Articles
Logistics I.T.
Improving the Warehouse Startup Process
Q: What trends are you seeing with customers and their warehousing needs? A: We are seeing a larger number of existing and prospective customers looking for space in short time frames. They might be looking to outsource their warehousing at the end of an existing lease or they may have short-term warehousing needs. Customers do […]
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Building a Smarter Warehouse
Cloud computing, omnichannel management, and big data are the questions. Can your warehouse supply the answers?
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Awake at the Wheel: Delivering Customer Satisfaction
When Sleepy’s customers got tired of short notice and missed deliveries, the specialty mattress retailer brought in a technology partner and dreamed up a solution that put those problems to bed.
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Improving Customer Satisfaction with Consumer Engagement Apps
Walking into a retail store today, customers are presented with myriad options for every product. But how can they know which is the best for their needs, among two, five, or 10 different options? Before the digital age, we might have asked a friend or neighbor which product they use. Now, we turn to the […]
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The World is Your Warehouse, 2.0
Inbound Logistics regularly reports on the benefits of better linking demand to supply lines. Given the new and ever-growing crop of supply chain technology solutions delivering global visibility and ability to execute, we sometimes refer to the world as your warehouse. That’s why Apple’s patent #8,989,773 caught my eye. Granted on March 24, 2015, by […]
Read MoreMaximizing Intermodal Efficiency
Intermodal transportation was developed to improve efficiency as U.S. consumer demand and shipment volume grew. When a trucking entrepreneur realized it would be more efficient to use the same conveyance for different shipping modes, without having to handle the cargo, intermodalism was created. The resulting interoperability of the assets themselves—containers, chassis, railcars—is evidence of improved […]
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Trends—April 2015
Supply Chain Modeling: Believe It! The supply chain sector is increasingly adapting and deploying technology to better understand the unknown. Big data provides a wealth of information and historical precedent to benchmark and optimize current and future events. Modeling and design software similarly affords users the latitude to engineer and plan for potentialities before they […]
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Tracking Isn’t Just Tracking Anymore
In the 1990s, carriers, shippers, and third-party logistics providers were always asking: "Where’s my truck?" In response, automatic tracking systems grew rapidly as the Global Positioning System (GPS) became available for commercial use, and expanding satellite and cellular networks increased connectivity even in remote areas. The first generation of tracking systems charted the location, speed, […]
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The Next Frontier of Supply Chain Innovation: Analytics, LEAN and the Power of Big Data
Ongoing breakthroughs in big data and advanced analytics are nothing short of revolutionary. Executives at Gartner have said, "Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine." The excitement is not simply about the scale and speed of information generation. It is also about big data’s potential impact. An example […]
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3PLs Put Technology Front and Center
3PLs tap into data-based solutions to help shippers meet their goals.
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Top 100 Logistics IT Providers & Market Research Survey
Inbound Logistics surveys the logistics technology sector and evaluates the top solutions providers leading the way to supply chain excellence.
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Offshore vs. Outsource for Transportation & Logistics
Many transportation and logistics professionals hear outsourcing and think offshoring, but there is a big difference.
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Using Technology to Maximize Value Chain Partnerships
Q: How can value chain partners cooperate to create and share efficiencies? A: You just have to use your imagination and dig in. There are so many ways you can help your customers. You just need to ask and listen. Some third-party logistics (3PL) providers get deeply involved to provide technology so they stand out […]
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Improving Operations With a Yard Management System
Q: What is the role of a yard management system? A: Two main roles come to mind—visibility and communication. Today’s best systems offer visibility into basic information including the location, status, and contents of assets on the yard. They are also able to offer more detailed information including historical data, load detail down to the […]
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On Your Mark, Headset, Go!
To increase fulfillment efficiency and order picking accuracy, eBay Enterprise gives its warehouse a voice.
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Jim Young: Sourcing for a Startup
Jim Young is senior supply chain manager at Applied Microstructures, Inc. in San Jose, Calif. He has held this position since 2011. Responsibilities: All supply chain activities required to support product development, configuration, and production, as well as shipment of products to customers. Experience: Variety of positions in materials and manufacturing support; materials planning and […]
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Is Your Warehouse Software Holding You Back?
Change is underway in warehouse management and fulfillment operations. Driven by e-commerce and omni-channel demand, and enabled by innovative automation and software solutions, the fulfillment execution model is ushering in an era of real-time adaptive workflow for optimized fulfillment. When warehouse management systems (WMS) replaced paper-based systems in the mid-1980s, they marked a fundamental shift […]
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Designing a New Strategy for a New Year
With the New Year upon us, retailers and manufacturers need to rethink their supply chains and find new ways to work together, according to the 2016 Future Supply Chain, a report from the Global Commerce Initiative and Capgemini. Here’s a look at some external and internal industry trends from a Lean perspective. It’s not hard […]
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Protecting Your Brand With Product Lifecycle Management
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and supply chain management traditionally focus on metrics such as speed to market, cost reduction, consumer trend response times, and supply chain agility. But there’s a new imperative: ensuring ethical sourcing and social compliance. Designing and delivering great brands means ensuring products are safe, manufactured responsibly, and comply with myriad complex […]
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Improving Your Fleet With Telematics
Recent research shows that 20 percent of the North American fleet market has implemented telematics. While that number may seem low for a technology that’s been in the market for just over a decade, it is likely that the number will double to 40 percent within the next few years. Telematics allow users to gain […]
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