Articles

Knowledge Base

Tim Minnich

Supply Chain Relationship Management

In a world where trucking capacity becomes constrained, relationships matter. Managing those relationships strategically versus tactically can make a huge difference in the viability and reliability of each company’s supply chain. The first ingredient to successful supply chain relationship management is having the ability to measure a supply chain partner’s performance. The next is possessing […]

Read More
Donn Deffebach

Plan Better Truck Routes: Long-range Itinerary Generation Enhances Operations

Not so long ago, route planning, fleet optimization, and driver allocation relied almost exclusively on the guile, instincts, and experience of operations managers and dispatch personnel. Long-range forecasting was theoretical at best. The tools used static data, and couldn’t handle the inevitable adjustments required by the dynamics of day-to-day operations. This is changing fast. While […]

Read More
Jim Taylor

Fusing Big Data and the Supply Chain: The Future is NOW

Only 8% of shippers and 5% of 3PLs surveyed have implemented Big Data initiatives involving the supply chain, according to the 2014 18th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study produced by Dr. C. John Langley and Capgemini Consulting. Conversely, nearly all shippers and third-party logistics providers believe Big Data is vital in future 3PL efforts to help […]

Read More
Tom Heine

Invest in Productivity

Start with what I consider low-hanging fruit—any investment in productivity that pays for itself in less than one year. Think about that return: 100 percent in one year. If you bought a portfolio of stocks and it went up 15 percent in one year, you would be a savvy investor. Earn 20 to 30 percent, […]

Read More
Ty Bordner

Automating Key Steps to Strategically Optimize Inbound Supply Chains

The increasing growth and complexity of global trade means organizations must work with a range of partners, suppliers and functional teams within the organization. Best in class companies use a variety of global trade automation tools to lower inbound costs and improve processes. According to a recent AberdeenGroup report, "Strategic Inbound Optimization: Foreign Trade Zones […]

Read More
Ty Bordner

The Benefits of Using a Foreign Trade Zone

From large manufacturers to individuals, any size importer or exporter can take advantage of a foreign-trade zone (FTZ). However, many companies are unaware of the sizeable cost savings and other benefits they can achieve by taking advantage of an FTZ program. Utilizing an FTZ can significantly reduce costs from customs duties, taxes and tariffs; improve […]

Read More
Chris Timmer

Scaling Supply Chain Partnerships

Partnerships are an interesting phenomenon in business. It astounds me that so many companies look for partnerships to remain static over time, even as market conditions change. Partnerships can’t maintain a status quo, regardless of the industry. They need to evolve. Scaling your supply chain can trigger some significant adjustments in the requirements of nature […]

Read More
Tom Heine

Plan, Write, and Implement a Successful Software Project

Thankfully, most software projects succeed. Look around, virtually everything is running on software, and it all (pretty much) works. Maybe an out-of-the-box solution will work, or maybe you need to buy and modify that out-of-the-box software to suit your needs. Or maybe you will write your own. The worry, of course, is that software projects […]

Read More