Articles
Logistics
Self-Driving Trucks Are Set to Transform Trucking and Logistics
While much of the attention surrounding autonomous vehicles (AVs) is focused on self-driving cars, the real impact will be felt in the shipping, trucking, and logistics industries, where AVs will have a dramatic effect. Today, the shortage of truck drivers and the need to follow strict federal regulations covering working hours are disrupting status quo […]
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Click & Collect Not Clicking Yet
Fewer than half of retailers responding to an OrderDynamics survey provide shoppers with access to basic inventory visibility. Of the 2,000+ worldwide retailers participating in Omni-2000 Research: Global, only a surprising 38.1 percent show basic inventory visibility on product pages. A strict like-for-like, year-over-year comparison finds a 30.7-percent decrease in active online inventory visibility. This […]
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New NAFTA Winners and Losers
Although the recently announced trade deal between the United States, Mexico, and Canada is not likely to take effect until 2020, assuming each country grants final approval, many have been quick to seize upon the agreement in search of "winners and losers." The new deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is poised to […]
Read MoreWalgreens Launches Home Delivery Program for Prescriptions
Drug store chain Walgreens will now expand home deliveries for prescriptions nationwide. The company plans to partner with FedEx to deliver prescriptions as soon as the next day for a $4.99 fee, and it also is providing same-day deliveries in several cities including New York, Chicago and Dallas. The Deerfield, Ill., company started offering deliveries […]
Read MoreHoliday Shipping Guidance for 2018: Analyzing FedEx 2017 Holiday Ship-By Dates
To better understand when shippers should send their packages during the holiday season, GrandCanals, a provider of analytics-driven fulfillment, launched an AI-powered website, where companies can view holiday ship-by predictions for 2018, updated nightly. These predictions are determined by artificial intelligence and consider both historical and current shipping trends across the GrandCanals Delivery Performance tracking […]
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Post Office Dings E-Commerce?
Two recent and important developments will impact domestic and international e-commerce shipments. The first one concerns the U.S. Postal Service’s relationship with Amazon. Let me set the stage. The Postal Service lost $2.7 billion in 2017. U.S. taxpayers guarantee the perennially stressed postal worker retirement fund. And first-class mail receipts are off by $1.8 billion […]
Read MoreHow Shippers Can Achieve Peace of Mind Through Shopping Season
Imagine it is Christmas morning. A family is just waking up and starting to open presents. It is time for the teenager to open her big gift—a new laptop. This was just what she needed, and her parents are glad all their research paid off. Immediately, the teenager takes the computer out of the box, […]
Read MoreNOTED | The Supply Chain in Brief-Dec 2018
Good Works DHL Express delivered hundreds of fresh-cut Christmas trees; thousands of handwritten letters; and menorahs, decorations, and gifts to U.S. military personnel stationed abroad as part of its charitable program Operation Holiday Cheer, now in its 15th year. The haul arrived at U.S. bases in Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Kuwait in time for the holidays. […]
Read MoreHow Shippers Can Relieve Consumers’ Delivery Anxiety
Delivery anxiety is the anxiety consumers feel when they don’t know when they are going to receive their order or when shipping costs push the total order cost too high. It ultimately causes the consumer to abandon the shopping cart, and possibly order the product they so desperately desire elsewhere. Removing delivery anxiety, your single […]
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3PLs, Tech Providers Empower Ethical Supply Chains
Photo courtesy of DHL Because they are so busy watching their margins, shippers do not always spend adequate attention and resources on the ethical issues involved in their highly complex supply chains, notes Mark Smolik, vice president, general counsel and secretary, compliance officer for DHL Supply Chain, the logistics division of Deutsche Post DHL. Ethics, […]
Read MoreNOTED | The Supply Chain in Brief
SHOVEL READY Online home goods and furniture retailer Overstock.com is set to open a 517,000-square-foot distribution center in Kansas City, Kansas. The new warehouse allows Overstock to offer two-day ground shipping to nearly every customer in the contiguous United States. The retailer intends to expand the distribution center’s operations to include returns processing. Sealed Deals […]
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Take a Load Off Your Fleet
Maintenance and repair (M&R) is the top factor motivating fleet executives to acquire new trucks, say 40 percent of respondents to a recent Fleet Advantage survey of more than 1,000 fleet executives. M&R costs have moved front and center in recent years, with more fleet personnel working with their finance departments, the survey finds. Costs, […]
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Cold Comfort: Finding the Right Winter Warehouse
The 2018-2019 winter season is projected to be colder than normal, so it’s time for companies to ensure their inventory is protected. Here are three tips for choosing the right warehouse for your business this winter: 1. Heated facilities. Find a warehouse that operates a heated facility to keep materials at the right storing temperature […]
Read MoreHow to Adapt an Aging Warehouse
With the economy firing on all cylinders, it is not uncommon to find warehouses bursting at the seams. When the time arrives to consider investing in additional space, many distribution centers, retailers, and businesses dependent on warehouses face a dilemma: Should the organization move to a new facility, build an addition, or try to retrofit […]
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How to Become a Shipper of Choice
As shippers, carriers, and logistics service providers prepare for a busy Q4 2018, here are some ideas for easing the capacity crunch, controlling costs, and becoming a "shipper of choice." Carriers in the driver’s seat. When the freight market shifted, so did the balance between shippers and carriers. In today’s market, carriers can afford to […]
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Companies in Asia Pacific Place More Importance on Green Transport Than Other Regions
Companies in Asia Pacific place more importance on green transport than other regions do, according to DHL’s latest research report on ground transportation logistics. The global survey found that a whopping 75% of respondents from the region believe electric vehicles will have a significant impact on transport in the next two years, compared to the […]
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Growth in the Line of Beauty
To serve its rapidly growing customer base in mainland China, Feelunique—Europe’s leading online beauty retailer with more than 32,000 products and 500 brands across makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrances—is set to open a distribution hub in Hong Kong in partnership with SEKO Logistics, a third-party logistics provider based in Itasca, Illinois. The cross-border online retailer […]
Read MoreE-commerce Shipment Costs to Rise
Two recent and important developments will impact domestic and international e-commerce shipments. The first one concerns the U.S. Postal Service’s relationship with Amazon. Let me set the stage. The Postal Service lost $2.7 billion in 2017. U.S. taxpayers guarantee the perennially stressed postal worker retirement fund. And first-class mail receipts are off by $1.8 billion […]
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