Articles
Good Question
What’s the most unusual or unexpected transportation move or logistics project you’ve been involved in?
The most unusual thing I’ve transported is rhodium “dust.” Rhodium is a precious metal 7 times more expensive than gold. The rhodium was used in an industrial chemical process and dust generated from the process was collected and transported to a special recovery facility. It required an escort because each drum was valued at more than $1 million.
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If you could switch jobs with someone for a day, who would it be?
A presidential debate moderator. What a thrill it would be to channel creativity with a journalistic flair to craft questions for some of the most powerful leaders in the world to discuss. What an adrenaline rush…until the candidates don’t observe the rules.
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Should the Emergency Suspension of Hours-of-Service Rules be Extended?
Yes, the Hours-of-Service exemption should be extended until the country removes the emergency declarations for the pandemic and the CDC no longer declares the United States under a pandemic.
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What’s the most significant way COVID-19 has changed the supply chain?
The pandemic has increased uncertainty to a level never seen before in supply chains. Demand patterns are all over the place, supply lines are disrupted, lead times are uncertain, and nobody is quite sure when and how things will change going forward. Supply chain planning? More like supply chain prognosticating!
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What supply chain technology would you accelerate?
Actionable big data—simply because it is the key to unlocking the fully optimized supply chain.
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What COVID-19 supply chain pivot impressed you the most? Why?
One Million Masks, founded by Shafqat Islam, which has built a digital supply chain. Powered by UPS, they have secured hundreds of thousands of PPE units for hospitals. Furthermore, it demonstrates a supply chain that was built in months that otherwise would have taken years. Over the coming months, we will continue to see this type of rapid innovation from savvy organizations.
Read MoreWhat’s the most unexpectedly good advice you’ve received about the supply chain?
Speed is not always the solution. Breaking shipments into inventory replenishment and just-in-time SKUs allows price and transit time optimization. Asia-to-U.S.-East-Coast transit through the Panama Canal versus the Suez Canal differs by 7 to 13 days. Pushing inventory cargo to the slower/lower-cost options provides free warehousing on the water while reducing overall landed cost. —Alan […]
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GOOD QUESTION | How should shippers adjust their supply chains in response to the disruption caused by COVID-19?
Keep a daily pulse on supply and customer demand. Daily monitoring on COVID-19 restrictions in supplier and customer locations is essential to understanding when and where to ramp up or down capacity within your supply chain limits. It’s also important to communicate up and downstream projected manufacturing or demand signals so that your supply base […]
Read MoreWhat supply chain insight would you share with your younger self?
Supply chains are more straightforward than they appear. All the acronyms and industry-specific terms seem confusing, but they’re all in service of moving things from origin to destination. —Ethan Frisch Co-founder Burlap and Barrel Take emotion out of your decision making and always be forward thinking with your long-term strategic plan in mind. Take care […]
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GOOD QUESTION | What Supply Chain Terms Do People Sometimes Confuse?
Carrier vs. broker or 3PL. Shippers often don’t recognize the value difference—and motivations—of an asset owner versus a non-asset player. We’re measured the same, but when the rubber meets the road, it’s the asset provider who has to deliver. The key is to understand where a broker brings value. Greg Orr President, CFI Savings vs. […]
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