Articles
Inventory Management
The Direct Sales Supply Chain: Where There’s a Will There’s Amway
George Calvert, chief supply chain and R&D officer for Amway, calls on Inbound Logistics to talk about the direct sales business and how Amway’s supply chain is adapting to globalization, new technology, and changing consumer behavior.
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Controlling Costs in the Healthcare Supply Chain
Increasing regulation, supply chain inefficiency, and product security concerns plague healthcare companies already crippled by rising costs. Treating the ailments with high-tech tools and optimized logistics provides relief.
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Setting the E-Commerce Gold Standard
As chief supply chain officer for flash sales superstar Gilt, Chris Halkyard’s bright idea to optimize the company’s DC network helped spark supply chain efficiency gains.
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DSW Tries On New SKUs and Stocks
Shoe retailer DSW pairs a new replenishment system with an automated materials handling solution to step up inventory control.
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PVMI: A New Approach to Supply Chain Control
Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solutions are focused on keeping inventory off the manufacturer’s books until it is needed to fulfill customer orders. DB Schenker takes a broader view as part of a standardized solution called Production Vendor Managed Inventory (PVMI)—which enables the OEM to gain comprehensive supply chain control, something much more powerful than just […]
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Minimizing the Financial Impact of Peak Season Returns
As the supply chain world settles in for a long winter’s nap, the reverse logistics world is shifting into overdrive to handle peak returns season. Both retailers and manufacturers report that the percent of returns for 2014 is roughly the same as it was by this point in 2013. The rate of returns for holiday […]
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A New Paradigm in Vendor Partner Management
Leading companies are moving from traditional vendor compliance to vendor partner management — a competitive differentiator in how companies manage their inbound purchase orders (POs) and transportation to increase sales and customer service. Historically, vendor compliance has revolved around chargebacks — the practice of making deductions from the purchase price when vendors break an agreed-upon […]
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Putting Stock in Retail Analytics Tools
For Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark, managing inventory at retail stores in China was nothing to sneeze at—until it found an analytics solution that delivers comprehensive stock data.
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Inventory Optimization: A Natural Fit
A new inventory management system nurses Nature’s Best’s fulfillment operations back to health.
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3PL Value-Adds Mean Millions
You hate to say it, but everyone knows it: Today’s third-party logistics (3PL) relationship is transitional. Many 3PLs live and die by the freight rates they offer clients. Why? Because your shippers see the relationship as transactional, and trucking-focused. Shippers write checks for shipping expenses nearly every day, and freight is in the forefront of […]
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You Are Everywhere: Mapping the New Retail Supply Chain
Gone are the days of single-channel apparel retailing—and supply chains servicing that model. Today, apparel retailers must optimize their supply chains to deliver products from any point where consumers want to buy them.
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Integration: The Dawning of a New Era
When baseball cap maker New Era’s business growth hit critical mass, it realigned its distribution operations, fusing Menlo Worldwide Logistics’ outsourced solutions with its global supply chain.
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The Secret Ingredient For Inventory Accuracy
Taking a can-do approach, tomato canner Red Gold achieves 99-percent inventory accuracy with bar-coding and wireless data collection.
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Gaining Ground
The fortunes of many companies were balanced on the backs of their supply chain, logistics, and transportation managers during the past year. In concert with their carriers, and technology and logistics partners, business logistics professionals across the country produced real supply chain gain by aligning demand to supply. That’s why we chose “Supply Chain Gain” […]
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Unleashing Logistics Excellence
Dogged pursuit of supply chain and warehousing efficiency led pet food manufacturer WellPet to partner with two 3PLs.
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CSCMP Annual Conference: Can We Talk?
Discussed in general sessions and overhead in the hallways: Shippers are focused on reducing risk and managing volatility, developing supplier relationships, and creating supply chain resilience.
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How to Develop a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model
MORE TO THE STORY: Is a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model Right for You? Speed is the name of the game in today’s retail landscape. How quickly products are purchased from store shelves depends on a myriad of factors: consumer preference, special promotions, and brand recognition, to name just a few. The real trick to gaining speed […]
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Logistics Outsourcing: An Active Culture at Dannon
Partnering with a 3PL keeps Dannon’s supply chain light and fit.
Read MoreDemanding Response
Inexpensive transportation and sophisticated IT tools allowed us to operate extended supply chains. But that tide may be turning.
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E-fulfillment: Finding the Perfect Fit
Online haberdasher Bonobos focuses on details to guarantee pants that fit. Naturally, it demands the same diligence from its third-party fulfillment partner.
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