Articles
Viewpoint: Logistics & Supply Chain Analysis
Green Transportation: On the Road to Sustainability
In the past, transportation efficiency concerns primarily focused on areas such as route optimization, capacity planning, and partner collaboration. Today, efforts to improve service and reduce costs include an additional element: environmental impact. As new and aggressive social, environmental, and political pressures evolve, shippers and carriers must adopt and act upon “green” opportunities. Failure to […]
Read MoreCommunity Service: Supporting Logistics Education
Manufacturing jobs are leaving American shores at an increasing rate. While this presents challenges for manufacturing companies, it also boosts demand for distribution and logistics professionals. Because many products manufactured overseas are ultimately consumed in the United States, the need for warehouses and distribution centers to move those materials from port of entry to point […]
Read More3PL or Freight Forwarder: What’s in a Name?
After 30 years in the transportation business, I am still waiting for a clear, simple explanation of the differences between third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and freight forwarders or consolidators. Is 3PL just a fancy name for a freight forwarder, or do they actually provide services that an old-fashioned consolidator does not? Yes, there are differences […]
Read MoreFour Fast Ways to Cut Transport Spend
Transportation costs have become a bullish line item in virtually every corporate budget. Fuel costs have hit an all-time high and companies’ shipping needs are only becoming more complex. No wonder carriers are raising rates and transportation costs are rising. But the truth is, many companies simply lose control over transportation costs as shipping demands […]
Read MorePerfect Order Fulfillment: Getting it All Right
The journey through the supply chain is filled with constant movement and activity, and each step holds the potential for delays, wasted money, and errors. The complexities of an extended supply chain make the odds against fulfilling a perfect order overwhelming. The Supply Chain Council describes perfect order fulfillment as a discrete measurement defined as […]
Read MoreCan We Create a Viable National Transportation Policy?
State and federal transportation departments, the White House, and Congress have failed to promote and fund a coherent and dynamic national transportation policy to meet the infrastructure demands of our 21st century global business environment. Today’s overburdened and congested infrastructure cannot meet the economic and energy demands of a population that has doubled since 1950. […]
Read MoreReverse Logistics: It Pays to Do It Right
Returns management and reverse logistics represent a significant source of untapped profitability for many organizations. Specifically, reverse logistics is rapidly emerging as a core driver of competitive advantage and financial performance among leading manufacturers, according to a recent Aberdeen Group report, Revisiting Reverse Logistics in the Customer-Centric Service Chain. Optimizing reverse logistics operations also can […]
Read MoreWho Ruined the Inventory?
If you got a call from a customer complaining that the temperature-sensitive goods you shipped were ruined, would you be able to track down where and how it happened? If the problem was on their end, could you prove it? What if a supplier sent your company decayed goods? Nobody needs disputes like this wreaking […]
Read MoreThe Best Companies Hire the Best People
In today’s complex business environment, nothing is more important than justifying dollar impact. In sports, when a team wants to win a championship, the least expensive option is never considered. Managers want to ensure a win, regardless of cost. They are looking at Return on Investment (ROI). Likewise, all business functions ranging from sales and […]
Read MoreConverting Performance to Profitability
A workplace culture can be productive or disruptive, profitable or unprofitable. It is up to management to decide—or allow someone else to define a company’s culture. The United Nations defines culture as a “set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group. It encompasses ways of living together, value […]
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