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Drones Make the Medicine Go Down
UPS Flight Forward Inc. and CVS Pharmacy have successfully completed the first revenue-generating drone delivery of a medical prescription from a CVS pharmacy directly to a consumer’s home. This was followed by another delivery of a medical prescription to a second customer in a nearby retirement community. Both flights used the M2 drone system by […]
Read MoreTaylored-Made Expansion
Merger and acquisition activity in the third-party logistics sector continues to grow. In a major expansion, Taylored Fulfillment Services acquired the U.S. operations of Toll Global Logistics, a $8.7 billion Australian logistics company. Brian Southwell, vice president of business development and marketing, and Margaritta Topielski, chief administrative officer at Taylored, discuss the buyout with Inbound […]
Read MoreEating Up Cookies
A cookie shortage is leaving cookie jars empty and taking a bite out of food supply chains. Campbell Soup, maker of Pepperidge Farm cookies, faces supply constraints in its cookie division due to labor shortages and elevated demand as consumers stay home during the pandemic, according to the company’s earnings call. While Campbell ramped up […]
Read MoreTop 10 Manufacturing Predictions
What’s ahead for global manufacturing? "Manufacturing companies are transforming from efficiency-oriented operations to resilient organizations driven by a tighter connection to markets and customers," says Kevin Prouty, vice president, Manufacturing Insights, IDC. Here’s what Manufacturing Insights predicts for the years ahead: 1: By 2023, 65% of global manufacturers will realize a 10% savings in operational […]
Read MoreSupporting Women Behind the Wheel
Two U.S. senators, working with Ellen Voie, president and CEO of the Women In Trucking Association, introduced legislation that would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to take a formal role in supporting women drivers. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and bill co-sponsor Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are working with the FMCSA to create […]
Read MoreThat’s a Wrap: Holiday Shipping Tied Up in Knots
During the holiday shopping season, all eyes are on shipping, with more than half of consumers (60%), and nearly three-quarters of millennials (74%) claiming they were disappointed with holiday shopping services in the past. Stats from Pitney Bowes’ 2019 Global Online Shopping Study reveal the top shipping frustrations: 1. Free shipping still reigns supreme, with […]
Read MoreNavigating Your Supply Chain Through the Uncertainty of Trade War
Trade tensions between the United States and China are running high and intensifying with each new week. With no clear resolution in sight, many are questioning the inevitable impact this will have on the global supply chain. While some companies are just beginning to consider changes to their operations, many are deep in the process […]
Read MoreResilient Risk Management in the Face of Hurricane Season
Over a decade ago, the storm surge associated with Hurricane Katrina was 25 to 28 feet above normal tide level. Storm surges of that magnitude have the ability to inundate two-thirds of interstate highways, 29 airports and virtually all ports in the Gulf Coast area, and that doesn’t take into account the damage from waste. […]
Read MoreNoted: The Supply Chain in Brief-Dec 2019
Shovel Ready Food and beverage distributor Ben E. Keith broke ground on its new foodservice distribution center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Expected to be completed in November 2021, the 261,000-square-foot facility will include Dematic Multi-Shuttles, Frick refrigeration and security systems, LED lighting, warehouse management systems, a test kitchen, and a training center. Green Seeds As part of […]
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-December 2019
Products Cold chain solutions provider CSafe launched the AcuTemp Plus Series, a temperature-controlled passive packaging solution. With vacuum insulated panels and single temperature phase change material, the reusable product provides reliable temperature performance with minimal components. Supply chain tracking solutions provider Tive unveiled the Tive Solo 5G tracker, a 5G-enabled device that can be single use or multi use. […]
Read MoreVERTICAL FOCUS | Paper
Following the Paper Trail Whether paper companies are well positioned for further growth or still earning the right to grow, they can expect demand to increase for paper and board products over the next decade, according to McKinsey & Company. The graphic paper market will continue to face declining demand worldwide, and research has yet […]
Read More5 Actions to Optimize Logistics Costs
Logistics leaders face pressure from their stakeholders to optimize logistics costs while maintaining service and performance levels. Gartner Inc. identifies the following five actions to help you optimize costs from within your organization. 1. Eliminate costly errors. In logistics, errors occur regularly and often come at a cost. For example, shipments may be non-deliverable due […]
Read MoreChina’s Trade Outlook Declines as Air Drags
Trade tensions between the United States and China have many repercussions, according to the DHL Global Trade Barometer, an early indicator of global trade developments calculated using artificial intelligence and big data analytics. China’s September 2019 trade outlook registered a four-point decline from June to an index value of 45, according to the DHL data. […]
Read MoreGreat Lakes Ports Stay on Course
U.S. Great Lakes ports are on pace to beat 2018 cargo volumes following a robust September handling road salt, cement, stone, petroleum, and wind energy components, and supporting the region’s construction activity and energy needs. Overall, St. Lawrence Seaway tonnage for the season (March 22 to September 30) reached 24.8 million metric tons, down 6% […]
Read MoreTaking Data on the Road: A New Approach to the Transportation Supply Chain
Consumer behavior is complicating the transport of goods. In the past, shippers would utilize freight carriers to transport finished goods to a single store or a chain of big box locations. Consumers would then take weekly or bi-weekly trips to stock up on whatever goods they preferred. But that long upheld process is now changing. […]
Read MoreHow Retailers Can Use this Holiday Season to Inform Future Supply Chain Strategies
The 2019 holiday season is here, and consumers are already mapping out their online and in-store shopping strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to find the best deals. On the other hand, retailers have been gearing up their supply chains to support peak ordering and sales for months. Today’s technological innovations offer retailers tools […]
Read MoreParts & Parcel
Driven by an increase in e-commerce, global parcel volume grew from 74.4 billion shipments in 2017 to 87 billion last year. On average, 23 parcels per person were shipped globally, and 2,760 parcels were shipped every second, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index. Collectively, China, the United States, and Japan lead the global […]
Read MorePushing the Speed Limit: Increasing Operational Efficiencies with Digital Payments
Logistics is an industry that depends on speed, efficiency and accuracy for virtually every aspect of its business but one – payments. Up and down supply chains, paper checks remain the dominant form of payment, requiring manual data entry that slows every stage of the process, particularly when it comes to towing and warehouse operations. […]
Read MoreFMCSA to Announce Two-Year Delay in ELDT Rule
Federal trucking regulators are nearing a formal notice that they plan to delay implementation of the Entry Level Driver Training rule by up to two years after it was set to go into effect on a limited basis February 7th. The notice could be posted as soon as before Thanksgiving, a DOT official who asked […]
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