Articles
Supply Chain
Best Practices for the Gift of Successful Holiday Sales
For some retailers, holiday sales can represent up to 27.4 percent of annual sales, and in 2017, overall retail holiday sales are expected to increase from 2016. Debra Glassburn, Partner, Columbus Consulting, offers these tips to help retailers make the most of the 2017 holiday season and leverage every sales opportunity. Understand historical trends. Having […]
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Consumer Behavior: The Missing Link
In today’s highly competitive, omni-channel market, companies are realizing the path to success hinges on their ability to understand consumer behavior. Retailers and manufacturers can unlock significant competitive advantage by leveraging consumer insights to make category decisions and create localized merchandising assortments. Most companies lack the ability to mine and leverage important customer data, and […]
Read MoreFedEx and UPS Set Aside Rivalry to Lobby White House on Infrastructure
An amusing meme that occasionally makes the rounds on social media shows a FedEx truck parked nose-to-nose with a UPS truck, with the caption "it’s about to go down." For the moment, however, the two major rivals have set aside their differences in the interest of the greater good. David Abney, CEO of UPS and […]
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IBM: Working on the Blockchain Gang
Security. Transparency. Efficiency. These buzzwords have circled the supply chain for years as consumers demand more responsible supply chains, forcing shippers and providers to explore new ways to make these terms reality. Alongside these buzzwords, another word surfaces as a potential solution to many major concerns: blockchain. IBM aims to make this solution tangible for […]
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The Calm After the Storms
Among the lasting effects of catastrophic natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is a positive one: Knowledge. It’s an understanding of what companies need to do in the wake of a disaster, which efforts worked and which failed, and how to be better prepared. How Walmart, FedEx, and other big companies have adapted […]
Read More4PLs Will Benefit Most from Supply Chain Digitalization
Will digitalization reshuffle the deck in the marketplace of logistics services? Yes, say the IT experts at cloud-based supply chain management solutions provider AXIT, a Siemens company. A new paper published by the firm highlights how the digital transformation is affecting the industry. The authors believe that the fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider model will be […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Shout Out: Forklift Power
Powered industrial trucks, or forklifts, are an indispensible part of doing business for logistics operations. They are used to move and lift materials and offer load capacities from a few thousand pounds up to 180,000 pounds. They also come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the application: lift trucks, tow tractors, rough terrain vehicles, […]
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E-Commerce Commentary: Three Ways Shippers Can Improve Customer Satisfaction
The Amazon Effect continues to weigh heavily (pun intended) upon the supply chain. Consumers expect to receive packages at their homes within a few days—or within a day—of placing an order, and the demand for lightning-quick fulfillment coupled with the myriad of small-order additions has led to a complex operating environment for supply chain leaders. […]
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Third-Party Refurbishers Help Get
First-Quality Goods to Market
Ideally, every step of your supply chain runs like clockwork, without interruption. You want to keep operations, transportation, and distribution ticking along precisely. A significant interruption can deliver a serious blow to the timeline—and the bottom line. But life happens… An overseas shipment of suits gets soaked with saltwater, plunging the distribution center into a […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Commentary: 3 Ways to Prepare for the ELD Mandate
The upcoming electronic logging device (ELD) mandate affects more than just the carriers and owner/operators that will be directly responsible for using the devices in their trucks. It’s truly a law that could change the entire trucking industry. And your truckload strategy may need to adjust accordingly. ELD Mandate: The Benefits Before delving deeper, we […]
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Supply Chain Education Remains Critical for Compliance with New FDA Sanitary Food Transportation Rule
If there’s one thing that’s crucial to the supply chain, it’s collaboration—and its importance only intensifies during times of change. Signed into law by President Obama in 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is “the most sweeping reform to our food safety laws in more than 70 years.” Designed […]
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Supply Chain Be Nimble,
Supply Chain Be Quick
To deliver a seamless and positive customer experience, retailers must adopt an omnichannel mindset and ensure supply networks are nimble enough to quickly respond to consumer demand, regardless of where or how shoppers interact with their brands. Omnichannel retail is synonymous with speed—shorter product lifecycle, quicker turnaround on promotion, and faster delivery expected by customers. […]
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Yone Dewberry: Engineering the Supply Chain
Yone Dewberry is chief supply chain officer with Land O’Lakes, Inc., a member-owned cooperative with operations ranging from agricultural production to consumer foods. Based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, Land O’Lakes had 2016 sales of $13 billion. Responsibilities Supply chain strategy, operations, and talent management. Experience Executive positions in supply chain with Land O’Lakes; managing director, […]
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The Advantages of Strategic Procurement – Schneider Logistics
A sound strategy is important in every industry. It’s even more important than ever when the prevailing theme includes major changes to the regulatory landscape. A driver shortage, competitive rate market, and reduction in productivity will make it more difficult for shippers to secure capacity as we progress into 2018 and beyond. Strategic procurement practices […]
Read MoreHow to Prepare Your Supply Chain for Inclement Weather
Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma both made landfall causing destruction and devastation in their paths. Hurricane Harvey is said to be the biggest hurricane to hit Texas in 50 years and Hurricane Irma is the first major hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma made landfall in 2005. As a result, businesses were forced to shut […]
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The Economy Will Grow. Is That Bad News?
For this annual trucking issue, we surveyed both shippers and carriers on important issues impacting the trucking industry. Most importantly, we solicited their views on the state of the economy as we head into 2018. The good news: not one shipper or carrier responding to our survey thinks that the economy will head south in […]
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What would you put in a logistics time capsule for people to open 50 years from now?
I’d put in a bunch of data such as the average weight of a truckload, the price of fuel, transit times, etc. so that people in 50 years could compare it to what they are doing and wonder how we survived. Kyle Merop U.S. Air Force Veteran Logistician I still have a few air waybills […]
Read MoreInvesting in the Right Transportation Management System
The demand for transportation management systems (TMS) is on the rise. A basic solution manages truck and carrier dispatch, fleet maintenance, driver records, billing and driver pay, and DOT compliance. Additionally, a TMS streamlines operations by optimizing carrier routes, managing customer activity, and reporting analytics. Joe Couto, chief operating officer at HighJump, outlines factors to […]
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BluJay Solutions CEO Doug Braun:
Leading with Compassion and Conviction
It has been a busy year at BluJay Solutions. In 2016, the supply chain software company, known then as Kewill, acquired another technology player, LeanLogistics. In March 2017, the combined companies rebranded as BluJay Solutions and debuted an innovative new software platform model, the BluJay Global Trade Network. Soon after, BluJay acquired Blackbay, a provider […]
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