Articles
Thought Leaders
Should You Build to Suit or Lease Your Next Distribution Center?
As shippers redesign their distribution center strategies to embrace e-commerce, automation, and other trends, the typical short-term response is to lease available space as soon as possible, often at a premium. A strategic assessment of business needs over the long term could take network planning in a different direction. Q: What factors should I consider […]
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COVID’s Impact on Warehouse Management Outsourcing
Q: In today’s market, what are the key benefits of outsourcing warehouse management? A: The COVID pandemic has companies reassessing their distribution networks. Many are looking for solutions that improve flexibility and capabilities, while still retaining control and transparency. With the right commercial model, outsourcing warehouse management provides those benefits, and more. Warehouse management companies […]
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Revealing the Hidden Advantages and Lesser-Known Facts About Automation
Q: How has the changing e-commerce landscape affected demand for customized automation? A: Many have seen firsthand the effects of widespread e-commerce growth, and companies continue to find increased volume across the board. While the rate of growth is slowing from 2020—sales are forecasted to globally top $6 trillion in 2023. The pandemic, of course, was […]
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Ensuring Customers’ Supply Chains Run as Smoothly as Possible
Q: What are The Logistix Company’s (TLC) core business units and areas of focus? A: TLC got its start working closely with distribution companies moving liquid bulk chemicals. After time, we expanded our business to moving a multitude of commodities in bulk tankers, dry vans, intermodally via rail, repackaging, warehousing, and international freight forwarding. Q: […]
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Freight Audit and Payment Solutions Bring Immediate and Long-Term Benefits
Q: Why do companies need visibility to compete in today’s environment? A: Companies that do not have visibility across their whole logistics operations are likely to miss out on opportunities to work more efficiently and deliver cost savings. For example, a customer told me they spent around $95 million on a single lane from the […]
Read MoreLeveraging Freight Brokerage to Solve Supply Chain Disruption
As shippers deal with capacity issues, rate volatility, and service disruptions, a freight broker can help mitigate challenges so shippers can focus on their core strengths. Aligning your organization with a reputable freight broker with robust solutions and real-time visibility can solve many transportation disruptions. There are many types of brokers in the market—the key […]
Read MoreData-Driven Supply Chain Optimization
Q: What is data-driven supply chain optimization, and why is it important? A: Data-driven supply chain optimization applies prescriptive analytics in mathematical programming and operations research (OR) to provide decision support for supply chain decision-making at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. By properly capturing the decisions to make (decision variables), the performance metric to […]
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The Evolution of Audit Gave Rise to an AI-Driven Smart Audit
Q: What’s in a freight audit? A: It depends on who you ask. Some say a freight audit is a simple process that ensures shippers pay what they’re supposed to. Others consider an audit a vital resource for understanding and making more informed decisions around every shipment. We’ve transformed the traditional freight audit into something […]
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Wooden Pallets Can Play a Crucial Role in a Sustainable Supply Chain Today
Pallet companies can play a vital role in the sustainability of the supply chain. Kamps has placed an emphasis on reducing its environmental footprint, while aligning with its customers’ sustainability goals and offering solutions that provide positive environmental value to their supply chains.
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Omnichannel Commerce & Drop Shipping Fulfillment in the Retail Industry
Implementing a drop shipping solution comes with its share of challenges for a 3PL provider, as these types of orders differ from a standard parcel shipment. Here’s what to consider.
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Digitally Transforming Your Supply Chain? Here’s How to Make It Meaningful
How to make supply chain digitalization meaningful.
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Manage Supply and Demand Swings with a Digital Logistics Platform
Q. Capacity constraints, labor shortages, rising shipping costs, and growing shipping volumes are making it difficult to find carriers to cover freight. How can shippers, logistics providers, and carriers become more efficient amidst fluctuating market conditions? A. A digital logistics platform with intelligence AND execution capabilities from a proven partner drives efficient collaboration between shippers, […]
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Why Transportation Spend Management Visibility is Crucial in Today’s Global Supply Chain
Q. Why is transportation spend management so important today? A. The world is an unpredictable place, and the global supply chain has never been busier. Global trade reached an all-time high in 2021, jumping 23% to $28 trillion, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Meanwhile, an array of challenges complicate the movement […]
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How Collaboration and Technology Create Efficiencies for SMB’s
One of the things people are starting to realize is that relationships and collaboration matter. Many shippers have long viewed their relationships with their transportation providers as tactical rather than strategic, and they’re the ones suffering the most with today’s supply chain challenges. Simply taking the time to develop meaningful and long-term relationships can eliminate […]
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Hub Group’s Leading Supply Chain Solutions Facilitated Clear Sailing During 2021-2022 Port Congestion
This past year presented extreme challenges for the supply chain. By providing the industry’s leading supply chain solutions for more than 50 years, Hub Group supported its customers by leveraging experience in strategic planning across the supply chain, tailored solutions, dependable capacity, and advanced visibility. Q. These past two years were some of the most […]
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Optimizing Multimodal Shipping with a One-Stop Solution
Q. What does multimodal shipping look like in 2022? A. Historically, companies have relied on third-party freight brokers to handle complex shipments that include multiple modes, geographies, and freight characteristics. Planning and executing these shipments requires careful planning and coordination with various transportation providers for efficient freight hand-off. Industry experts agree that multimodal transport can […]
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Is the Dynamic Unified Logical Data Model the Silver Bullet for Disruptions?
Q. Enterprises that are transforming their supply chain are slow to change. What roadblocks are impeding their efforts? A. Our supply chains of today were designed decades ago to achieve data uniformity across the supply chain ecosystems and not to deal with unwarranted supply chain disruptions. All SCM apps are designed for specific business functions […]
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Why Expedited Is Not a Four-Letter Word
Q. Why is it more important than ever to establish a relationship with an expedited carrier? A. In today’s volatile transportation environment, capacity is king. As a result, securing TL or reliable LTL capacity comes at a significant cost. Even when a shipper is prepared to pay a premium, there is a lingering fear their […]
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Strengthening Omnichannel Capability to Address Fundamental Shifts in Consumer Behavior
Q. What have the past few years revealed about consumer trends? A. With the rise of e-commerce came the demand for next-day or same-day shipping with a catch—no added cost. Consumers crave the instant gratification they would have experienced from going to the store, without leaving their house, and as large online retailers began offering […]
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Right-Sizing and Leveraging Fulfillment Automation
Q. How can right-sizing automation addresslabor shortages? Does it lead to increased employee engagement? A. Automation, when correctly applied, should have two benefits: performing tasks with fewer people, and increasing the value of (remaining) employee tasks. Consider automation as a tool, doing the heavy lifting with repetitive tasks and the heavy thinking that goes into […]
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