3PL

Collaborative Distribution Eases the Capacity Crunch

Q: The current crunch in trucking capacity has made mainstream news lately. How should the transport industry solve this problem? Kane: The truth is there is no capacity shortage. Also, there are plenty of truck drivers, even after we lose 100,000 drivers through CSA 2010, as industry experts predict. The problem is not capacity or […]

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Consumer Packaged Goods: Lightening the Load

Sorting through logistics challenges can be a dirty job for CPG companies. But well-planned manufacturing, smart packaging, and cost-effective transportation can help wash away inefficiencies from any supply chain cycle.

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Oversized Shipments: Good to Grow

Although container shipping remains the dominant form of ocean transport, breakbulk shipping, in which heavyweight freight is transported without being packed in containers, has seen significant growth. Non-container cargo covers a variety of shipments, ranging from oversized tires for earth-moving equipment to complete electrical power plants. One reason breakbulk shipping grew despite the economic downturn, […]

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Your Guide to Routing Guides

They surface after the sale…at the last minute…potentially costing a fortune. They’re the biggest hidden challenge vendors face.

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Lean Six Sigma: Leaning by Degrees

Lean Six Sigma enablers and practitioners are using continuous improvement methodologies to squeeze cost and inefficiency out of the supply chain.

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What We’ve Got Here is Failure to Communicate

Remember that great line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate”? That’s what popped into my head as I reviewed the more than 4,700 responses from readers and 3PLs participating in our annual third-party logistics survey. We asked both 3PLs and their customers the same question: What is […]

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Value Added Services Bring Flexibility to the Supply Chain

A new wave of demand for value-added services requires more capabilities of retail vendors and their logistics providers.

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Trends—July 2010

21st annual State of Logistics Report: Beating the Recession; Making dollars and Sense out of Jabulanis and Vuvuzelas; Mergers and Acquisitions Show signs of Recovery

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Tying the 3PL Knot

Meet shippers who quit playing the field and settled down with a 3PL partner.

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Are You Talkin’ to Me?

Some results from our annual third-party logistics survey caused the publisher of this magazine to quote a line from Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” When 3PLs and their customers were asked the same question, but provided diametrically opposed answers, the publisher suggested that more shipper/3PL communication may be called for. […]

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Time to Reconsider Your 3PL Strategy

Third-party logistics companies come in many different forms, and for a while there was not much barrier to entry into the marketplace— particularly the less-than-truckload segment. Until even recently, the following recipe could be utilized to form a 3PL: Ingredients: Freight to leverage Growth potential Industry knowledge Technology— in any form Instructions: Take one former […]

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Freight Forwarders: The Vital Link in Logistics Communication

Building a logistics system for today’s sourcing needs requires a quantum leap from past shipping practices, in which companies too often neglected transportation in their strategic planning. A poorly constructed or outdated supply system with inadequate communication can create unnecessary delays and expense caused by information snags, missing or ill-prepared shipping documents, and inappropriate cargo […]

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Keeping Surprises Out Of The Warehouse

Warehousing risks can spring out at any moment. Some are meant to be shared, others avoided. Successful warehousing operations strike a balance.

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Why You Should Vest With Your Outsourcing Partners, Now!

We hear and read constantly about the critical need for lean, green, transparent, collaborative, efficient, and cost-effective supply chains and logistics partners. But how have your partnerships fared lately? How have things progressed over the past three or four years? Are your outsourcing and logistics contracts living up to their initial promises and premises? Do […]

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Giving Intermodal the Green Light

Manufacturers and retailers know moving freight by rail and using trucks on the origin and destination ends—a combined service approach called door-to-door intermodal—can help cut logistics costs. What many shippers don’t realize is that, in addition to being a more cost-effective method of transporting goods, intermodal offers significant environmental advantages as well. LAW OF AVERAGES […]

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Building Better 3PL Relationships

Third-party logistics (3PL) providers are tremendously popular with shippers for surface transportation in North America. Freight brokers, forwarders, and intermodal marketing companies offer capacity, expertise, technology, and buying power on a scale no shipper can replicate on its own. Not all 3PLs are the same, however. Here are a few tips to help you get […]

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Today’s Warehouse Plays a New Role

Warehouses are no longer just for storage. In today’s cost-conscious, efficiency-driven environment, many manufacturers are reevaluating their definition of warehousing. Anything that doesn’t lend itself to a high-speed, highly mechanized, low-labor environment is being sent to the warehouse. Driving this evolution is a desire to take links out of the supply chain and make sure […]

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Green Reverse Logistics Brings Many Happy Returns

Companies that combine the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra with the supply chain wisdom of managing costs and stamping out inefficiencies are developing reverse supply chains that help the Earth, the customer, and the bottom line.

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