Articles
IT Matters: Logistics & Supply Chain Technology
Creating Competitive Advantage With Service Parts Logistics
After-sale customer service operations are a strategic part of every business. Not only is service a key differentiator, the difference between revenue contribution of service operations and total revenue can be as large as 40 to 60 percent. Many companies today are even willing to pay more for high levels of service. While most companies […]
Read MoreInventory Optimization: The Last Frontier
Two opposing forces are at work in business today: the need to reduce costs and the need to improve service levels. Bolstering one almost certainly causes the other to suffer. For example, lower your inventory to reduce costs and it becomes difficult to meet varying customer demand. Increase safety stock to meet peak demands and […]
Read MoreEasing the Impact of HOS Regulations
With the new Hours of Service (HOS) regulations now in effect for transportation providers, transportation management systems (TMS) are coming to the aid of shippers. The systems help shippers assess the impact of the new guidelines, incorporate the regulations into automated processes, and identify areas of improvement to minimize the financial impact of the regulations […]
Read MoreSeven Deadly Supply Chain Sins
If there is one IT system that provides the greatest immediate benefits to a company, yet also poses the greatest challenges to implement, it has to be supply chain management. It is also the most risky to work with because failure and success are so visible to your trading partners. Supply chain management (SCM) has […]
Read MoreWhere’s My Stuff?
Supply chain managers responding to a recent Aberdeen Group survey highlight the following items as their top three supply chain challenges: Identifying shipping delays, errors, and exceptions. Providing shipment visibility for supply chain partners. Integrating with other units and processes of the enterprise. These challenges mirror the growing complexity of today’s supply chains. Networks of […]
Read MoreAre You Ready to Ride the RFID Tidal Wave?
For the last 30 years, bar codes have been the accepted standard for product identification. Current technological advances, however, make radio-frequency identification (RFID) a promising alternative to bar codes in many applications. Now is the time for businesses to acquaint themselves with this technology, and to decide on a strategy for participating in this revolution. […]
Read MoreIs it Time to Return to the Rails?
Shipping by rail can be unsettling for those unfamiliar with the nuances of interacting with the railroads. In fact, some companies avoid even considering rail as a viable transportation option because of the fear of the unknown, or based on negative experiences with the railroads from years past. Railroads are commonly accused of being slow […]
Read MoreFinding Efficiencies in the Yard Just Outside
Today’s dynamic business environment provides supply chain professionals with increasingly complex pressures from a variety of business fronts. Customers request reductions in cycle times, time-to-market, and operating costs in addition to increased order accuracy and service. Yet in the face of these challenges, many companies focus only on maximizing efficiency within the four walls of […]
Read MoreThe WMS Quandary: Where’s My Savings?
Several times a year I get a call that goes something like this: “Albert, we automated our distribution centers with a new WMS and we haven’t seen the savings. In fact, our costs are higher! We did our due diligence in selecting the best package. We did the training and wrote interfaces. We toured sites […]
Read MoreTechnology Fights National Security Threat
The nature of national security threats against the United States has changed since Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. officials and citizens alike perceive the threat to be from terrorists who would attack with conventional explosives or weapons of mass destruction moving through the international supply chain. The United States Government (USG) has responded through three developments; […]
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