Articles
Food Logistics
Digging Up Vertical Farming Solutions
Vertical farming—in which indoor spaces are used to grow food—is forecast to increase globally, but such operations can only grow a limited number of crops to make a profit. A new automated solution, created by Swisslog, can help the industry overcome these barriers to growth with better flexibility, reduced costs, and closer proximity to consumers […]
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Vertical Focus: Confections
Chocolate Supply Chain: Bean to Bar None Consumers are more conscious about the ingredients in the chocolate they buy due to vegan diets, lactose allergies, climate concerns, and ethical spending. This increased the demand for premium products and a bean-to-bar approach to manufacturing, says Fortune Business Insights data. These trends are affecting the chocolate supply […]
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GM & Kroger: Transformers
The interconnection between advanced manufacturing, automation, and supply chain management had a boost in the past year. Part of that boost was due to the virus economy, but most was due to the genius and creativity of those seeking solutions to tough business challenges amplified by ever-evolving customer demands. Transformation. Just as the silo-crashing impact […]
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The Art of the Steal
With pandemic-induced lockdowns, e-commerce surges, and transportation restrictions in 2020, cargo theft shifted to new commodities and locations (see chart), says a BSI and TT Club report. New trends include the food and beverage sector experiencing the most theft, as well as an uptick in theft from facilities compared to 2019. In the year ahead, […]
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50 Orders in 6 Minutes
Kroger continues to invest in its digital business. By opening America’s first automated warehouse with digital and robotic capabilities in Monroe, Ohio, the supermarket chain can assemble a 50-item order in just six minutes. Comparatively, a Kroger employee takes 30 to 45 minutes to pick items from various areas of the store. The $55-million, 335,000-square-foot […]
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Meat Importer Carves Out Success
The meat supply chain starts at the farm gate and goes to the dinner table, making several sea, land, and air freight connections until it arrives at a local distributor, which serves either the retail or food service (restaurant) markets, but typically not both.
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Getting Into the Spirits
Craft distillers like Montanya Distillers—which produces rum from its base in Crested Butte, Colorado, where the high altitude and cool temperatures allow for flavorful aging—typically have been limited to distributing products within their own state, or perhaps a few surrounding ones. If they venture farther afield, they risk falling out of compliance with the myriad regulations governing liquor distribution across the United States.
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Logistics Challenges: Small Businesses Clear the Bar
These agile small and mid-sized businesses have picked up the pace to vault over supply chain challenges, including the pandemic.
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IoT, AI, ML: Keeping Innovation in Sight
Supply chain leaders eye up the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to better predict demand, increase efficiency, cut costs, and power growth.
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