Articles

Transportation

Daniel Cser

Seven Tips for Finding the Right Chinese Partner

China is a major trading partner for the United States, and the relationship is key for both countries. U.S. trade with China is booming, but there are issues that continue to linger, such as the U.S. trade deficit and China’s trade surplus, a Chinese fiscal policy that keeps currency artificially low compared to the U.S. […]

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Improving Fleet Safety with On-Board Video

Transportation is vital to a supply chain that efficiently manages the flow of goods—physically connecting manufacturers to their customers to provide them access to their favorite products. A break in that link—such as late deliveries, or damaged or stolen goods—can be detrimental to the success of a business, negatively impacting supply chain relationships and, in […]

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Trends—August 2015

Trends—August 2015

Warehouse Performance: It’s a Whole New Game One new way to save money on warehouse labor costs is to turn work into a game. No, we don’t mean a chucking-things-across-the-warehouse-floor kind of game, but creating competition through gamification. It’s a way to drive down warehouse labor costs by increasing employee performance and morale. The process […]

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Chris Scott

A Fresh Route for Latin American Produce

More than 21 million metric tons of fruits and vegetables were imported into the United States in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Approximately 35 percent of that produce comes from Central and South America. While Latin American perishable exports have grown dramatically in recent years, some logistical shortcomings prevent maximum cold […]

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Dave Manning

Driver Shortage Threatens to Slow Intermodal Growth

The shortage of qualified drivers threatens the intermodal industry’s continued growth. The challenge for intermodal is not only hiring enough professional drivers, but also retaining them. For many transportation companies, attracting and retaining drivers are the biggest challenges. The extreme number of multi-hour delays along the intermodal chain, combined with the impersonal treatment drivers receive […]

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Overcoming LTL Shipping Challenges

Less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation involves moving shipments that won’t fill a 48- or 53-foot semi-trailer. LTL could be half of a full shipment, a single pallet, or a single box. LTL shipping creates many challenges, and understanding how to overcome them is key to efficiency. Adam Robinson, marketing manager of third-party logistics (3PL) provider Cerasis Inc., […]

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Mike Challman

Benchmarking Transportation Processes With TMS Data

Many businesses that ship products use transportation management systems (TMS) for visibility and control within their supply chain operations. The introduction of cloud-based TMS has also opened the door to many small and mid-sized companies to find great tools that fit their budgets. While using TMS capabilities to support everything from carrier rate management, shipment […]

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Doug Davidson

Start Now to Leverage the Benefits of the Panama Canal Expansion

The expansion of the Panama Canal, scheduled between late 2015 and early 2016, is one of the most important infrastructure projects of the past century. The upgrades mean that massive post-Panamax ships will traverse the waterway, leading to a significant shift in trade patterns and increased global trade. Global companies typically grow 15 percent faster, […]

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Cutting Costs While Delighting Customers

North American companies increasingly are seeking data-driven supply chain strategies to lower costs while improving customer satisfaction. Robust technologies and advanced analytics drive the business insight needed to streamline processes and reduce costs from raw materials to end delivery. Sophie Dabbs, vice president of client solutions for third-party logistics provider Transportation Insight, discusses the art […]

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Trends—June 2015

Trends—June 2015

Highway Trust Funding: Déjà vu All Over Again? News that U.S. Congress and President Obama are about to finalize a two-month extension to the lame duck Highway Trust Fund has elicited mixed reaction from industry. Some are optimistic because legislators were able to push through a bill without undue delay, especially as summer construction work […]

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Paul A. Myerson

How to Cut Seven Non-Traditional Wastes

In my first column for Inbound Logistics in 2012, I covered the seven traditional wastes identified in Lean thinking: Transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, over-processing, and defects, more commonly known by the acronym TIM WOOD. But there are other wastes to consider in your supply chain and logistics functions. Let’s examine the following seven non-traditional […]

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