Articles
Viewpoint: Logistics & Supply Chain Analysis
Moving Furniture the Right Way
The online furniture community recently has seen its share of well-publicized supply chain failures. From my perspective as a transportation provider to this specialized niche, these online firms did not seriously consider product distribution issues. Granted, other customer-related consequences contributed to the difficulties, but it is impossible to overcome critical distribution problems. Most of these […]
Read MoreInventory Theft: Is Your Company Easy Prey?
The logistics industry has grown dramatically in the past few years and inventory loss has kept pace. Estimates now range in the $80-billion area for cargo and warehouse related theft. One reason that so many warehousing and transportation companies have incurred loss is that they often rely on ineffective security safeguards. This can prove to […]
Read MoreHandling Returns: Just Tell Me Where it Hurts
Our economy has experienced tremendous growth cycles over the past several years. As a result, manufacturers are making more stuff, retailers are buying more stuff, and consumers are spending more money on stuff than ever before! Inevitably, mistakes are made, resulting in product defects, bad merchandising decisions, or over-optimistic sales projections. No matter how good […]
Read MoreGet Customer-Centric or Get E-liminated
Ask three people to define e-commerce, and you’ll end up with three disparate answers. The problem is that companies use e-commerce to define varying degrees of involvement in e-business. Some companies think they conduct e-commerce because they have e-mail. Some believe that the mere presence of a web site constitutes an e-commerce approach. The fact […]
Read MoreThis Land is Your Land: Real Estate Cuts Costs
As competition among 3PL firms continues to increase, finding new ways to reduce your operating costs and maximize supply chain efficiencies becomes increasingly important. A 1999 analysis of the logistics industry found that an estimated eight cents on each dollar spent on logistics can be allocated to the warehouse with the majority, or 59 cents, […]
Read MoreSecuring America’s Future by Riding the ITS Wave
Ocean liner service is the backbone of international transportation for manufactured goods. General cargo ships, sailing on regular schedules along established trade lanes, annually move more than 1.2 billion metric tons of consumer, industrial, and military commodities ranging from fatigues and milling machines to perfume and designer jeans. In the past 10 years, the number […]
Read MoreIs Your Supply Chain Achieving Customer Loyalty?
Business logistics executives face four major challenges: Achieving dramatic reductions in time-to-market. Creating value for shareholders. Marketing their supply chain as a competitive edge. Earning customer loyalty. Organizations must focus time, attention, and dollars on these areas. While many companies have plans to achieve challenges one through three, market leaders know that without true customer […]
Read MoreReal Estate Companies Deliver Distribution Solutions
In today’s economy, companies are experiencing an increased amount of pressure to deliver their products to market more rapidly and cost-efficiently. Customers have little tolerance for lengthy delays in the fulfillment cycle, and they reject the exorbitant costs often required to deliver the products to market more efficiently. To avoid these pitfalls, companies have begun […]
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Can Competitors Unite On Your Behalf?
In 1997, DSC Communications Corporation, a $1.6-billion telecom equipment maker based in Plano, Texas, decided to get radical. In an attempt to streamline the number of freight forwarders not only swarming its docks, but swamping the progressive company with paperwork, DSC turned to outsourcing. Putting its domestic, international, and van line segments out for bid, […]
Read MoreLogistics Success: Take it to the Bank
Global economics plus smart financing equals huge opportunities. But overseas trade presents many logistics risks that can cause lending institutions to hesitate in financing all the working capital needs of their clients. The success of a transaction depends on a well-oiled logistics process, with the job finished only when the goods satisfactorily reach the customer’s […]
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