Articles
Supply Chain
Instill Passion, Purpose, and Leadership To Attract and Retain Logistics Talent
The talent gap in the logistics field is vast, touching everyone from truck drivers and warehouse staff to supply chain and third-party logistics (3PL) professionals. Finding the right people, and fast, is an ongoing struggle. Seventy-nine percent of 3PLs feel they are unprepared for the looming labor shortage and its impacts, states the Council of […]
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Chainsaw Maker Massacres Supply Chain Inefficiencies
Equipment manufacturer Blount International brings out the power tools to plug money leaks and sharpen data management.
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Global Logistics—September 2016
Cheat Sheets Wrinkle Target’s Supply Chain Target’s supply chain got a wakeup call when supplier Welspun Inc. allegedly provided a fraudulent product. The retailer recently ended its contract with the India-based textile company, claiming that Welspun supplied Egyptian cotton sheets made from a lower-quality cotton between August 2014 and July 2016. Target’s allegations drove Walmart, […]
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Logistics Hotspots: Nine That Shine
These U.S. cities and areas are rising as major logistics hubs and go-to distribution center sites.
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Trends—September 2016
Transportation Infrastructure: The Roads to the White House It’s no big secret that American transportation infrastructure is falling apart and sorely underfunded. In 2014, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHA) labeled more than 61,000 U.S. bridges as "structurally deficient." There is currently a $1.4-trillion deficit between transportation funding and spending needs for the next 10 […]
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18 Sure-Fire Ways to Save on LTL Shipments
Carriers and 3PLs reveal road-tested secrets for cutting trucking costs.
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2016 Trucking Perspectives
Inbound Logistics’ exclusive trucking market research report delivers shipper and trucker insights into the industry’s challenges and trends.
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Politically Direct
Yep, we went there. Supply chain leaders on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border attending a recent summit hosted by Inbound Logistics and Inbound Logistics LATAM introduced the issue of The Wall and NAFTA while discussing the impact on trade of Brexit and the populist trend that sparked it. Some might consider discussing such a […]
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Freight Payment and Auditing Services: Solutions You Can Bank On
Trying to manage your freight spending in house risks leaving money on the table. Partnering with the right freight bill audit and payment service provider can help balance your checks and check your balances.
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Retail Logistics: When Fast Isn’t Fast Enough
To keep customers happy, retailers play a daily game of beat the clock. For some retailers, smart supply chain management strategies and 3PL partnerships keep the orders flowing. For others, well…time may be up.
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Working at People Speed
Elon Musk describes the manufacturing operation for the new Tesla as so complex that no humans will participate in building the car. "You really can’t have people in the production line," says Musk. "Otherwise, you’ll automatically drop to people speed." Drop to people speed? Will supply chain impatience—a term I coined to define an inexorable […]
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GOOD QUESTION | Has supply chain impatience gotten out of hand?
Absolutely. While it is nice that consumers can get more things faster and cheaper than ever before, it puts tremendous pressure on retailers to keep profits up. Retailers start moving up sales for each season: back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It’s getting so bad that I predict the Christmas 2018 season will be […]
Read MorePrepping Your DC for Peak Season
Are you ready for the holidays? Today’s retailers and their logistics partners need to ask and answer that question well in advance of the holiday season. Mark Sibley, vice president of customer support for BEUMER Corporation, offers this advice to prepare your distribution center before holiday orders come rolling in. 1. Start early. Don’t start […]
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Cross-Border Champion
MORE TO THE STORY: Lowdown on Long Island John Costanzo works in the thick of the world’s largest trading relationship—the one between the United States and Canada. At Purolator International in Jericho, N.Y., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian company Purolator Inc., the core mission is helping U.S. businesses move goods to customers north of […]
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Peter Schuele: Injecting Life Into Supply Chains
Peter Schuele is head of global supply chain and distribution at the life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the United States and Canada. He has held this position since 2015. Responsibilities Managing 130 distribution centers around the globe, as well as the supply chain models for the company’s […]
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Trends—August 2016
If It Ain’t Broke…Keep It That Way Manufacturers are seeing big benefits from providing maintenance training. Just 40 hours of maintenance training per employee per year can net as much as a 127-percent return on investment, says a new study from Advanced Technology Services (ATS), a manufacturing maintenance consultancy. The study collected data from 1,189 […]
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Global Logistics—August 2016
U.S./Mexico Border Project Takes Off Wait To address customs clearance delays and waiting times at the U.S./Mexico border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) launched the Unified Cargo Processing pilot program at Arizona’s Port of Nogales, Mariposa Commercial Facility. The project is posting positive results in its initial stages. […]
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Keys to Customer Retention in a Competitive Environment
Q: What do you attribute to be the most significant key factor with customer retention in today’s competitive marketplace? A: Value over price seems to be an old adage that still is true even in today’s market. A key contributor to this is having local sales effort, and knowing customer requirements. Being able to provide […]
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What You Need to Know About Nearshoring
Q: When a company begins a nearshoring initiative in Mexico, what is the best way to expand its supply chain to meet the future need without disrupting the service their customers have come to expect? A: When a company initiates a nearshoring program, it is critical to have a partnership with a transportation and logistics […]
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Complying With Big-box Retailer Requirements
Complying with big-box retailer regulations is not a one-person job for 3PLs. An integrated team approach is the best way to ensure your company, as a logistics provider, is able to be absolutely reliable to the retailer. Specifically, customer service, compliance, and transportation and operational services equally aid in the assurance of complying with big-box […]
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