Articles
Technology
How to Survive and Thrive in China
Use this advice to expand your logistics business into the complex but lucrative Chinese market.
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Global Air Freight: Unmanned
When air freight is too expensive and ocean freight too slow, can this drone carry the day?
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Ocean Freight Visibility on the Horizon?
Inbound Logistics attended the Digital Difference event in NYC where Maersk unveiled its partnership with Microsoft. What does that mean for ocean shippers? The possibilities are exciting. In the works… Connected vessels: Ships “talk” to each other to improve performance and make shippers’ supply chains more predictable. Actionable data: Shippers can see exactly where their […]
Read MoreLatest Logistics Technology
• FR8 Revolution, a developer of cloud-based tools for freight transportation, launched the FR8Star Heavy Haul Marketplace at fr8star.com. FR8Star’s marketplace includes a rate calculator for pricing oversize/overweight loads. Shippers of these loads can get pricing estimates and shipping routes, and request quotes directly from carriers. Shippers and carriers complete their contract directly through the […]
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The Answer to Logistics Problems is Always in the Data
Q: How can data solve logistics problems for shippers? A: The right data can create the intelligence required to know where to begin to solve many common problems. These can include freight costs that are too high, transit times that are too long or not charging enough for freight. Many shippers have good rates, but […]
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Top 100 Logistics IT Providers & Market Research Survey-Apr 2017
Inbound Logistics surveys the logistics technology market to discover the latest trends and determine which providers are pioneers in their field.
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Hitting a Freight Management Bull’s Eye
Ben E. Keith takes aim at freight management inefficiencies with Crossbow technology.
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Can Exception Management be Automated?
Q: Managing exceptions in freight settlement is, by definition, a manual process even when a shipper has a transportation management system (TMS) and freight payment/audit solution in place. Why can’t exception management be automated? A: The truth is, it can be, and to a surprisingly high degree. Significant exceptions such as large discrepancies in rates […]
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Supply Chain Management: It’s IoT Time
Companies keep finding new ways to gain supply chain improvements with help from the Internet of Things.
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The Wave of New Technologies in Logistics Requires Data Management Excellence
Q: Technology seems to be having its moment in the logistics space. What do things like the Internet of Things, Big Data, and Blockchain mean for shippers and logistics providers? A: These elements are becoming critical parts of modern supply chains because they allow companies to harness data they might already have, or incorporate previously […]
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Shopping for a Transportation Management System: Factors to Consider
Is your organization seeking to replace its current Transportation Management System (TMS) or obtain a TMS for the first time? Besides the obvious factors, such as overall cost, functionality that meets your requirements, and the ability to integrate with your current system and trading partners, below are five points to consider when shopping for a […]
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Global Trade Network: A Strategic, Competitive Asset
Q: Why do companies have such a hard time embracing global trade management? A: The Amazon effect is wreaking havoc on supply chains globally. Consumers are buying online from everywhere in the world and expecting delivery in one to two days. International shipping presents real challenges for suppliers and shippers attempting to keep up with […]
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Consumer Demand Helping Drive 3PL Industry Growth
In recent years, shippers have encountered new standards of velocity, market choice, and cost for their products. Consumers are demanding better variety and greater availability at the lowest possible cost. These demands put increasing pressure on retailers, who in turn, pass that burden on to their suppliers—further increasing complexity and intensifying pressure on supply chains. […]
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Gaining Visibility Through Data
Q: Data impacts the way many organizations make decisions. Can a freight audit and payment system provide added visibility? A: If shippers don’t have valid insight, they can’t make valid decisions. Data analysis and benchmarking can provide this visibility, allowing shippers to identify outliers in performance and cost. Yet most companies don’t have the technology […]
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We’ve Been Together for 35 Years
This month marks my 35th anniversary of serving readers as editor of Inbound Logistics. That milestone gave me reason to look back while developing and editing the content for this annual logistics technology issue. Three decades ago, logistics technology primarily consisted of typewriters, pens and pencils, ledgers, paper maps, and hand-typed bills of lading and […]
Read MoreLeading Logistics Provider Closes More Business, Develops Stronger Customer Relationships
The Challenge With its growing international customer base, this global logistics and transportation service provider for the chemical and process industries recognized the need to automate its contract management and pricing process and to expand its global operations. However, the logistics team realized it would be very difficult to handle the increased number of contracts […]
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TMS Launches New Era: Control Tower Visibility
It wasn’t long ago that top executives around the world had to be convinced why they needed accounting software to run their companies. Today it is unthinkable of any company operating without accounting software to manage their company’s finances. The importance of technology in shipping is starting to reach this same critical point for most […]
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Blockchain Set to Shake Up Shipping
International trade is a maze of regulations, and mostly manual, inefficient processes that lack transparency. This is all about to radically change with blockchain technology. Shipping today is riddled with documentation, regulations, and policies that require certificates of origin, letters of credit, bills of lading, vessel manifests, and customs declarations. Blockchain converts documents, such as […]
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3 Steps to a Demand-Driven Supply Chain
The on-demand economy means customers expect instant gratification via immediate access and convenient delivery options. Companies must adapt and start optimizing their supply chains to stay competitive. Many companies are still supply driven, constrained by resource capacity, archaic scheduling technologies, and inefficient decision-making. Typically, these businesses match demand by increasing the supply and infrastructure to […]
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