Articles
Supply Chain Management
How to Drive Collaborative Distribution
MORE TO THE STORY: Playing the Part In the retail space, competition among small and medium manufacturers is fierce. But many are missing out on significant cost savings by failing to recognize and execute shared strategies that consolidate shipments in the interests of all supply chain stakeholders. The collaborative distribution concept leverages freight consolidation as […]
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How to Enable a Proactive Supply Chain
MORE TO THE STORY: 5 Steps to Supply Chain Empowerment Tomorrow’s supply chains will be intertwined supply networks predicated on responding to supply and demand changes as they happen, not after the fact. Transaction and shipment exceptions are common, so businesses must be able to account for these variables by enabling a proactive supply chain. […]
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Getting a Seat at the Leadership Table
Supply chain management’s evolution from a purely tactical to a critical strategic function has earned logistics executives a seat at the leadership table. What attributes do you need to earn that chair — and keep it? According to Korn/Ferry International studies of best-in-class executives, success is about 50 percent attributable to leadership characteristics, 40 percent […]
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Great Logistics Sites: Supply Chain Central
At some spots on the map, the elements combine to create the perfect setting for logistics success.
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Integrate Contract Packaging Into Distribution Operations to Cut Costs by 30%
Specific consumer products look exactly the same when they roll off the manufacturing line. To satisfy retailer requirements, however, these identical products are wrapped, sealed, tied and packed in dozens, even hundreds, of different ways for presentation on the retail shelf. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies often outsource final packaging to outside contract packagers, adding […]
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Memphis: America’s Aerotropolis
Geography, transportation infrastructure, and a strong distribution sector make Memphis a natural logistics hub.
Read MoreOptimizing Global Supply Chain Management
Today’s complex and dynamic global business environment presents increased operating challenges for companies striving to achieve sustainability while working with an array of global trading partners, regulations, business requirements, risk management concerns, cost control issues, and competitive objectives. Andrea Robinson, business development manager-United Kingdom, at supply chain management software provider CargoWise, offers these tips for […]
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Trends—October 2010
U.S. Transportation Investment: A Political Pothole Drive any measurable distance across the United States and you’re bound to run into “Schneider Eggs”— trucker slang for sometimes-scrambled orange construction barrels. As much as road construction is an obstacle to efficiency and timeliness, it’s also a sign of progress, investment, and your tax dollars at work. Ironically, […]
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Supplier Disruptions: Preparing for the Unpredictable
Supplier disruptions are a reality for most shippers. In fact, 75 percent of supply chain professionals responding to a recent AMR Research poll indicated that at least 10 percent of their supply partners had experienced a disruption in the past year. Even worse, 12 percent of respondents saw half or more of their suppliers experience […]
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Trucking Alert: Steep Grade Ahead
A capacity shortage and a driver deficit that’s likely to grow worse are putting the squeeze on companies that ship by truck. Times like these call for shifting gears and trying new tactics.
Read MoreConflict in the Supply Chain
Everyone wants a smooth-flowing supply chain, free of conflict, says Perry A. Trunick, associate editor, Inbound Logistics. But the U.S. government has added a new wrinkle to the issue of supply chain management in the context of global politics and human rights.
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Gemma Fillmore: Supply Chain Advocate
TITLE: Corporate logistics projects COMPANY: Medco Health Solutions, Franklin Lakes, N.J., since 2009 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: Various supply chain and logistics positions, Bonaventure Textiles; warehouse manager, inventory supervisor, Tibbet & Britten (now Exel Logistics); corporate operations supervisor, Reckitt Benckiser; senior transportation manager, operations and other supply chain positions, Nabisco Foods; senior manager procurement—logistics, Kraft Foods; director […]
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Inbound 3.0 at Walmart
During the almost three decades that this publication has been preaching the benefits of matching demand more closely to supply, we’ve published scores of articles on Walmart’s efforts to master inbound logistics. The first major milepost along that road was acknowledging the value of controlling inbound logistics, making it a company-wide mission, and developing the […]
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Trends—August 2010
Shipping Maintains Traction Despite Gulf Slick The considerable environmental impacts from British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have cast a pall over the region, endangering delicate ecosystems and tourism industries alike. But to date, the oil crisis has had little negative impact on shipping in the heavily trafficked corridor. Gulf […]
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Your Guide to Routing Guides
They surface after the sale…at the last minute…potentially costing a fortune. They’re the biggest hidden challenge vendors face.
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Lean Six Sigma: Leaning by Degrees
Lean Six Sigma enablers and practitioners are using continuous improvement methodologies to squeeze cost and inefficiency out of the supply chain.
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Freight Forwarders: The Vital Link in Logistics Communication
Building a logistics system for today’s sourcing needs requires a quantum leap from past shipping practices, in which companies too often neglected transportation in their strategic planning. A poorly constructed or outdated supply system with inadequate communication can create unnecessary delays and expense caused by information snags, missing or ill-prepared shipping documents, and inappropriate cargo […]
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What We’ve Got Here is Failure to Communicate
Remember that great line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate”? That’s what popped into my head as I reviewed the more than 4,700 responses from readers and 3PLs participating in our annual third-party logistics survey. We asked both 3PLs and their customers the same question: What is […]
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Flower Power: John Kuehn
NAME: John Kuehn TITLE: Senior vice president of supply chain operations, since 2009 COMPANY: Provide Commerce Inc., San Diego, Calif. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: Various operations and supply chain positions, Hewlett Packard; senior director of worldwide logistics, Apple Computer; vice president of planning and logistics, Gateway; senior vice president of planning and logistics, Provide Commerce. EDUCATION: Iowa […]
Read MoreHumanitarian Aid: The Logistics of Doing Good
Nonprofit organization MedShare distributes recovered medical supplies to the places of greatest need.
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