Articles
IT Matters: Logistics & Supply Chain Technology
“Sell By” Dates Cost Shippers Billions in Wasted Perishable Goods
Every milk carton and other perishable packaged food item bears date-stamped tags such as "Display Until," "Best Until," and "Sell By." Did you know that these dates are not intended for consumer use, and do not indicate when the food is spoiled? They are only intended for retailer use. Yet billions of dollars worth of […]
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3PL Value-Adds Mean Millions
You hate to say it, but everyone knows it: Today’s third-party logistics (3PL) relationship is transitional. Many 3PLs live and die by the freight rates they offer clients. Why? Because your shippers see the relationship as transactional, and trucking-focused. Shippers write checks for shipping expenses nearly every day, and freight is in the forefront of […]
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Filling the Cloud with High-Quality Data
The millions of dollars spent on supply chain software are squandered if data flowing through it lacks integrity. An attractive, feature-laden application is like a Ferrari—it only runs well when the right fuel flows through the engine. In this case, data is the fuel that powers this impressive vehicle. Without it, only the glitzy exterior […]
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Handling Change: There’s an App for That
Eighty-nine percent of business leaders are either experiencing or anticipating external volatility or change to impact their business, according to a recent survey. And 91 percent expect internal change in products, channels, services, or markets to create planning challenges. Given that most business leaders must manage some sort of change within their demand-supply networks, why […]
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Can Your Global Supply Chain Withstand a Crisis?
Natural disasters, fluctuating oil prices, and other global factors continue to disrupt the flow of essential equipment and goods for manufacturers worldwide. For many companies, it has triggered a critical question: Can our organization’s supply chain withstand a major upheaval? It is an important question, because the flow of money through a supply channel determines […]
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Wireless Workstations Unplug Savings
Thanks to wireless technology, carts with on-board power supplies are opening new frontiers of efficiency, productivity, and profitability in distribution centers (DCs). These mobile- powered workstations (MPWs) carry computers, bar-code scanners, and printers, reducing paperwork and operator travel. DC employees can waste countless hours walking to and from deskbound computers to perform tasks such as […]
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Mobile TMS Applications Improve Supply Chain Visibility
Online applications for mobile devices are emerging in ways that can finally close or reduce many of the information gaps in the supply chain between transportation planning, the shipping/receiving dock, customers, and even accounts payable. These mobile applications are enabling shippers to interface directly and more effectively with logistic partners; access logistics information in non-traditional […]
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Improving Logistics and Distribution Processes at International Subsidiaries
Large enterprises continue to set up international subsidiary operations to find opportunities for growth. These subsidiary operations include sales and distribution offices, small operating divisions, customer service units, and joint ventures. They often need to develop their own logistics and distribution mechanisms to receive inbound shipments, store inventory and deliver orders to their customers. Unlike […]
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Discovering the Value of Analytics
Many companies are building analytics strategies, which use data to facilitate better decisions. To develop improved analytics strategies, consider the three different types of analytics: descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive. Each type uses data in a different way to provide a different type of value. Descriptive analytics: Using data to improve how you describe or report […]
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Containerization’s Benefits Can’t Be Contained
Today’s leading companies are reexamining their supply chain operations, and implementing new strategies and technology to improve performance and enhance efficiencies. Moving cargo in containers, or containerization, is one area of opportunity shippers can leverage, not only in downstream transportation and logistics functions, but also in unexpected upstream supply chain planning functions. In its simplest […]
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