Articles
Supply Chain
In Defense of You
You’ve failed at logistics. So says David Segal in his recent article entitled "What Happened to the Great American Logistics Machine?" in The New York Times. Here are the article’s punchlines: The virus is "winning at the logistics game," and "let us acknowledge the obvious: The country is flunking a curriculum that it basically wrote." […]
Read MoreWhat’s the most unexpectedly good advice you’ve received about the supply chain?
Speed is not always the solution. Breaking shipments into inventory replenishment and just-in-time SKUs allows price and transit time optimization. Asia-to-U.S.-East-Coast transit through the Panama Canal versus the Suez Canal differs by 7 to 13 days. Pushing inventory cargo to the slower/lower-cost options provides free warehousing on the water while reducing overall landed cost. —Alan […]
Read MoreNoted: The Supply Chain in Brief-June 2020
Sealed Deals Beauty and personal care brand Shiseido Company selected XPO Logistics to provide omnichannel logistics services throughout the United Kingdom. XPO will handle business-to-business replenishment of bareMinerals, NARS, Laura Mercier, Shiseido, Serge Lutens, Dolce&Gabbana Beauty, and other products, as well as U.K. and Ireland e-commerce fulfillment for the NARS, Shiseido, and bareMinerals brands. XPO […]
Read MoreLogistics Lexicon for the Times (Part 2)
BODFC Buy-online-deliver-from-curb model used for e-commerce fulfillment to minimize contact between consumer and retail employee. Demand distortion Significant, short-term change in product demand due to drastically different consumer behavior. Floating storage Using containerships to store product while weathering demand disturbances. Pivot Quickly execute a sharp move away from normal manufacturing or logistics operations to address […]
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-June 2020
Products Air cargo can be safely transported in airplane cabins designed for passengers with the use of cargo seat bags from insulated air cargo cover maker Trip & Co. Produced in collaboration with engineering company SII Netherlands, the bags are watertight, chemical and UV resistant, and able to transfer products in a range of temperatures. Toyota Material […]
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Digital Health Tools Can Keep Workers Safe and Preserve Privacy
Digital tools that confirm a person’s health status can create safe work environments while also protecting personal privacy as businesses and supply chains recover from the COVID-19 disruption, according to MIT professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland, who is working on this issue with the United Nations and Club de Madrid, a consortium of former democratic presidents […]
Read More6 Keys to Pandemic Preparedness
Companies that have handled supply chain disruption the best to date did the following 6 things well in advance of the pandemic.
Read MoreWhat Is a Continuous Delivery Experience and How Has COVID-19 Increased Its Importance in the Supply Chain?
As the country and global economy begin to recover, the question on everyone’s minds, is “what will re-entry into the business world look like?” More specifically, how do companies fortify their supply chain, fulfillment functions and relationships with logistics providers to bring everyone back online smoothly? It’s difficult to imagine going back to business as […]
Read MoreAdapting Supply Chain Strategies Amid COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an enormous strain on global supply chains as they rush to complete and ship orders as quickly as possible. With tightening budgets and a need to stay connected using technology, it is more important than ever for transportation and logistics companies to have an effective mobility strategy in place. To […]
Read MoreHow Machine Learning Solves the COVID-19 Supplier Discovery Dilemma
Machine learning, in addition to a large amount of data, is a critical tool that can help manufacturers and supply chain professionals find, qualify, and use new suppliers for personal protective equipment (PPE) and raw materials during the COVID-19 pandemic. As stated in a recent Inbound Logistics article, “Companies need to first quickly develop transparency […]
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Grape Expectations: Wine Quality Control
The global wine industry is complex and interconnected, but lacks the tools to properly optimize its supply chain. To improve transparency for producers, distributors, retailers, and consumers, IBM and eProvenance released VinAssure, a blockchain solution that tracks wines as they move from the vineyard to the end-consumer. By encouraging transparency, accountability, and rapid data exchange, […]
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Blockchain, Meet Supply Chain
When distributed ledger technology joins supply chain management, companies can make reverse logistics more efficient, better track product history, generate trustworthy freight invoices, and more.
Read MoreQuantifying the Impact of COVID-19 on the Supply Chain
With dynamic updates on missed transits, rollovers, arrival notification, and port congestion during COVID-19, shippers can make decisions proactively and avoid inefficient costs due to detention and demurrage, expedited freight, and buffer stock.
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-May 2020
Products Southworth Products’ Model GTU-500 Gaylord filter moves parcels from gaylords and large containers onto conveyors and automated sortation systems. The filter tilts loads to provide controlled emptying, and its pan-style platform sits flush with the floor when lowered, allowing hand pallet trucks to place and retrieve gaylords. Materials handling products manufacturer Steel King Industries released the SK […]
Read MoreNoted: The Supply Chain in Brief-May 2020
Good Works Fresh Del Monte Produce donated 919,000 pounds of fresh fruit to the Houston Food Bank to help those affected by COVID-19. The company has donated more than 1.1 million pounds to the food bank in 2020. Agriculture equipment maker Deere & Company is producing protective face shields for healthcare workers in Moline, Illinois, […]
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GOOD QUESTION | How should shippers adjust their supply chains in response to the disruption caused by COVID-19?
Keep a daily pulse on supply and customer demand. Daily monitoring on COVID-19 restrictions in supplier and customer locations is essential to understanding when and where to ramp up or down capacity within your supply chain limits. It’s also important to communicate up and downstream projected manufacturing or demand signals so that your supply base […]
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Do You Have Bad Strategies or Bad Data?
Q: Why do most supply chain strategies fail? A: It comes down to data. Most companies have data quality issues. Companies make decisions with no data, partial data or, worse, misleading data. The misleading data is the worst because it looks right, but is inaccurate. Decisions made with incorrect data lead to no cost savings […]
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Disruptions in Today’s Economy: How Can Supply Chains Prepare?
How can we better prepare to minimize the risks that disruptions present and mitigate their impact? Here’s how to build a more flexible and agile supply chain.
Read MoreCOVID-19 Is Supply Chain’s Wake-Up Call
The power of centralized organizations must harness and unleash the strengths of decentralized communities to help beat this crisis.
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