Articles
Supply Chain Management
Trends—June 2015
Highway Trust Funding: Déjà vu All Over Again? News that U.S. Congress and President Obama are about to finalize a two-month extension to the lame duck Highway Trust Fund has elicited mixed reaction from industry. Some are optimistic because legislators were able to push through a bill without undue delay, especially as summer construction work […]
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How to Cut Seven Non-Traditional Wastes
In my first column for Inbound Logistics in 2012, I covered the seven traditional wastes identified in Lean thinking: Transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, over-processing, and defects, more commonly known by the acronym TIM WOOD. But there are other wastes to consider in your supply chain and logistics functions. Let’s examine the following seven non-traditional […]
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It’s Time for an Automotive Aftermarket Logistics Tuneup
In automotive repair shops across the country, demand for older model parts is matching demand for newer model regular maintenance parts. This is because the average vehicle on the road today is 11.4 years old, and expected to reach 11.7 years by 2019. The result has transformed the aftermarket industry. Aftermarket SKUs are estimated in […]
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Benefits of Partial Truckload Shipping
Q: What is partial truckload? A: You hear a lot about less-than-truckload (LTL) and full truckload, but an often overlooked mode is partial truckload, or volume LTL. This mode has benefits shippers should consider when looking for faster transit times, less handling, and a more cost-effective solution. Logistics professionals begin to look at partial truckload […]
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Growing a Culture of Sustainability
Ford Motor Company’s corporate social responsibility journey offers a roadmap for industry to travel.
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The Top Universities for Supply Chain Technology Education
Worried about the talent gap? You can’t go wrong staffing your supply chain team with recent graduates from these highly ranked university programs.
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Chemical Logistics: Keep it Moving, Keep it Safe
As U.S. chemical production grows, chemical shippers and their partners refine their strategies to ensure trouble-free transportation, secure sufficient capacity, and navigate the regulatory landscape.
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Ocean Spray: Tastes Good, Good for You and the Environment
When companies get serious about cutting costs by reducing their carbon footprint, they call in the Climate Corps.
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Dealing With Demurrage, the Dreaded D-Word
Every industry endures a topic no one wants to discuss. It’s usually too painful or tedious to confront, although it probably will never vanish. For shippers and receivers who transport by rail, that topic is the dreaded demurrage. Demurrage is the fee charged for the extended use of a railroad-owned or privately held railcar. When […]
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When the Walls Come Tumbling Down
It might sound like two things I did this month—traveling to Phoenix for ISM’s annual conference and working on this Warehousing issue—have nothing in common. Ah, but they do. What happens in the warehouse, the orchestration of products coming in and going out to where they need to be, hinges on the convergence of many […]
Read MoreImproving Shipper/Carrier Relationships
From shippers, receivers, and purchasing agents to carriers and third-party logistics companies, everyone has an opinion on how to reduce trucking costs. But they all agree that to help save money, shippers should build strong relationships with their less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers. Mark Hamblin, vice president of sales, west, for LTL carrier Saia, offers some advice […]
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Lori Harper: Running a Tight Ship
Lori Harper is vice president, supply chain management at Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Pascagoula, Miss. HII was spun off from Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2011. Harper has served in this position since 2012. Responsibilities: Sourcing, procurement, receiving, warehousing, inventory, distribution, cost control, and analytics. Experience: Subcontract management specialist, material site […]
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Trends—May 2015
U.S. Ports Critical to Sustained Economic Growth Transportation budgeting at the state and federal levels has become a contentious battleground as politicians and private sector lobbyists search for new funding mechanisms to execute much-needed infrastructure upgrades. One point of consensus is that U.S. ports are key to sustained economic growth—and therefore should be a priority […]
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Global Logistics—May 2015
China Picks Pakistan for Trade Corridor China’s "global diplomacy" holds few bounds. From Central and South America to Africa, the country has been aggressively asserting its influence and injecting capital into new infrastructure developments that also pave the way for further commodity sourcing. But China’s impact in Asia is far greater, especially as it relates […]
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Tight Market for Industrial Real Estate Impacts Supply Chain Costs
The industrial real estate market is still recovering from the effects of the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The hangover from those years is now having a dramatic effect on the cost and availability of warehousing and distribution space in most key markets across the United States. Additional factors, such as positive demographic trends, expanding trade […]
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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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The Driver Shortage—Not Just a Carrier Issue
Q: The transportation industry’s nationwide driver shortage is getting worse. What is the cause? A: Tougher regulations, a lack of interest by younger workers, and the graying of today’s drivers are contributing to the driver shortage. The problem will continue to grow over the next several years—especially as freight volumes increase. Despite the fact that […]
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Finding an Inventory Solution That’s Just Right for Your Small Business
Inventory management, put simply, is ensuring you have the right amount of product in the right place at the right time. It helps you determine which items sell well, and which do not, giving you the ability to adjust product levels accordingly. As such a crucial step in the supply chain, the importance of good […]
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Five Ways to Mitigate a Truckload Capacity Crunch
Many factors have led to increased costs for truckload services, and created challenges to the freight pricing status quo for shippers. In the wake of the disruptions caused by the current capacity crunch, many are asking: "Am I overpaying? And if I am, what can I do about it?" To avoid paying too much for […]
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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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