Articles
IT Matters: Logistics & Supply Chain Technology
Are 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; […]
Read MoreMaritime Security: Creating a System of Systems
Nearly every containerload represents a point of vulnerability in the pursuit of maritime security. Daily, 17,000 shipping containers laden with cargo of all sorts enter 361 U.S. seaports. Multiply this number by the hundreds of pairs of human hands through which that cargo passes and you can begin to see the magnitude of the port […]
Read MoreRFID Use Limited Only by Imagination
Logistics professionals have long viewed radio frequency identification (RFID) as a technology of the future. By fixing their vision on the distant horizon, however, they may be overlooking the real value that RFID can deliver today. RFID technology is already used thousands of times each day in port, distribution center, and fleet operations around the […]
Read MoreCRM and the Danger of Dirty Data
Time doesn’t stand still. Neither do your customers. Face it. We are a nation on the move, and rapidly growing as well. In 2000, businesses filed 2.6 million change-of-address orders. There are a mind-boggling 140 million deliverable addresses in the United States, and the number is growing by nearly two million annually. If you are […]
Read MoreBalancing IT Strategy with ROI
For years enterprise software implementations were all about the Big Bang. After spending months and millions of dollars installing a new system, the grand moment would come, the “on” switch would be thrown, and the organization would suddenly achieve Nirvana. Times have changed. In a chilly economy, IT executives cannot afford to wait very long […]
Read MoreIf You Spend IT, Efficiencies Will Come
While corporate departments such as operations are often high on the list for systems improvements, logistics departments are usually close to the bottom of the pecking order. As a result, many supply chain management systems are woefully behind the times. This, however, doesn’ t mean that logistics professionals have to or should accept this slight […]
Read More