Articles
Logistics
Trends—December 2016
Happy New Year! Time for Your Annual Supply Chain Health Check Throughout the course of 2016, your supply chain was plugging away, receiving and handling new product lines, efficiently fulfilling e-commerce orders during slow times and peak periods, dealing with returns, and processing shipments to your stores and/or retail customers to ensure timely and accurate […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics—December 2016
TPP is Dead. Is NAFTA Next? A number of important policy issues are still up in the air for the United States, but President-elect Donald Trump has made one thing clear: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is done. The TPP—a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries—became a target during […]
Read MoreVisibility is Key to Unlocking Supply Chain Savings by Connecting Inbound and Outbound Activities
Q: What are the benefits of managing inbound freight spend? A: By managing inbound freight spend, shippers can decouple transportation costs from suppliers’ product charges and gain visibility to the lanes, volumes and synergistic opportunities that exist within their outbound network. Leveraging a lead logistics provider (LLP) or transportation management system (TMS) expands visibility beyond […]
Read MoreHow Driverless Trucks Will Change Supply Chain Strategy
In the popular 1985 movie "Back to the Future", it was predicted that by the year 2015, we would have the ability to fly our cars in the friendly skies. While that version of the future never became reality, we do have a major change to the state of transportation on the horizon with driverless […]
Read MoreHow Specialized Transportation Can Improve Customer Service
As a shipper, what does it look like to deliver on stellar customer service? Your buyers are looking for undamaged, on-time, seamless orders. But you are only able to control a portion of this. Somewhere along the way, a truck driver, warehouse worker, or dispatcher is involved in delivering on your customer service promises. Typically, […]
Read MoreFive Best Practices Before Beginning a Transportation RFP
Conducting a Transportation Request for Proposal (RFP) can turn into an overwhelming and time consuming task. However, an organized and well-prepared RFP can yield a variety of benefits for your company. Here are five tips to consider before starting an RFP: Define Goals — This process will involve several different parties—and ensuring everyone is aligned […]
Read MoreHow Precise Forecasting Tames Item Proliferation
Accurate forecasts enable better planning, lower inventory and manufacturing costs, and improved service levels. By limiting line item proliferation, precise forecasting reduces errors significantly for new product launches. New products lack the history required for traditional demand planning methods. In the same way that the financial industry uses algorithms to sort through masses of market […]
Read MorePursuing a Certificate? Learn Before You Act
People who are successful in their profession consistently challenge themselves to learn more, regularly attend professional meetings to network with peers and mentors, and seek out opportunities to expand their education. Are you thinking about pursuing a certificate or certification in the supply management profession to enhance your knowledge and improve your career possibilities? Here’s […]
Read More3PLs & Carriers: At Your Service
Shippers don’t always measure the ‘softer’ aspects of the service they receive from carriers and 3PLs. But those metrics can make all the difference for your supply chain and your company’s brand.
Read MoreThe Grass is Greener
Wagner Logistics helps a leading manufacturer of lawn care equipment overcome growing pains.
Read MoreSupply Chain & Logistics Education: Ask the Professors — 2016 Edition
Faculty members from some of the nations leading logistics and supply chain education programs share their thoughts about how higher education is preparing tomorrows professionals for the challenges ahead.
Read MorePanama Canal Expansion: Locks and Load
The Panama Canal’s recent expansion has
widespread ramifications for global shipping.
Cargo-Dedicated Airport Speeds Supply Chain Efficiency
Rickenbacker International Airport, one of the world’s only cargo-focused airports, offers an uncongested option to move air cargo to, from, and within the United States.
Read MoreSupercharging Your Supply Chain and Logistics Career
Take your logistics and supply chain career to the next level by understanding how your skills can impact an organization, networking with other industry professionals, and continuing to develop critical skills.
Read MoreBlockchain Supply Chain?
Anyone doing business in a global environment knows that a lot of friction in trade activities is directly related to finance: regulatory and compliance speed bumps, fraud, letters of credit, manual and fax-based documentation. In trade finance, the sheer number of borders, intermediaries, regulatory authorities—and lack of technology—can sometimes stall your product, no matter what […]
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | When choosing a carrier/supplier, what’s more important: cost or customer service?
While reducing operational costs is top of mind for businesses, customer service comes first to ensure rising expectations are met with improved visibility and accuracy—especially in today’s increasingly competitive environment where loyalty must be earned and options are many. Steve Rice Director of Product Management, TAKE Supply Chain Bang for the buck. There are a […]
Read MoreUsing a Systems Integrator for DC Automation
Implementing materials handling automation within a distribution center requires an experienced systems integrator, which acts as a matchmaker to ensure the software communicates fully and freely with the facility’s equipment. Systems integrators are also responsible for the deployment’s speed, progress and outcome; they are the keepers of schedules and standards, the maestros who ensure that […]
Read MoreRight on Target
MORE TO THE STORY: Customers, Everywhere He Looks One day, while working as a salesman for Overnite Transportation (now UPS Freight), Mike Wagner offered a customer a great set of rates. But the shipper said he didn’t need Wagner; the rates he already had with Overnite were lower than any Wagner could produce on his […]
Read MoreBert De Winter: Springing Forward with Innovation
Bert De Winter is director of EMEA logistics with HP Inc., and based in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. He has been with HP (and previously, Compaq) for 29 years. Responsibilities:Operational and profit and loss management of EMEA inbound and outbound transportation flows, distribution centers, warehousing, and customs; regional procurement and management of transport, customs brokerage, and […]
Read MoreTrends—November 2016
Consumers Demand Damage Control Shippers need to take steps to make sure packages arrive safely at their destinations this holiday season. Sixty-four percent of consumers have received a damaged package, according to State of Online Shopper Expectations and Actions, a recent survey by shipping services company OSM Worldwide. The study shows that 75 percent of […]
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