Articles
IT Matters: Logistics & Supply Chain Technology
Reducing the Risks of Global Trade: Software is Not Enough
In recent years, a growing number of American companies have expanded business operations to a global scale. This increased interest in global trade has created a huge demand for products and services aimed at assisting companies with their import/export operations. Not surprisingly, many companies have turned to technology as a fast solution for gaining global […]
Read MoreAchieving Optimization with Closed-Loop Transportation Management
Today’s transportation managers face conflicting challenges and pressures. Regulatory mandates and security compliance create productivity and capacity issues. Companies are moving toward smaller and more frequent orders. Globalization continues to expand. While all these factors drive up logistics costs, a competitive economic climate puts downward pressure on pricing, even as shareholders seek improved profit margins. […]
Read MoreIT Doesn’t Matter? Better Run That By Wal-Mart
In his May 2003 Harvard Business Review article, “IT Doesn’t Matter,” Nicholas Carr famously claims that information technology, much like the railroad and the electricity grid before it, has become an infrastructure tool that doesn’t confer any strategic benefit. Carr’s main point is that because IT is ubiquitous and increasingly less costly than in previous […]
Read MoreFinding a Demand Forecast You Can Trust
A forecast is like a flight plan. How far off do you want your trajectory to be when you come in for a landing?
Read MoreStreamlining Truck Visits at the DC
While the full impact of the Hours of Service (HOS) ruling is yet to be determined, it is obvious that truck drivers need to manage their time more carefully to minimize any loss to productivity. Under the new regulations, a driver’s idle time counts toward the maximum allowed 14 hours on duty. Shippers can mitigate […]
Read MoreCreating 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 More