Articles
Viewpoint: Logistics & Supply Chain Analysis
Reducing the Cost of Cross-Border Compliance
In a global economy, the cost, speed, and certainty of crossing borders are all vital to maintaining competitiveness. Falling tariff rates and vanishing trade barriers create the illusion that customs compliance is now simpler. In reality, complex procedures, innumerable conditions set by free trade agreements, stringent security regulations and stricter enforcement, among other issues, result […]
Read MoreEasing Your LTL Carrier’s Burden
Managing transportation costs is more important today than ever before. With the new Hours-of-Service rules, shippers will likely look to LTL carriers to play an increasing role in their supply chains, particularly handling a portion of their previously truckload multi-stop shipments. These volume shifts will likely lead to LTL capacity issues, and shippers may find […]
Read MoreNurture, Don’t Neglect, Our Waterways Infrastructure
For logistics professionals who already see the rising costs of the nation’s traffic congestion reflected in their bottom line, it is troubling to know that the Federal Highway Administration estimates use of the nation’s highways for freight transportation will increase by 40 percent over the next 10 years. It is clear that the saturation point […]
Read MoreDoes Your 3PL Have an Effective Hazmat Program? Here’s Why it Should
Safe handling and management of hazardous materials has come a long way since logistics providers crossed their fingers and hoped that an incident involving hazmat wouldn’t happen. And if it did, they hoped that the carrier would do a good job of handling it. Gone are the days when simply complying with a dizzying array […]
Read MoreWhy Motor Carriers are Turning To Pallet Position Pricing
Here are two scenarios that involve the same freight market. In the first instance, a truckload carrier looks for freight to fill out a three-quarter load from Los Angeles to Atlanta. If the carrier can add a quarter load, the revenue on the load suddenly jumps to a highly profitable level. But there may not […]
Read MoreC-TPAT: Staying Ahead of the Curve
John, the newly appointed Ohio Valley plant manager, arrived at his desk 6:30 a.m. Monday with a plan to organize the week. He was surprised when almost immediately the phone rang. It was a freight forwarder in Hong Kong wanting to speak with the plant’s logistics manager, Barbara. The forwarder told John that some electronics […]
Read MoreForging Industry-Academia Partnerships
Economic pressure derived from reduced state and federal funding has fueled escalating tuition costs. As a result, government, taxpayers, parents, and business practitioners are paying closer attention to the activities of business faculty. Critics contend that higher business education is breaking down, that the system is churning out irrelevant academic research and training students to […]
Read MoreThe Full Cost of Cargo Losses
All too often, supply chain managers do not properly calculate all the elements of cargo loss. As a result, they minimize the full impact on their bottom line. Most look only at cargo theft or damage to determine the financial impact on their company. Many other factors, however, need to be considered when calculating the […]
Read MoreIntegrating Multi-Channel Retail Systems
Many multi-channel retailers didn’t start out that way. As new channels grow, it becomes necessary to integrate them to provide a unified customer experience. Unfortunately, this integration effort often encounters organizational, technological, and process problems that are the result of single-channel-focused solutions, or companies never imagining that they would serve more than one channel. Most […]
Read MoreFinding the Real Silver Bullet for Cargo Security
Cargo security is becoming a commonly used term defined and discussed differently depending on group or audience. But what is the real “silver bullet” needed to secure cargo? One answer rests in the capability to ensure the integrity of each container’s contents. With more than six million containers entering U.S. seaports annually, aboard more than […]
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