Articles
Supply Chain
Visibility is Key to Unlocking Supply Chain Savings by Connecting Inbound and Outbound Activities
Q: What are the benefits of managing inbound freight spend? A: By managing inbound freight spend, shippers can decouple transportation costs from suppliers’ product charges and gain visibility to the lanes, volumes and synergistic opportunities that exist within their outbound network. Leveraging a lead logistics provider (LLP) or transportation management system (TMS) expands visibility beyond […]
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How Driverless Trucks Will Change Supply Chain Strategy
In the popular 1985 movie "Back to the Future", it was predicted that by the year 2015, we would have the ability to fly our cars in the friendly skies. While that version of the future never became reality, we do have a major change to the state of transportation on the horizon with driverless […]
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How Specialized Transportation Can Improve Customer Service
As a shipper, what does it look like to deliver on stellar customer service? Your buyers are looking for undamaged, on-time, seamless orders. But you are only able to control a portion of this. Somewhere along the way, a truck driver, warehouse worker, or dispatcher is involved in delivering on your customer service promises. Typically, […]
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Five Best Practices Before Beginning a Transportation RFP
Conducting a Transportation Request for Proposal (RFP) can turn into an overwhelming and time consuming task. However, an organized and well-prepared RFP can yield a variety of benefits for your company. Here are five tips to consider before starting an RFP: Define Goals — This process will involve several different parties—and ensuring everyone is aligned […]
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How Precise Forecasting Tames Item Proliferation
Accurate forecasts enable better planning, lower inventory and manufacturing costs, and improved service levels. By limiting line item proliferation, precise forecasting reduces errors significantly for new product launches. New products lack the history required for traditional demand planning methods. In the same way that the financial industry uses algorithms to sort through masses of market […]
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Pursuing a Certificate? Learn Before You Act
People who are successful in their profession consistently challenge themselves to learn more, regularly attend professional meetings to network with peers and mentors, and seek out opportunities to expand their education. Are you thinking about pursuing a certificate or certification in the supply management profession to enhance your knowledge and improve your career possibilities? Here’s […]
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3PLs & Carriers: At Your Service
Shippers don’t always measure the ‘softer’ aspects of the service they receive from carriers and 3PLs. But those metrics can make all the difference for your supply chain and your company’s brand.
Read MoreThe Grass is Greener
Wagner Logistics helps a leading manufacturer of lawn care equipment overcome growing pains.
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Supply Chain & Logistics Education: Ask the Professors — 2016 Edition
Faculty members from some of the nations leading logistics and supply chain education programs share their thoughts about how higher education is preparing tomorrows professionals for the challenges ahead.
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Times They Are A-changin’
Let’s say you are a manufacturer in the Midwest. You’ve got an excellent product line, a well-tuned supply chain, dedicated workers, and a great brand. Let’s say your company’s name is Harrier, because you have a long history of being a tough global competitor. The problem is, your competitors moved offshore, reaping competitive advantages such […]
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Panama Canal Expansion: Locks and Load
The Panama Canal’s recent expansion has
widespread ramifications for global shipping.
GOOD QUESTION | What logistics concerns keep you up at night?
To meet the needs of last-mile delivery, large e-commerce players are searching for prime real estate near population centers. With fewer good sites and skyrocketing warehouse/DC costs, 3PL storage margins are shrinking, and clients are unaware of pending rate increases. Richard Murphy, Jr., FASLA President & CEO Murphy Warehouse Company Retail is all about coordinating […]
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Cargo-Dedicated Airport Speeds Supply Chain Efficiency
Rickenbacker International Airport, one of the world’s only cargo-focused airports, offers an uncongested option to move air cargo to, from, and within the United States.
Read MoreProtecting the Food Supply Chain
Food producers, distributors, and retailers need to ensure safe procedures are in place to protect the food they handle. These supply chain partners need to implement inventory best practices to guarantee SKUs are in the right store or facility at the right time to better meet customer service requirements. Inventory positioning is not guesswork. Instead, […]
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Getting Distribution Centers in Peak Season Shape
While the annual peak shipping season begins in August and lasts through the winter holidays, the work for supply chain and logistics distributors certainly doesn’t end come the new year. In fact, the National Retail Federation’s monthly Global Port Tracker report indicates that cargo volume for January 2017 is forecast at 1.53 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent […]
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Four Technologies Set to Change the Future of Logistics
Technology historically plays the role of a disruptor, the means to newer and better things, and the destruction of old ways of life. The following four technologies are sure to disrupt the business of logistics. 3-D Printing The technology of 3-D printing makes it possible for manufacturers, other businesses, and even individuals to print exact […]
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Supply Chain Analytics: Creating Value from Data with Machine Learning
Supply chain analytics is changing: More data than ever is available to analysts today, and often in near real-time. From item-level inventory data and GPS to condition monitoring and signals from social media, new data sources are augmenting available supply chain data. The most competitive supply chains of the future will be those that make […]
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Supercharging Your Supply Chain and Logistics Career
Take your logistics and supply chain career to the next level by understanding how your skills can impact an organization, networking with other industry professionals, and continuing to develop critical skills.
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Trump Presidency Is Reality. Let’s Talk Supply Chain Implications.
As the 2016 Presidential election results were announced, it became clear that the candidate with the least concrete trade policy had won. This created a fair amount of concern for supply chain professionals everywhere: Would the new president implement the protectionist measures he campaigned on, or were those statements made primarily to appeal to an audience? […]
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How Supply Chain Strategies Impact
E-commerce Success
E-commerce has emerged as part of a company’s omni-channel marketing program. Achieving success requires not only an agile, lean supply chain, but also a strategy to get there. Many e-commerce companies sell a variety of products, and each type of product establishes different strategic needs. For example, functional products require lean and flexible network strategies, […]
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