Articles

Supply Chain Management

Paul A. Myerson

How Location Decisions Impact a Lean Strategy

Companies often don’t consider the location decision to be a Lean concept, but they should. Moving goods efficiently from raw material sites to processing facilities, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and customers is critical to remaining competitive in today’s global economy. When manufacturers make location decisions, their priority is to minimize cost. Retailers look to maximize revenue […]

Read More
Fany Flores-Pastor

Taking Steps to Embrace ACE

With other countries transitioning to a single-window-to-government paradigm, all eyes are on the United States as the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) brings a modernized, integrated approach to government. The initiative, which allows shippers to electronically transport import and export data to the government through a single window, can be considered a mature program with well-defined, […]

Read More
Christian Allred

Tracking Isn’t Just Tracking Anymore

In the 1990s, carriers, shippers, and third-party logistics providers were always asking: "Where’s my truck?" In response, automatic tracking systems grew rapidly as the Global Positioning System (GPS) became available for commercial use, and expanding satellite and cellular networks increased connectivity even in remote areas. The first generation of tracking systems charted the location, speed, […]

Read More
Gary Barraco

Three Supply Chain Risks and How to Address Them

Companies face three main sourcing supply chain risks: regulatory, brand erosion, and social compliance. Any one of these issues could lead to lost profits, product recalls, and customer erosion. At the same time, the longer the supply chain—with more levels of suppliers, disparate geographies, and other middle men, the more complex and challenging compliance becomes. […]

Read More
Joseph Hoban

The Value of a Freight Forwarder

Q: How do you define a freight forwarder? A: A freight forwarder is a full-service provider offering multiple levels of transportation and logistics services. It combines the assets of airlines, steamship lines, and trucking companies around the world to build remarkable service and price solutions for a variety of clients—even for individual customers or shipments. […]

Read More
Bob Richard

USPS Publishes a Battery of New Shipping Regulations

Q: The United States Postal Service (USPS) published changes for shipping lithium batteries. How will that affect my shipments? A: On Jan. 26, 2015, the USPS published revisions to the domestic mail regulations that more closely align USPS requirements for shipping lithium batteries with those found in both the U.S. DOT and international regulations. The […]

Read More
Felecia Stratton

A Supply Chain World Tour

Demand-driven logistics spans the world…in practice and in print. For a host of reasons, U.S. shippers and consignees are taking control of how they pull—and push—global product to market. Shifting demand dynamics, geopolitical volatility, currency fluctuations, government interference, lengthening and deepening supply networks, and cost reduction directives have conflated to consternate even the best supply […]

Read More
Jim Young: Sourcing for a Startup

Jim Young: Sourcing for a Startup

Jim Young is senior supply chain manager at Applied Microstructures, Inc. in San Jose, Calif. He has held this position since 2011. Responsibilities: All supply chain activities required to support product development, configuration, and production, as well as shipment of products to customers. Experience: Variety of positions in materials and manufacturing support; materials planning and […]

Read More
Trends—March 2015

Trends—March 2015

Learning the ABCs of DCs To be competitive in today’s dynamic retail space, online companies need to rethink distribution networks that were built to serve the brick-and-mortar store model, suggests research conducted by supply chain faculty at the University of Tennessee’s (UT) Haslam College of Business. Supply chain faculty surveyed more than 200 companies, and […]

Read More
David Bouchard

What is Globalization Doing to the World of Logistics?

Since the early 1990s, global trade agreements have divided the world up into larger and larger chunks of trading blocks where goods can flow virtually unimpeded across national borders that once protected their precious industries from outside competition with tariffs, duties and penalties. The Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico was signed […]

Read More
Charlie Saffro

Preparing Your Company Today to Hire for Tomorrow

The logistics sector will create more than one million jobs through 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To complicate matters, there is a skills gap in logistics, so recruiting proven and experienced professionals has become a priority for many companies. With competition for talent increasing, organizations must attract candidates who will be the […]

Read More
Doug Pasquale

Unlocking the Hidden Green Value in Mobile Devices

Reverse logistics for mobile devices is more important than ever. Mobile-connected devices exceeded the world’s population in 2014. Wearable technology sales will hit 22 million in 2015, and reach 370 million devices over the next five years, according to analyst CCS Insight. Imagine landfills piled high with smartwatches and connected egg trays, instead of smartphones […]

Read More