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Three Transportation Innovations that Can Deliver Short-Term ROI
Managing transportation has become increasingly challenging as customers grow more demanding and the driver shortage constrains capacity. Innovations such as driverless vehicles loom as potential solutions, but have yet to reach commercial viability. That doesn’t mean transportation managers are forced to deal with process inefficiencies and data siloes while they wait for new technologies to […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: Sense, Shape, and Orchestrate Demand
Here’s a quick three-question test for supply chain professionals: Could you pinpoint the location and contents of a single shipment from San Francisco to Tokyo within a few minutes? How quickly would you know if a truck from Los Angeles to Denver had been compromised in a blizzard? If a customer in New Jersey is […]
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Why Adherence to SQF Requirements Is Crucial to Supply Chain Integrity
In early 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the Safe Quality Food (SQF) rule as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The rule was created to help prevent both intentional and unintentional contamination of the food supply chain from farm to fork. The rule requires those transporting food by motor […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: Satisfying Customer Demand in a 365 E-Commerce Market
Today’s connected world has created catalysts of change from consumer shopping habits all the way to the last mile. Omnichannel retailing, combined with Amazon’s domination of the e-commerce world impacts shippers’ decision-making, driving change throughout the supply chain. This change has been so monumental that the term, Amazon Effect – relating to customer expectations of […]
Read MoreChina on a Logistics Spending Spree
Chinese companies are acquiring overseas warehousing, trucking, and other logistics service providers in record numbers as part of its goal to build a new Silk Road. Total acquisitions in Europe, Asia, and other regions by Chinese groups of logistics companies more than doubled in the first 11 months of 2017 compared to all of 2016, […]
Read MoreFive Reasons to Consider Cloud Services for Your Supply Chain
Supply chain and logistics management uses resources, processes, and technology to create solutions that deliver the right goods to the right place at the right time—as quickly and cost effectively as possible. Managers looking for technology to support those solutions may find that cloud computing offers some compelling options. Lower IT Infrastructure Costs Reducing costs […]
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It’s Now or NAFTA
The odds are “about 50-50” that NAFTA will be terminated, according to Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, following a fifth round of renegotiations among the United States, Mexico, and Canada on the nearly 24-year-old free trade agreement. “I remain concerned about the lack of headway,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in […]
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence Will Transform the Global Logistics Network in Three Key Areas
Two of the world’s most influential research and advisory firms predict major acceleration in artificial intelligence (AI) use as more businesses look to make the digital transformation leap. Forrester projects AI investment tripled in 2017, and Gartner expects AI to be pervasive in almost every new software product and service by 2020. With its cognitive […]
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Building Resilience in Your Global Supply Chain
If your company has a business continuity plan in place in the event of a supply chain disruption, you are not alone. Nearly 75 percent of organizations responding to a report published by the Business Continuity Institute and supported by Zurich Insurance Group have made business continuity arrangements related to supply chain management. Companies that […]
Read MoreThe Human-Centered Supply Chain
The fashion supply chain is moving toward a human-centered model, which shifts from a sequenced approach of siloed operations to a flexible network of participants and partnerships that will enable agile and adaptable supply chain operations (see chart). That’s according to a new report developed by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which worked […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: Taking the First Steps to Digitizing Your Supply Chain
The clarion call to digitize the supply chain is louder than ever before. In order to meet consumer demands and gain competitive advantage, shippers are retooling their supply chains to be more agile, efficient, and transparent. But where do you start? What steps can you take today? And how can you use existing IoT analytics […]
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Meet a New Breed of Procurement Professionals
In a workforce being transformed by the rise of the gig economy and industry restructuring, what attitudes and behaviors do procurement professionals need to climb the career ladder? The first global survey from Procurious.com reveals some answers. From developing vital mentoring relationships, to building social media profiles that have eclipsed the importance of resumes, to […]
Read MoreSimplifying Trade Complexity
Global trade professionals experienced a great deal of disruption during 2017, with trade agreements being canceled and renegotiated, regulatory enforcement on the rise, the timeline for Brexit approaching, political instability a growing concern, and more. Networks that had been relatively stable for years are now in flux. To respond to these global market forces, companies […]
Read More7 Common Warehouse Problems & How to Solve Them
Some common warehouse problems don’t get the attention they deserve. This is usually because the work needs to get done as soon as possible, leaving little time to step back and look at the big picture. Let’s dive into seven of the most common warehouse challenges and explore potential solutions to help make your warehouse […]
Read MoreManufacturing IT: Investing for the Future
A continuum of change and digital transformation is swirling within the manufacturing industry and global economy. In this fluid environment, it can be tough for manufacturers to nail down IT planning stategies. IDC’s FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2018 Predictions can help. The study provides manufacturers the following 10 predictions and underlying drivers expected to impact technology […]
Read MoreGet Your Supply Chain Up to E-Commerce Speed
It’s hard to go more than a day without reading about a new startup or outside party looking to “digitize” the supply chain or logistics process. While some logistics companies such as freight forwarders are automated and use software packages based on EDI or newer cloud-based technologies, if the output of your technology is nothing […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Insight: What Do Young Supply Chain Professionals Want from their Career?
Today, the supply chain faces a unique challenge. According to the 19th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study, 60 million employees are exiting the supply chain industry, with only 40 million people joining the industry to fill the gap. So, how do we recruit and retain the young talent our industry needs to thrive? This is a […]
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Santa’s Highly Inefficient Christmas Journey
Christmas, Inc. has a problem. And the blame rests squarely on the ample lap of its Chief Everything Officer, Santa himself. By failing to implement automated routing and scheduling software for his yearly 75-million-mile Christmas journey, we estimate Santa is adding 15 million excess miles and 5 extra hours to his 24-hour trip. We know […]
Read MoreHow E-Tailers Can Reduce Return Rates for Large Items
Merchandise returns are a drain on profits in any industry, but especially for large-format items such as furniture or appliances. E-tailers face additional challenges when dealing with returns compared to local retail outlets, both due to higher transportation costs and the lack of the face-to-face and hands-on experience for the customer. The decision to return […]
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TMS Systems Have Changed Dramatically. Your Buying Process Should Too.
To say that transportation logistics has changed a lot in the last decade would be the understatement of the…well, decade. From the impact of omni-channel to complex routing needs and the demand for lightning-fast integrations, a transportation management system (TMS) can help you manage these challenges and give you a competitive advantage. At its core, […]
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