Articles
Supply Chain
Corporate Citizenship Starts With the Supply Chain
In recent years, a noticeable paradigm shift has taken place in the business world. Driven by the realization that business and society can no longer intersect at the crossroads of profits first and society second, business is adopting a new order that puts the interests of society on a level that is at par with […]
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Georgia: Enabling Business Growth Through Collaboration
The business environment in Georgia is rich in everything a shipper might seek for responding to customers and competing in the global marketplace. From well-designed redundancies across intermodal shipping methods to creative solutions when the unexpected happens, Georgia’s logistics advantages can help shippers of all sizes and industries connect and grow. Shippers are the lifeblood […]
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Tapping the Power of Performance Management
In today’s workplace, performance improvement and the role of performance management are increasingly important. Organizations are under more pressure than ever to become more efficient and improve business strategies to remain competitive. Consider, for instance, a manufacturer with five warehouses that decides to implement a new enterprise resource planning system. The goal is to increase […]
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Custom Education: Guaranteeing A Perfect Fit
As supply chain complexity continues to increase, companies and schools are stitching together courses, tailoring entire curriculums, and adding employer-specific projects to executive education programs.
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Military and Manufacturing Outsourcing: Not All Guns and Roses
The U.S. military fights its war on high costs through outsourcing. Can manufacturers arm themselves with the same weapon?
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Leverage Dashboard Technology to Improve Decision-Making Capabilities
As a logistics professional, you’re familiar with the value of high-quality data. Experienced supply chain practitioners recognize that the value of data is directly related to its utility: Raw data without context or consequence is virtually meaningless. With even more tracking systems contributing to a dramatic increase in the volume of available data, companies are […]
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Is Your Business Prepared for the Worst?
Disasters and tragedy happen every day. From fires and theft to severe weather events, we experience disruptive incidents on a regular basis. So how prepared is your business to withstand a crisis? How well have you incorporated risk analysis and crisis preparation into your business operations? Effective risk assessment depends on using our imagination to […]
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The Supply Chain of the Past
The publisher talks about a coming global supply chain metastructure, citing an Adidas “speedfactory” where robots manufacture running shoes. Is this the supply chain of the future? Maybe. But let’s take a look at an imaginary supply chain of the past Meet Gan McManus, the hero of Strikepoint, a logistics novella we originally published in […]
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Real-Time Load Tracking: Improving Productivity and Customer Service, and Reducing Costs
Do you have a team of people who spend their time calling carriers, checking websites, filling out spreadsheets with EDI data, and answering endless inquiries from internal and external customers about where the truck is? It’s an all too familiar story for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across the country. Did you install your dream TMS […]
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Who’s more important—your customers or your employees?
This one is easy for me: employees every time. Customers come and go, but it’s employees who determine the frequency. Treat your employees well, invest in their skills, promote and reward customer-centric behaviors, and you’ll never need to answer this question again. Nick Foy Director of Operations, ModusLink Whether they are your employees or your […]
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Inbound Vendor Programs
A lot of attention is paid to the control and management of outbound shipping to someone’s customers, but many times the expense of inbound vendor traffic and its impact on landed cost is overlooked. Sometimes because the buyers get no credit for managing freight costs of inbound shipping and expertise of the shipping staff is […]
Read MoreBecoming a Shipper of Choice
Supply chain partners are instrumental to business success. Taking steps to become a shipper of choice delivers benefits across the supply chain, and helps sustain and grow your bottom line. Greg Braun, senior vice president of sales and marketing at C3 Solutions, offers these tips for becoming carrier friendly. 1. Offer a flexible delivery window. […]
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Five Driving Forces Behind Driverless Trucks
The introduction of driverless trucks could be the biggest change the transportation industry will ever see, and the concept is closer to reality than you might think. Vehicle manufacturers say drivers will still be essential in the next 10 years, and the technology will be there to assist drivers rather than take their jobs. Daimler, […]
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Al Morris: Perfect for the Part
Al Morris is director, global supply chain, at TERiX Computer Service in Sunnyvale, Calif. He has worked for the company since 2004. Responsibilities: Procurement and logistics. Experience: Procurement manager, Marathon International Group. Education: BS, Private and Commercial Recreation, San Jose State University, 1991. I graduated college during a recession, and was glad when a friend […]
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Shedding Light on DIM Weight Returns
Volume shippers who send most of their goods to customers via parcel carriers know that a pound is not always a pound. Dimensional, or DIM, weight is a significant issue that can add up to millions of dollars in shipping expenses. For e-commerce shippers, customer returns are inevitable. Without a clear understanding and plan for […]
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Steering with a Clear Vision and Open Mind
Bob Shellman, CEO, Odyssey Logistics & Technology
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Serialization: It’s the Real Thing
To help combat counterfeiting, the premium beverage industry is taking advantage of serial numbers on product packages to uniquely identify products for increased connectivity throughout packaging operations and the supply chain. Premium beverages such as expensive wine, whiskey, and cognac have become an increasingly active market for counterfeiters in China, India, and Russia. It’s easy […]
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Trends—January 2016
Of Potholes and Politics Transportation infrastructure became a hot topic at the end of 2014. So hot, in fact, that it was on the short list of items that had Congress prepared to shut down the government again. This was an interesting development for those who depend on our nation’s highways and waterways—especially because there […]
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Greening Your Supply Chain With B2B Automation
Today’s businesses are under increasing pressure to develop more sustainable supply chains, typically part of a broader Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. With reducing carbon emissions a cornerstone of many CSR-related programs, developing greener logistics and supply chain networks is key. Replacing manual, paper-based processes with fully automated systems that use electronic business-to-business (B2B) transactions […]
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Advantages of Partial Truckload Shipping
Less-than-truckload (LTL) and full truckload transportation are regularly discussed, 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 or volume LTL as an option when […]
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