Articles
Supply Chain Technology
Sensing the Future
If you think that RFID and its tempestuous application is the only game in town, think again. It isn’t. Bar codes are still everywhere, and in most cases are doing a fine job. Remember, bar codes and RFID can, and will, work in tandem, with each serving the application it fits best. Nevertheless we may […]
Read MoreRedPrairie Sees RFID Forest for the Trees
As the RFID implementation pace quickens, the race will be won by the fast and the nimble. One fast and nimble player is RedPrairie, Waukesha, Wis., a founder of the RFID Center of Excellence. In the last few months, the company has developed four RFID initiatives: “Bolt-on” RFID EPC compliance An RFID laboratory RFID-enabled supply […]
Read MoreOracle Divines the Future of SCM
Supply chain management continues to post good growth numbers. AMR Research predicts SCM will grow by five percent in 2004, and to a total business of approximately $5.5 billion. Those supply chain management service providers who are secure in the business will make aggressive moves to stay ahead. Oracle is surely one of these key […]
Read MoreAn Undertaking of EPC Proportions
It is great to have identification tags on everything. But unless those tags communicate to workers, supervisors, or managers, they are purely decorative and costly. This is the rationale behind the emergence of the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network and both its industry support and its network and code standardization. First, let’s be clear as […]
Read MoreReconsidering the Role of RFID
Is RFID the best thing since sliced bread, another Y2K, or something in between? Is it yet another technology fix on top of all the others or is it a new and essential tool for doing business? Is it a go or a no go? Regardless of your attitude toward RFID, the talk surrounding it […]
Read MoreAchieving Success with AS/RS
Storage is one area of the supply chain that can provide increased efficiency, cost savings, and other benefits. In fact, automated storage/retrieval systems (AS/RS) can eliminate the need for physical inventory, according to Jurgen Conrad, CEO and president of Viastore Systems Inc., which develops and implements AS/RS and other automated material handling systems. “Correlating equipment […]
Read MoreThrow Off Your Chains, Take Up Nets
Driving business these days is the production of increased profit to the enterprise. Other drivers—globalization, outsourcing, customer satisfaction, RFID—pale in comparison to a positive profit picture. So, how can we look at the supply chain from a profit perspective? First, we must ask ourselves, where is the profit in the supply chain? This sounds like […]
Read MoreProspective RFID Users Face Supply Chain Challenges
Although radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is not new to logistics or the supply chain, interest—and the need for interest in it—has skyrocketed. Alarms set off by the Department of Defense and Wal-Mart, among others, has many a supply chain manager in a tizzy. The DoD and Wal-Mart now mandate that all cases and pallets […]
Read MoreIntegrating SCM with Product Lifecycles
All manufactured products move through a cycle of creation to maturity to decline. There are exceptions—a dairy product such as milk, for example—but the general rule is that product evolution is a stark reality within the manufacturing enterprise. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software recognizes this. Let us look at the process of product lifecycle management […]
Read MoreInner City Direct-to-Store Delivery: Complex but Improving
Last month’s column dealt with the problems associated with transportation and logistics in an inner city environment. The staff and manager of a New York City supermarket, in their attempt to receive a shipment, were faced with numerous challenges such as parking restrictions and limited access to delivery doors. The problem of receiving, however, is […]
Read MoreDirect-to-Store Deliveries: Not Always Easy
Some software providers see their goal as offering a fully automated supply chain. It is a great goal and one that can have significant bottom-line results. Between the striving for that goal and the reality of achieving it, however, some setbacks can occur. These problems are the consequence of the reality within which we live. […]
Read MoreThe Lights Are On But Is Anybody Home?
If we make a comment such as “the supply chain is as strong as its weakest link,” we may well be accused of stating the obvious. Well, it may need saying again: the supply chain is as strong, as or as weak, as its weakest link. A company’s supply chain has one major objective: creating […]
Read MoreCollaborating for Optimum Supply Chain Management
At the core of the supply chain there has to be mutual trust among parties. This trust must be based on agreed-upon methods and technology to assure maximum cost savings and increased profits for all parties. Normally this trust starts with supply chain management planning and collaboration. Planning constitutes the strategic aspect of the supply […]
Read MoreUsing HighJump for Low Cost
Supply chain execution software is a critical application for today’s enterprises as they operate in a dynamic world of change. It’s a world where the ability to respond to that change, cost effectively, can make or break their business. One supplier of supply chain execution software is Eden Prairie, Minn.-based HighJump Software. The company’s strategy […]
Read MoreMind Your Own Business: Supply Chain Integration and Feedback
In the 20th century, the process of control was formalized by Norbert Wiener who, through his concept of cybernetics, analyzed and applied the idea of feedback. Although he saw feedback as useful primarily to engineers, the idea has taken wing and come into all our lives. For example, consider the delivery of steady heat through […]
Read MoreSEKO Moves Forward into IT
The supply chain offers too much and delivers too little. This argument has been leveled for years against ERP software applications and the complexity of their implementation. The counter-argument is that companies who use supply chain management successfully—such as Wal-Mart and Dell—have made it an essential part of their business success. These companies don’t just […]
Read MoreCogistics Part 2: Cutting Costs on Urgent Shipments
Last month I introduced you to Cogistics, a Lakeland, Fla.-based service provider that helps companies plan and execute their transportation and supply chain operations through collaboration and data management. This month, I follow up by concentrating on Cogistics’ Urgent-1 service and pre-audit/carrier payment process. “Cogistics’ critical shipment call center, Urgent-1, does not pertain exclusively to […]
Read MoreCogistics: Harnessing the Power of Collaboration
Given the direction of today’s economy, most companies continue to focus on ways to reduce costs and increase their return on investment. There are many means to achieving these goals, but clearly better use of data—that is, transforming raw information into actionable knowledge—is a sound approach. In the supply chain, where all activities are interlinked […]
Read MoreThe 411 on Product Lifecycle Management
The age we live in may very well be be remembered as the “Age of Acronyms.” The logistics industry has certainly contributed its fair share. Among the many new SCAs (Supply Chain Acronyms) to make their way into our daily lexicon is an upstart called Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Like supply chain management (SCM), PLM […]
Read MoreLorantec: Cargo Gets Smart
In this era of smart machines, smart cards, smart motors, and smart sensors, it’s about time we had smart cargo—specifically, smart cargo containers. The ability to know where and in what condition a shipment is becomes a major supply chain consideration and the primary goal of better process visibility. Lorantec of Sunnyvale, Calif., is building […]
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