Articles
Viewpoint: Logistics & Supply Chain Analysis
Proactive Returns Management Yields Hard ROI
Multi-channel product distribution and stiff competition for more demanding and discerning customers require creative strategies for managing and maintaining customer relationships. As companies search for areas of opportunity to meet these needs, returns management tops the list.Product returns and their impact on a company’s bottom line is an age-old problem. The complexities of reverse product […]
Read MoreHandling the Rigors of Global Compliance
Compliance is an intrinsically complex and often misunderstood part of the global supply chain. Unlike other functions such as purchasing and receiving, which generate a lot of attention and activity, successful compliance is gauged when absolutely nothing happens—when freight leaves its origin and arrives at its destination on time and intact. But as soon as […]
Read MoreTapping Into SRM for Supply Strategy and Procurement Execution
Manufacturers today have an opportunity to leverage their supply base for competitive advantage. Unfortunately, most do not have the tools required to tap this value. For the last decade they have focused mainly on growth issues such as supply chain planning and customer relationship management. As the engine of growth has stalled, manufacturers are casting […]
Read MoreLet’s Mobilize Our Disaster Management Expertise
It struck me a few years back. Earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan. Floods in Curacaos. Disaster upon disaster hit nations where Fritz Companies’ employees were based and we didn’t have a plan to help them and their families. In fact, when I called around to other companies at the time, I couldn’t find anyone that […]
Read MoreRaking in the Trash
“It’s only trash.” That’s how supply chain managers often refer to the mountains of packing material, broken pallets, paper, and other trash that clutters distribution facilities. For most companies, disposal is an expense item, with additional costs for compactors, waste bins, carting, landfill use, and myriad other variables. With a little of the same skill […]
Read MoreHow Retailers Become Promise Keepers
Retailers today increasingly leverage online channels to offer services from third parties, including product drop-shipped from other vendors, cross-branded product bundles, and special orders. Amazon essentially built its business on this model and traditional retailers have followed. These strategies present great opportunities for new revenues, efficiencies, and service levels. But serious pitfalls exist, too. When […]
Read MoreNavigating the Virtual Marketplace
Within the logistics online marketplace operates an aggregation of companies acting on behalf of shippers that purchase transportation from a diverse group of logistics services providers. These providers include trading exchanges; logistics solutions providers; trucking, rail, ocean, and air carriers; and companies specializing in ancillary logistics services such as supply chain event management. Over the […]
Read MoreDrilling Down to Core Competencies
With increased competition in a sluggish economy, many companies are getting back to basics by re-focusing on critical operational elements and recommitting themselves to the principles on which their businesses were built. Have you taken a step back to examine your company and determine what truly makes it better than the competition? Not in terms […]
Read MorePaying Attention to the Whole Logistics Package
Lance Armstrong doesn’t know it, but when he won the Tour de France this year, he provided a powerful business parable for our times. His come-from-behind victory demonstrated an important, but often overlooked, competitive concept: No matter how impressive your start, you must have a strong finish to win the race. Nowhere is this more […]
Read MoreBringing Logistics Out of Medieval Mode
At the end of the quarter, as salespeople demand that items move off the dock and into revenue status, logistics specialists find their faxes humming, phones ringing, and desktops overflowing with paper. The struggle to meet the transportation needs of customers and move products across international borders would be easier were it not for the […]
Read More