Articles
Technology
Three Track-and-Trace Techniques for Better Transparency
Shipping and logistics remain among the last industries to undertake digital transformation. The highly fragmented nature of international shipping, where a dozen companies (or more) each play a role in getting a product from concept to a buyer’s living room, essentially ensures that there will be a level of complexity beyond that of nearly any […]
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Drones Make the Medicine Go Down
UPS Flight Forward Inc. and CVS Pharmacy have successfully completed the first revenue-generating drone delivery of a medical prescription from a CVS pharmacy directly to a consumer’s home. This was followed by another delivery of a medical prescription to a second customer in a nearby retirement community. Both flights used the M2 drone system by […]
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Seeing Clearly: The Value of Visibility
Few parts of the enterprise have transformed more radically over the years than supply chain as companies struggle to navigate global sourcing, just-in-time delivery models, and unprecedented customer expectations for product availability and delivery speed.
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The CX Files
The truth is out there. Technology tools offer mindbending ways to delight retailers and their customers. And there’s no conspiracy about that.
Read MoreTop 10 Manufacturing Predictions
What’s ahead for global manufacturing? "Manufacturing companies are transforming from efficiency-oriented operations to resilient organizations driven by a tighter connection to markets and customers," says Kevin Prouty, vice president, Manufacturing Insights, IDC. Here’s what Manufacturing Insights predicts for the years ahead: 1: By 2023, 65% of global manufacturers will realize a 10% savings in operational […]
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-December 2019
Products Cold chain solutions provider CSafe launched the AcuTemp Plus Series, a temperature-controlled passive packaging solution. With vacuum insulated panels and single temperature phase change material, the reusable product provides reliable temperature performance with minimal components. Supply chain tracking solutions provider Tive unveiled the Tive Solo 5G tracker, a 5G-enabled device that can be single use or multi use. […]
Read MoreTaking Data on the Road: A New Approach to the Transportation Supply Chain
Consumer behavior is complicating the transport of goods. In the past, shippers would utilize freight carriers to transport finished goods to a single store or a chain of big box locations. Consumers would then take weekly or bi-weekly trips to stock up on whatever goods they preferred. But that long upheld process is now changing. […]
Read MoreHow Retailers Can Use this Holiday Season to Inform Future Supply Chain Strategies
The 2019 holiday season is here, and consumers are already mapping out their online and in-store shopping strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to find the best deals. On the other hand, retailers have been gearing up their supply chains to support peak ordering and sales for months. Today’s technological innovations offer retailers tools […]
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Hidaka Forges Automated Inventory Solution
Like most manufacturers, Hidaka USA Inc., a sheet metal fabrication company, conducts regular physical inventories of its raw materials, work in process, and finished goods. It had been using a paper-based, manual system that was time-consuming and vulnerable to mistakes, making it difficult for management to be confident they had the materials and finished goods needed to meet customer orders.
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The Death of Your Profession?
In a few short years you won’t be employed. That’s right, if you work in the supply chain management field, and have a decade or so until you retire, it’s time to dust off your resume and consider other career paths. That’s according to commentary authors Allan Lyall, Pierre Mercier, and Stefan Gstettner in a […]
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Drilling Deeper Into Your Supply Chain
Data analytics is the science of examining raw data to help draw conclusions about information. When applied to the supply chain, it allows companies to drive insight, make better business decisions, and verify or disprove existing models or theories. Data analytics breaks out into the following categories: Descriptive analytics. In supply chain, descriptive analytics helps […]
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Using Real-Time Tech to Mitigate Risk
Mitigating risk is one of the most challenging aspects of managing shipping logistics. The good news: Help is available.
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3PLs Add Value
Increasing consumer expectations, market uncertainty, and other recent trends, have only enhanced the value 3PLs bring to shippers. From technology innovations to process insights, here are the ways 3PLs unlock and increase supply chain efficiencies.
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How Smarter, Stronger Supply Chains Improve the Customer Experience
Companies today are increasingly leveraging digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, and machine learning (ML) to build smarter supply chain operations. They are turning “big supply chain data” into real insights that improve efficiency, bring products and services to market faster, and deliver differentiating customer value, all key to remaining competitive in the […]
Read MoreThree Steps Manufacturers Can Take to Improve Supplier Collaboration
We all use technology to make our lives easier. We have software to manage household budgets and smart watches to keep us on schedule. And in the manufacturing world, technology can give real-time visibility into the entire supply chain process and empower collaboration with suppliers. Yet somehow, nearly two-thirds of manufacturers working in complex, highly-regulated […]
Read MoreFedEx delivery robots seen in New York City
As part of a promotion, FedEx sent out its’ SameDay Bots — also known as Roxos — on the streets of New York City last week. FedEx stated, “The Bot was visiting New York for a special event. Future testing plans are not yet determined.” The SameDay Bots are undergoing testing in other markets. They […]
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Designing Your Business to Meet Customer Expectations
Shippers need actionable insights to improve business operations and better serve customers. The right 3PL can help.
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What’s Your—and Your Company’s—Degree of Supply Chain Digital Consciousness?
MODEX will be held March 9-12, 2020 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. For more information or to register, please visit modexshow.com
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How a Freight Audit and a TMS Can Drive Efficiency for Your Supply Chain
Could your company be spending millions on expedited air service and not know it? It happened to one shipper who didn’t audit their freight payments for several years. It turns out one shipment went out air expedited, and somehow every customer order after that went out the same way. A lack of oversight cost the […]
Read MoreFive Reasons Why the Delivery Economy Is Here… Now
Providing a great customer experience has long been a key factor in predicting any business’s success. Traditionally, this meant providing customers things like a comfortable place to shop, attentive and courteous sales associates, and a generous return policy. But, like everything else today, new digital technologies and services have dramatically changed what customers expect during […]
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