Articles
Viewpoint: Logistics & Supply Chain Analysis
Naughty or Nice—Which Retailers and Delivery Services Will Make the Grade this Holiday Season?
The holiday retail season is upon us, and already the first lumps of coal have been delivered, with retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Walmart experiencing unwanted downtime on their websites over the Black Friday weekend. And as we move away from Black Friday, and closer to Christmas day 2015, the pressure will shift from […]
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IT Asset Disposition Is the Future of Reverse Logistics
While forward logistics optimizes the flow of goods from the producer to the consumer, reverse logistics inverts that flow from the consumer back to the producer. Most often, this includes warranty recovery, value recovery, repair, redistribution, product recalls, used parts, and replacement materials for refurbishment, service, or product contract returns, and end-of-life recycling. In a […]
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Sales and Operations Planning
Most business executives would agree that effective S&OP should lead to competitive success. But S&OP means different things to different organizations. What makes S&OP a "secret sauce" is dependent on a few key factors. Having the right people in the bus. First and foremost, it is essential to obtain executive-level sponsorship. S&OP strategies fail without […]
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Product Philanthropy: An Efficient Way to Move Unwanted Inventory
While businesses have made great strides in inventory management, many have yet to adopt a truly efficient, cost-effective process for moving unprofitable stock. Discounting merchandise eats into profits and devalues the corporate brand. Liquidating is even less profitable and more laborious. As a result, many otherwise efficient operations end up housing idle stock far longer […]
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If Yogi Berra Were a Logistics and Supply Chain Manager
UltraShipTMS (and many of its employees) is native to the New York metro area. We all grew up with Yankees baseball among the constants of life in this part of the world. That is why it was with great sadness that we marked the passing of Yogi Berra, who, like the Yankees and like UltraShipTMS, […]
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Seven Tips for Finding the Right Chinese Partner
China is a major trading partner for the United States, and the relationship is key for both countries. U.S. trade with China is booming, but there are issues that continue to linger, such as the U.S. trade deficit and China’s trade surplus, a Chinese fiscal policy that keeps currency artificially low compared to the U.S. […]
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Driver Shortage Threatens to Slow Intermodal Growth
The shortage of qualified drivers threatens the intermodal industry’s continued growth. The challenge for intermodal is not only hiring enough professional drivers, but also retaining them. For many transportation companies, attracting and retaining drivers are the biggest challenges. The extreme number of multi-hour delays along the intermodal chain, combined with the impersonal treatment drivers receive […]
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Supply Chain + Marketing = Successful Consumer Promotions
More consumer-facing companies are using promotions as a way to attract and retain customers, try new product concepts, and meet consumer demand.Examples include limited-time food offerings in restaurants, holiday-inspired product colors, and co-branded promotions at big box retailers and grocers. These promotions give marketers, product developers, and salespeople an additional avenue to express creativity and […]
Read MoreWhy Ports Need a Master Plan
Ports constitute an important economic hub and critical economic engines, bringing varying degrees of benefit to the international, regional, and local economies in which they operate. In a sense, ports are much like living organisms. In biology, organisms are defined as contiguous living systems, which, in at least some form, are capable of response to […]
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What Customers Expect in the E-Commerce Age
Twenty years ago, selling and delivering retail goods to consumers was a relatively simple process. Nearly all purchases were made in stores, so if a retailer adequately stocked its shelves with desirable, dependable goods, shoppers were usually satisfied. If they weren’t, they often had limited options, depending on how far they had to travel to […]
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How to Use Safety Measures to Reduce Lift Truck Accident Damage
Like busy freeways, plants and warehouses have squeezed more traffic into less space as the cost of real estate has risen. With products and equipment packed tighter, operating with more just-in-time logistics, the risk of lift truck impact is greater than ever today. That puts your people, production, and assets at risk. OSHA estimates that […]
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Five Ways to Mitigate a Truckload Capacity Crunch
Many factors have led to increased costs for truckload services, and created challenges to the freight pricing status quo for shippers. In the wake of the disruptions caused by the current capacity crunch, many are asking: "Am I overpaying? And if I am, what can I do about it?" To avoid paying too much for […]
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7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Incentive Program
Incentive pay programs are becoming an increasingly popular supply chain initiatives to increase productivity without the need for large capital improvements. These programs motivate employees to perform to the best of their ability every day, even during stretches of long workdays and difficult tasks. The problem is that an incentive program can hold an adverse […]
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Communication is Key When Optimizing Logistics Networks
Within any logistics network there are vendors, warehouses, distribution centers, service operations, transportation routes and hubs, carriers, freight forwarders, importers, exporters, and more. The idea of optimizing all of it is enough to give anyone a splitting headache. The goal of optimization is to reduce costs while becoming more efficient. To do this, some companies […]
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Taking Steps to Embrace ACE
With other countries transitioning to a single-window-to-government paradigm, all eyes are on the United States as the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) brings a modernized, integrated approach to government. The initiative, which allows shippers to electronically transport import and export data to the government through a single window, can be considered a mature program with well-defined, […]
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Five Customs Compliance Tips for Aerospace Companies
Aerospace manufacturers and distributors who move shipments across international borders face an often-complicated, high-stakes process as they navigate export rules and local customs regulations. Fines for non-compliance can amount to millions of dollars. That makes understanding guidelines a vital business priority. For some companies, the hassles associated with customs can dissuade them from expanding into […]
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Best Practices for Preventing Pallet Rack Damage
Warehouses and distribution centers can be hectic, and it is essential to have solid damage prevention practices in effect to prevent employee injury and minimize loss. However, in an environment where workers are maneuvering heavy equipment and heavy loads in confined spaces, accidents are bound to happen. Even the best driver occasionally has a collision, […]
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Preparing Your Company Today to Hire for Tomorrow
The logistics sector will create more than one million jobs through 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To complicate matters, there is a skills gap in logistics, so recruiting proven and experienced professionals has become a priority for many companies. With competition for talent increasing, organizations must attract candidates who will be the […]
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Seven Common Shipping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Moving cargo is part of daily operations for a wide array of industry sectors worldwide, and processes to maximize time and cost-efficiency can be surprisingly detail-oriented. When moving freight is an every day operation, proper execution is a must. It can be easy to overlook the following mistakes, resulting in unwanted and unnecessary organizational spends […]
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How to Make Physical Inventory Counts Less Stressful
Small business owners may struggle finding time to interact with customers, let alone counting inventory and checking for inaccuracies in the warehouse. Although technology tools can help manage inventory, you must implement systems in-house that account for physical stock counting. Many product-based businesses will ditch the annual inventory count and opt for something a little […]
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