Articles
Manufacturing
Global—February 2014
Serving Returning Customers In a fickle economy, retailers want consumers to be less discreet about their discretionary spending. One way they can encourage that is to make it easier for customers to return impulse buys or unwanted holiday gifts. But returns can add significant costs, especially when it involves cross-border business. Take, for example, online […]
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Site Selection: Follow the Signs to Competitive Advantage
The ideal combination of logistics and business assets points manufacturing and distribution site selection decisions in the right direction.
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Cross-Border Trade: Made in Mexico
Got the nearshoring bug? Here are the challenges, benefits, and secrets to success for manufacturing south of the border.
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Automotive Logistics: The Upside of Resiliency
Assembling supply chains that are both lean and resilient helps carmakers steer through risks and disruptions without taking a hit.
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Aerospace Logistics: Building for Growth
Supply chain improvements, and specialized service providers, keep the aerospace industry flying high.
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Heroic Logistics Saves the Day for DC Comics
The DC Comics team leaps into action to create special 3D covers for 52 titles, fighting evil production setbacks along the way.
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Maximize Nearshoring Value to Minimize Supply Chain Complexity
Latin America—particularly Mexico—continues to gain favor as a sourcing hotspot. Its close proximity to the U.S. border has always been a draw, but recent developments have shifted the global trade landscape in favor of the Western hemisphere. Nearsourcing may never entirely replace production in Asia, but trading partners in the Americas should be an essential […]
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Nearshoring in Mexico: The Benefits of Shared Borders
Offshore manufacturing has been synonymous with the Pacific Rim for decades, and it’s still often the best option for saving a line of business that might otherwise decline because of rising labor costs. As the offshoring trend has progressed, however, the drawbacks of moving production far from demand have become more obvious. For example, the […]
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Feeding the Line
When you make materials or components for other companies, their production rhythms become just as important as your own.
Read MoreCintron Quenches Thirst For Order Management System
A Web-based OMS provides a shot of energy to Cintron’s inventory and order management processes.
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Guiding an Energy Renaissance: Questions and Answers With Michael O’Neill
The emergence of domestically sourced natural gas heralds significant changes in the North American energy market—especially in the way suppliers and producers move product.
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Trends—June 2013
Is American-Made on the Mend? Rumors abound that U.S. manufacturing is making a comeback. The promise of cheaper domestic energy sources—and rising labor costs elsewhere around the world—are tipping the total landed cost balance off its Far Eastern axis. Does this portend a domestic manufacturing renaissance? A recent report by AlixPartners suggests companies are open […]
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We Need Jobs…Let’s Raise Taxes?
Balancing a budget is an exercise in best judgment. Add politics to the equation, and logic flies right out the window. One example: the Minnesota legislature is finalizing its $38-billion state budget, which includes a 6.5-percent sales tax on warehouse services. A wide-ranging tax hike on warehouses will have far-reaching implications. None good. A warehouse […]
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Shoring up Sourcing Strategies
Q: What factors are driving reshoring/near-sourcing consideration? A: A balance in labor rates between China and North America is warranting a second look at sourcing and manufacturing closer to demand. Mexico may be a first choice because of its labor cost differential, but the United States, with the promise of cheaper energy, presents another opportunity. […]
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Going Green to Save Green
Can reducing environmental impact generate significant financial rewards? For Caterpillar, the proof is in the profits.
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Trends—February 2013
Green: The United Color of Benetton Sustainability has gained fashion appeal over the past few years. But apparel companies are growing even more sensitive to social responsibility, especially as it relates to materials procurement and use in the supply chain. Benetton Group is the latest apparel brand to join Greenpeace’s Detox Program, launched in 2011 […]
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Comfort Zone: A Better, Faster FTZ
The Alternative Site Framework designation is changing the Foreign Trade Zone landscape, allowing shippers a more expedient process for streamlining the supply chain.
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Five Signs Your Production Logistics Needs Help
Most manufacturers experience and address common inbound logistics challenges, but one area of improvement that many overlook is the discipline of production logistics — ensuring each machine and workstation is fed with the right product in the right quantity and quality at the right time. As the crucial link that connects inbound materials to on-time […]
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Logistics Providers Steer Auto Industry on Road to Recovery
The automotive industry is rapidly rebounding from its recession lows as consumer demand for new vehicles grows. In response, auto manufacturers and their suppliers are quickly increasing manufacturing output. While this is great news for automakers and the overall financial health of the auto industry, there is a downside: The quick spike is severely straining […]
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Navigating Pharma Logistics
Temperature control, security, chain of custody, and regulatory compliance obstacles can stop pharmaceutical manufacturers at every turn. Strategic supply chain management helps provide a way out.
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