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Completing the Circle of Life
When most people talk about lifecycle management (LM), they think about product design, materials sourcing, manufacturing and forward distribution. But more and more, especially in the high tech, electronics and telecommunications sectors, companies must consider what happens to their products after they leave the loading dock. This means thinking about not just installation, but also […]
Read MoreLuxembourg: Your Logistics Partner in Europe
Global production outsourcing has led to increased logistical challenges. The need for efficient, time and cost effective supply chain management has created new opportunities for integrated logistics providers. Luxembourg continues its positioning as a European hub for contract, air-freight based and value-added logistics to meet these challenges. Luxembourg provides American companies with many strategic advantages […]
Read MoreFast Forward: Is Rush Hour Traffic Hurting Your Customer Service?
Are my customers completely satisfied? Am I providing the level of service they expect? Every executive should be asking these questions if they expect to remain competitive. Itπs not enough to offer the best price; your customers expect more than that. They expect you to be responsive to their needs and to consistently deliver on […]
Read MoreThe Indianapolis Region: A New Logistics Leader Has Emerged
Images of central Indiana may bring to mind the Indianapolis 500, the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning or the NCAA Final Four. However, for logistics professionals, the Indianapolis region is becoming a dream destination for moving goods around the world. Site selection consultants and local Indianapolis region logistics and distribution companies are finding that available […]
Read MoreInventory Reduction: Supply Chain’s Holy Grail
In the United States, businesses invested some $1.63 trillion in inventories during 2004, a new record high according to the 16th Annual State of Logistics Report sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. Companies constantly search for ways to reduce their inventory exposure. We see this every day with our clients who all […]
Read MoreOutlook and Opportunities in Chemical Logistics
Today: getting goods to and from the warehouse; tomorrow: where to put the warehouse?
Read MoreChemical Producers Put New Emphasis on Logistics Safety and Security
Responsible Care becomes the common ground for shippers and service providers.
Read MoreTrue Shipper-Logistics Provider Inegration Inches Closer to Reality
Service providers are moving inside the fence line and working with shippers’ customers.
Read MoreGood Chemistry: Chemical Companies Tackle Multiple Challenges
In a volatile industry, chemical companies tackle multiple logistics challenges.
Read MoreOperations Network Design: A New Solution for an Old Problem
Tools for optimizing distribution networks have long been available, yet most of these applications still have an important limitation: they can’t fully model network requirements at the operations level. This limitation often leads to recommendations that cannot be implemented. What is needed is a new approach that enhances the current process by incorporating site-level detail […]
Read MoreGlobal Trade Management: Redefining the Successful Execution of International Logistics
With nearly 30% of the world’s gross domestic product currently crossing borders, it is clear that global trade is an integral and growing part of business that is here to stay. As a result of this globalization, businesses have created a new concept to define the challenges and opportunities unique to the new highly globalized […]
Read MoreReverse Logistics: Customer Satisfaction, Environment Key to Success in the 21st Century
During this past holiday season, an estimated $13.2 billion in holiday gifts were returned to retailers – more than a third of the $36 billion reverse logistics market in the U.S. These figures pose several questions and challenges. What becomes of these products? How do retailers cope with the management of these items? Are customers […]
Read MoreDot.com Fever
No doubt about it. Throughout 1999 and early 2000, Dot-coms were hot, hot, hot! The opportunities offered by the Internet were seized by a whole new breed of entrepreneurs—bold and brave, innovative and uninhibited. Often their ideas—and their businesses—went from conception to realization in a matter of months. Their companies were unencumbered by the overhead […]
Read MorePart of the Ship’s Engine, Not Part of the Load
It’s amazing what we can learn if we stop talking long enough to listen. As a CEO, there are so many occasions to speak, to describe, to explain, and to present our ideas. But I find that the most valuable experiences are those that offer the chance to simply hear—really HEAR and fully UNDERSTAND—what those […]
Read MoreLogistics Land and Supply Chain City
One of the more interesting ideas to come along the business philosophy turnpike in recent years is the concept of the “experience economy.” Spurred on by consumers who want not only goods and services, but also immersion in memorable encounters, providers began looking for ways to maximize the experience potential of their businesses. The most […]
Read MoreFrom Market Position To Eco-System
The door to dialogue is open! In the April and May issues of Inbound Logistics, this column focused on the ways our business is changing. Rapidly. Dramatically. And permanently! I invited readers to respond with their thoughts and their experiences, and respond you did. You wrote about increasing the velocity of supply chains, synchronizing activities, […]
Read MoreCollaboration… It’s More Than Visibility
Collaboration. The use of this term in business-to-business marketing is equivalent to “free” in consumer marketing. It’s catchy, it’s new and, best of all, no one knows what it really means. Collaboration has been used to describe open-market bids, trade exchanges, shipment tracing/tracking, sharing order status information, and more. But what is collaboration really? What […]
Read MoreLife in the Fast Lane
There used to be those who viewed logistics as a slightly sleepy business. Sure, we worked against the clock, we moved things along, we met our customers’ timetables, we worked very hard to get products safely and on time to the places they had to be. But the pace, compared to the way we move […]
Read MoreStart-me-up, Scotty!
In the classic Star Trek series, whenever someone wanted to go from here to there in an instant, they just said, “Beam-me-up, Scotty,” and there they’d be. It was more than transportation. It was transformation. And “beaming up” might be a way to describe what is happening today. Our bold new 21st Century has vaulted […]
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