Ironically, his statement made me think of an e-mail from a reader who was searching not for someone to bend steel, but for an RFID product that […]
Read MoreFirst-Time Outsourcers Can Keep Customers Happy
Companies that are considering outsourcing warehouse operations for the first time should keep several issues in mind. Most important is ensuring that customer service is enhanced, rather than diminished, in the process. Another important consideration is what logisticians call Optimized Network Design—or, more simply, “Where should I locate my outsourced warehouse, and how many should […]
Read MoreSecuring Truckload Capacity While Reducing Overall Costs
The motor freight industry continues to be plagued by cost pressures that keep truckload capacity tight and drive shipping costs to record-high levels. Currently, motor freight carriers are struggling with: The growing driver shortage. The lack of long-haul drivers is the fifth-largest position shortage in America—195,000 drivers less than the existing need. Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules. […]
Read MoreSelf-Criticism and Shared Pain
Jeff Shane shares our pain. Who is he and what is the cause of our shared transportation weltschmertz? Shane is the Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of Transportation and appeared to be thinking out loud at a recent speech to National Industrial Transportation League members. Shane was right there with us when we spent […]
Read MoreChoosing an Intermediary? Buyer Beware
Q: Can importers be held responsible for unauthorized fraudulent acts committed by a customs broker working on their behalf? A: The U.S. Court of International Trade faced this question during a recent case where a textiles manufacturer hired a freight forwarder to act as its importer of record and to file entries on its behalf. […]
Read MorePaying by the Drink at D/C Expo
If you missed this year’s Distribution/ Computer Expo, May 23-25 in Chicago—and judging from the poor attendance level, it’s likely you did—you missed seeing the supply chain technology industry line up to pay by the drink. No, I’m not talking about vendors’ after-show bar habits, but rather the industry’s embrace of pay-by-the-drink software solutions. More […]
Read MoreLast Mile Logistics: Key to Competing in the Retail Race
For U.S. retailers with broad global supply chain operations, “last mile”—the portion of transit from the final delivery center to the customer’s door—is really the last hundreds of miles from the destination port to the store. This crucial part of logistics, which accounts for the majority of a shipment’s cost and complexity, is becoming increasingly […]
Read MoreHow To Be A Better Shipper
Shippers utilizing the services of cross-border carriers, third-party logistics providers, or other intermediaries to transport freight across international borders should always demand a high level of service. But service is a two-way street. Here are some ways you can help your carriers provide timely pickup and delivery, while ensuring a seamless flow of goods up […]
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Freight Transport Free-for-all
How can shippers tell whether they are contracting with a legitimate carrier when carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) offer so many different deals? What exactly constitutes a 3PL? And who monitors transportation entities today? These questions, and others, plague shippers in today’s deregulated transportation environment. It is not always easy to tell whether a […]
Read MoreTransportation Operations Planning: How Do You Rate?
Many companies are quickly falling behind their competition as they continue to run transportation operations without the process and technology sophistication required to manage the volume and velocity of today’s transaction levels. With increasing customer demands for service, speed, and price, and escalating levels of aggressive competition, there is no better time to evaluate your […]
Read MoreWarehousing Bounces Back, Shows New Vitality
More than 100 years ago, Mark Twain said rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. As a veteran supply chain management professional, I see a parallel between Twain’s quote and erroneous reports about warehousing’s decline. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, as information systems grew more advanced, pressure to eliminate or minimize the […]
Read MoreLess is Less and Less is More
Two important trends will impact your warehouse operations in the near term. First, retailers will seek to trim inventory even further to increase profits without reducing customer service standards. Wal-Mart, for example, recently announced its intention to cut $6.5 billion in inventory off an already lean 2:1 inventory-to-sales ratio. The goal? “Theoretical Zero Inventory.” The […]
Read MoreMicrosoft’s New SCM Dynamic
While many already use Microsoft software to manage transportation and logistics, the company is now making a splash with specialized supply chain solutions. Microsoft is beefing up its business application offerings for small- to mid-size businesses (SMBs) with the release of several enhanced products, including the Microsoft Dynamics suite, designed to empower customer relationship management […]
Read MorePrinting on the Go Can Help Profits Flow
Companies are investing in mobile computing systems at record levels to cut costs and improve efficiency in distribution, direct-to-store deliveries, and route accounting operations. Getting the most bang from these investment bucks does not necessarily depend on implementing the hottest new smart phones, software applications, or 3G wireless network services. Often, a small incremental investment […]
Read MoreStakeholders Share New Value
The CEO of Procter & Gamble, A.G. Lafley, does not talk much about shareholders; instead he talks about “stakeholders.” I wondered precisely what he meant, so I did a little online research. The original meaning of the word stakeholder was a person who holds money while its owner is being determined—a trustee for a minor, […]
Read MoreKnock on Wood Packaging Materials
Q: We are importing several containers of roof tiles from Spain. The pallets used for the shipment contain paper documents certifying that they were treated to ward off insects and other vermin. The shipment arrived at the destination port, but Customs informed us that the paper documents are not an acceptable proof of treatment. They […]
Read MoreFollow the Freight, Find the ROI
While the threat of cargo terrorism steals headlines (Dubai Ports World debacle anyone?), U.S. shippers are equally challenged by more common cargo perils such as vandalism, breakage, spoilage, transport accidents, and theft. In fact, the FBI estimates losses from cargo theft at $50 billion in the United States alone, according to Denis duNann, CEO of […]
Read MoreFreight Payment: Getting Back to Basics
At the beginning of the new millennium, many freight payment companies added the latest “whiz bang” gadgetry to their information systems or freight payment products. Now, those companies’ disappointed customers want their providers to get back to basics. Although information tools remain important, freight payment basics are now the priority. Today, shippers seek a freight […]
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