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Latest Supply Chain Products
Radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions provider Alien Technology unveiled a handheld RFID reader with all-day battery life for use with the latest smart devices. The new ALR-S350 RFID reader is designed for heavy inventory tasks, letting supply chain owners quickly locate RFID tagged merchandise and immediately respond to customer requests. By including the RFID capability […]
Read MoreAI Ushers Supply Chains Into Data-Driven Future
Over the years, organizations have deployed an array of transactional and analytic systems for supply chain operations. While gains have been made, supply chains remain far from the ideal of real-time visibility and data-driven decisions that define the supply chain of the future. Supply chains have grown infinitely more complex in today’s faster digital environments. […]
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Sunset Transportation, a third-party logistics company, acquired 3PL Snowland Freight Services, integrating its offices in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota, to the Sunset network. The new branches, which operate under the Sunset Transportation name starting in February 2018, provide expanded coverage and support to Sunset’s national freight network in the upper Midwest. Flatbed […]
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Airline Confidence Stays High
Airline management confidence remains high, despite concerns about higher fuel costs, and an expectation that profits will fall from 2017, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest Airline Business Confidence Index. Among the index highlights: Nearly 75 percent of airline CFOs and heads of cargo indicate an improvement in year-on-year profitability in Q4 […]
Read MoreH&M Tries on Supply Chain Improvements
The world’s second-largest fashion company, Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), says it will increase supply chain investments and continue cost control measures to address slow growth in 2017, and keep pace with e-commerce rivals. After a supply chain reorganization in 2016, H&M’s new focus includes investing in data analytics and intelligence to enhance retail assortment […]
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UPS Ups Cross-Border Investment
To support commercial and residential commerce in the growing North America Borderplex, UPS will develop a new package operations center there. The strategic investment serves a manufacturing region that stretches across Texas, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The North American Borderplex area is home to 2.5 million people and one of the world’s […]
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Taking the Measure of Global Trade
Cross-border trade of intermediate goods and early-cycle commodities point to a moderate increase in world trade through March 2018, according to the DHL Global Trade Barometer for January 2018. On its initial release, the index scored 64, which is slightly below the values calculated for previous months (see chart). That means that world trade is […]
Read MoreNoted: The Supply Chain in Brief-2018
Green Seeds Fast-fashion brand H&M became the first retailer to roll out a line of clothing made from Circulose, a new natural material derived from old jeans, T-shirts, and other cotton clothing, which can help retailers reduce their waste, climate, and deforestation footprint. The CMA CGM Group partnered with the Energy Observer, a hydrogen-powered vessel […]
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Raising the GPA
Georgia ports authority (GPA) has developed a strategic plan that allows for 10 million twenty-foot equivalent container units, one million rail lifts, and more than one million auto and machinery units per year, GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch told attendees at the 50th annual Georgia Foreign Trade Conference in early February. Lynch provided an overview […]
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Intermodal Delivers in 2017
Intermodal freight volumes posted a fourth-quarter growth rate of 5.8 percent year-over-year, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) fourth quarter and year-end Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report. International volume increased by 7.7 percent; domestic containers grew by a modest 2.5 percent; while trailer loads increased by 12.2 percent. "The imbalance between […]
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You Can’t Control Mother Nature, But You Can Be Ready For It
For senior financial executives at large U.S.-based companies with operations in Texas, Florida, or Puerto Rico, the 2017 hurricane season served as a risk management wake-up call. Commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global surveyed these executives at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue and found: Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents say […]
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A Slap on the Wrist
Amazon has received two patents for a wristband system that monitors how warehouse workers move their hands. Currently, when a product order is received, the details are transmitted to the handheld computers that all Amazon warehouse staff carry. The workers must then rush to retrieve that product from one of many inventory bins on shelves, […]
Read MoreGuarding Your Business Against Data Loss
Data loss is every company’s nightmare. In fact, most companies that do experience a mass disappearance of vital, computer-kept information never turn their lights on again. It comes down to the idea that how you protect and treat your data is commensurate with how important you think it is, says Penny Garbus, co-founder of Soaring […]
Read MoreMan vs. Machine
Business leaders are divided in how they envision the future of human-machine partnerships, according to global research from Dell Technologies. Half of the 3,800 global business leaders surveyed forecast that automated systems will free up their time, while the other 50 percent believe otherwise.Similarly, 42 percent believe they’ll have more job satisfaction in the future […]
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Supply Chain Needs More Accurate Costing Information
Supply chain professionals need more accurate and effective cost information to help their decision-making, highlighting the need for supply chain and finance departments to work more closely together. They also need to adopt progressive costing practices that are focused on informing internal decisions. That’s according to a joint research report from APICS, the professional association […]
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Newest Technology Innovations
Logility, a provider of retail planning and collaborative supply chain optimization solutions, unveiled Dynamic Allocation and Replenishment, a new capability within Logility Voyager Retail Optimization. Retailers with multiple distribution centers can now automatically allocate and replenish merchandise to each store location or channel from any combination of distribution centers to boost inventory velocity and support […]
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Supply Chain Commentary: Five Challenges to Embrace and Channel into Business Advantages
Disruption can be daunting, especially coupled with pressure from increasing competitive forces and shrinking margins. However, strategic navigation and preparation can lead to positive outcomes. In the supply chain, challenges can lead to improvements in key areas such as inventory management and order fulfilment. Technology innovation can help. A PwC study found that companies with […]
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Latest Transportation Services
The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore begins a roll-on/roll-off service to New Zealand and Australia in March 2018. The monthly service on Hoegh Autoliners starts in Baltimore then includes service to the ports of Auckland, Brisbane, Port Kembla, Melbourne, and Fremantle. The first sailing will be on the Hoegh Jeddah, which is scheduled to […]
Read MoreMark Your Calendars: Logistics Events to Watch
MAR 16, 2018 Mexico City, Mexico Supply Chain Leaders Meeting supplychainleaders.mx/ — APR 9-12, 2018 Atlanta, GA Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics 2018 Georgia Logistics Summit georgialogistics.com/summit — APR 18-19, 2018 Atlanta, GA Terrapinn Home Delivery World 2018 bit.ly/homedelivery2018 — APR 29 – MAY 1, 2018 Orlando, FL […]
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