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Six Secrets to Controlling Supply Chain Costs Without Sacrificing Service

It’s Monday morning. Your boss knocks on your office door to tell you to cut five percent of your supply chain costs in the next six months, while improving performance on customer service scorecards by three percent. This balancing act between cost and service is becoming more common as companies seek ways to do more […]

Regulatory Update: Playing by the Rules

Mark our words: Legislative and regulatory resolutions could spell trouble for shippers and carriers in 2015.

Medical Devices: A Tale of Two Countries

It was the worst of times for U.S./Mexico healthcare. Can demand-driven logistics make it the best of times?

Building a Bridge to Continuous Improvement

Tired of relying on e-mail blasts to place freight, L.B. Foster ups its game with a third-party solution that has transformed the enterprise.

Keeping Vendor Risk Under Control During the Holiday Season

‘Tis the season to be jolly. Yet, for logistics managers, ‘tis perhaps the most stressful time of the year. With businesses offering customers attractive deals and promises of just-in-time delivery, logistics managers are under tremendous pressure to make sure that customer orders are fulfilled in time. Nobody wants to see their name in front-page headline […]

Reducing Freight Costs

Transportation prices have risen over the past year, but shippers can cut those costs through smart planning. Tim Benedict, senior director of transportation at APL Logistics, offers the following tips for reducing freight costs. 1. Don’t wing it. Electing to use international air instead of expedited ocean for the majority of hot shipments could leave […]

Trends—December 2014

10 Best Practices Of SmartWay Shippers Since 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership has given organizations that ship freight a set of tools to measure their supply chain’s carbon footprint and make better decisions about how to reduce it. To mark SmartWay’s 10th anniversary, several shipper partners share their best tactics […]

| 3PL | Customer Service | Logistics | Supply Chain Management

Customer Service: It’s the Thought That Counts

Technology is enabling an unprecedented level of transparency and communication to help shippers and their logistics providers understand each other’s operations, and collaborate in ways that were much more difficult in the past.

Food Safety Modernization Act: Safe Travels

The Food Safety Modernization Act will have a huge impact on food supply chains. Here’s your passport to preparation.

| 3PL | Supply Chain Management

Building an Effective Supply Chain Team

A successful team needs the right mix of talent, skills, and personalities.

November 15, 2014 | 3PL | Latin America | Mexico | Transportation Infrastructure

3PL Partnerships Can Ease Burden on LATAM Manufacturers

Latin America is fast becoming the destination of choice for companies looking to expand their global footprint. The significant increase in companies establishing manufacturing facilities and distribution centers there over the past several years showcases the impact the region is having on the global economy. Many Latin American governments have orchestrated multiple free trade agreements, […]

Why Retailers Put Their Sleighbells on in May

The sun is shining and the weather is warm, yet the world’s top retailers are humming holiday tunes and preparing for the busy season ahead. Retailers often prep for holiday delivery logistics months in advance, but 2014 saw them beginning preparations earlier than ever—in May. And who could blame them? We all remember last year’s […]

Understanding Capacity Constraints

The trucking industry faces capacity constraints, but there are solutions available to help shippers minimize the impact.

Star Search: Discovering the Best Site for Your Business

Finding the right site for your new manufacturing plant or distribution facility isn’t an overnight sensation. You have to pay your dues by investigating infrastructure, quality of life issues, utilities and taxes, and more. These locations deliver the goods.

Memphis: America’s Multimodal City

Connecting global supply chains through river, highway, rail, and air transport, Memphis gives businesses the ultimate logistics advantage.

September 17, 2014 | 3PL | Distribution | Supply Chain Management | Transportation Management

3PL Partnership Provides The Total Package

Intertape Polymer Group’s transportation strategy was getting a bum wrap, until an outsourcing partnership enabled greater inventory control and profit margins that stick.

August 8, 2014 | 3PL | Food Logistics | Manufacturing | Supply Chain Management

Managing SKU Proliferation in the Beverage Industry

Q: What is SKU proliferation, and what drives it? A: Competition is driving beverage makers to expand their portfolios to provide a wider array of product, flavor, package, and beverage choices. All these choices generate new stockkeeping units (SKUs). SKU proliferation, in turn, drives the need for smarter use of labor, distribution networks, warehousing space, […]

July 31, 2014 | 3PL | Partnership | Supply Chain Management

3PL Evolution Continues

For better or for worse, I have been the editor of Inbound Logistics for nearly 25 years—before the term third-party logistics, or 3PL, even existed. That means I spent about two decades (gulp!) watching the evolution of the third-party logistics sector, and all the different types of companies providing value-added logistics solutions. It has been […]

| 3PL | E-commerce | Retail | Supply Chain Management

3PL e-Volution Continues

While the editor of Inbound Logistics is content to use her column to take you on an archeological journey through 3PL history, I prefer to take you on a trip forward. We all know Amazon and eBay as e-commerce titans that match millions of customers with the products they demand, when they want them. Both […]

Trends—July 2014

The 25th Annual State of Logistics Report: Ready For a New Route After a rollercoaster year for the economy and the transportation sector, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Penske Logistics released their 25th annual State of Logistics report. Aptly titled Ready For a New Route, the report focuses on 2013’s weak economy, […]

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