Articles

Logistics I.T.

Dan Vertachnik

How to Get More From Your TMS

Q: Capacity is top-of-mind today. How can supply chain partners collaborate around Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to create capacity? A: There are many ways to collaborate to generate capacity. For example, shippers are increasingly participating in general load boards, tapping into capacity that sometimes flies under the radar. To be successful, they need a TMS […]

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Selecting a Yard Management System

Yard management systems (YMS) enable companies to connect to activity in the yard, on the docks, and at the gates—improving the flow of goods in and out of the facility. A YMS should be easy to use and quickly adopted by end users, recommends Nate Harris, president, Cypress Inland Corporation, a yard management software company […]

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Scott Swartz

Challenges for Today’s Global Supply Chain: Cost, Profitability and Personalization

When market research firm PWC put out its Global Supply Study in 2013, the concerns of the 500 surveyed executives were mostly what one would expect: profitability, cost management, and customer satisfaction. A fourth concern, however, indicates a shift in global supply chain realities. PWC’s study participants are worried about flexibility – and they should […]

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Par Wetterlof

Regulation as an Opportunity

Manufacturers are facing an increasing number of regulations in a variety of areas from increasing food safety to meeting specific ground-level ozone policies. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, signed into law in 2011, is just one example of recent legislation. Resulting from widespread cases of tainted eggs and peanut butter, the sweeping […]

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Trends—September 2014

Trends—September 2014

HCS Updates: Asked and Answered The Occupational Safety and Health Administration‘s (OSHA) 2012 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is sure to elicit a supply chain reaction from chemical manufacturers, distributors, and end users. The updates to HCS 1994, OSHA’s previous convention, feature some cosmetic changes—"material safety data sheets" are now referred to as "safety data sheets"— […]

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Tom Heine

Choosing Enterprise vs. Software-as-a-Service TMS

Q: What platform options are available to companies investing in transportation management systems? A: Transportation management systems (TMS) come in two essential forms. The traditional form is enterprise software—applications installed on servers that you buy and maintain. The more recent—though hardly new—form is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which is provided and maintained by a vendor on the […]

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Tom Flies

Electronic On-board Recorders: The Gateway to Intelligent Fleet Management

As the transportation industry continues to evolve, more fleets are reverting from commercial on-board computers back to running fleet management software on drivers’ personal devices. The main reason for this is cost, as companies generally view the hardware as free. Personal devices frequently break and need replacement, however, because they aren’t designed for the rugged […]

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