Articles

Feature Stories

What’s the Difference?

What’s the Difference?

Does an LLP perform the same service as a 4PL? Can you run a just-in-time operation without being lean? When push comes to pull, are logistics and supply chain management interchangeable? Industry experts explain the source of some common misperceptions regarding supply chain and logistics lexicon.

Read More

Snapshot: Footwear

Dealing with shifts in global manufacturing, limited product lifecycles, and inventory complexity keeps the footwear supply chain on its toes.By Cindy H. Dubin Apparel trends change rapidly, and each season spawns a new look. This is particularly true for footwear, a category of seemingly endless variety. From shearling-lined suede boots and bejeweled strappy sandals to […]

Read More

Where Are They Now? A Reader Profile Reunion

Time flies, and careers evolve quickly. Since 2002, Inbound Logistics’ Reader Profile column has introduced readers to more than 90 colleagues who work in logistics and supply chain management. Many of those professionals have since moved on from the jobs they held when we visited with them. Others still hold the same positions but have seen significant changes in their work. Let’s catch up.

Read More

Uncommon Ground

Ground carriers redefine expedited services to meet new delivery and security demands in a down economy.

Read More

Relieving The Holiday Hangover

Retail madness doesn’t stop at year’s end—it just reverses direction. A medicine chest of reverse logistics remedies helps alleviate retailers’ inventory headaches.

Read More

Wind Power Logistics: Tilting Toward Wind Turbines

Wind machines have been spinning imagination and innovation for centuries, but only now is past fancy and contemporary fabrication melding into a composite reality for U.S. industry. Where wind blows, economic promise follows. The wind energy industry is taking over the world and the United States is center stage in an unfolding drama.

Read More

Intermodal: Ready To Roll

Although volumes dipped in nearly all transport sectors this year, a small boost in domestic intermodal points to a better future for multi-mode transportation as the economy rebounds. In the meantime, intermodal facilities are taking advantage of the lull to upgrade so they’ll be ready when business picks up again.

Read More

1919-2009: Celebrating 90 Years in Ship By Truck

They did things the hard way because they had to. They saw opportunities and seized them, took risks, rolled with the punches, and reaped the rewards. They didn’t squeeze pricing or pinch service; everything was set in stone. And they hauled everything and anything during the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond. Join Inbound Logistics as we celebrate the legacies that made motor freight move.

Read More

Exclusive Inbound Logistics Research: Trucking Perspectives 2009

Cruising down Interstate I-81 through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley two things are obvious—NASCAR doesn’t translate well to radio and the trucking industry is alive and well. Negotiating hundreds of miles of white line fever, drafting and passing convoys sandwiched tight with 53-foot trailers, 7,000-gallon tankers, and 96-foot turnpike doubles, offers a shotgun perspective of where the […]

Read More

Freight Payment Services Boosting Invoice IQ

Freight payment/audit providers scrutinize shipper invoices using detailed reporting, sophisticated technology, and international capabilities. Here’s a close-up look at how they discover savings and efficiencies.

Read More

Outpacing the Perils of Perishables

Haunted by the challenges of environmental unpredictability, safety scares, and regulatory red tape, food shippers rely on supply chain efficiency to keep their cool.

Read More

Power Brokers

Across the country, public utilities are empowering local and state economic development while helping businesses amp up their site selection due diligence.

Read More

Switched On: Bringing The 3pl Machine To Life

MORE TO THE STORY: WAREHOUSING AGED TO PERFECTION Like any well-oiled, multi-articulated machine, today’s supply chain comprises many inter-related parts that alone serve specific needs and together function as a finely calibrated mechanism for consuming raw materials and spitting out finished goods. Its complexity is borne by countless factors: demand and supply, product differentiation, business […]

Read More