Creating Effective Routing Guides
A s companies seek to streamline their supply chains and logistics processes, their transportation routing guides have never been more important. Getting vendor and carrier compliance depends how the routing guide is put together. It must be easy to read, simple to use, and flexible. Shawn Masters, group logistics manager for Ryder Systems, offers these […]
Read MoreThe WMS Quandary: Where’s My Savings?
Several times a year I get a call that goes something like this: “Albert, we automated our distribution centers with a new WMS and we haven’t seen the savings. In fact, our costs are higher! We did our due diligence in selecting the best package. We did the training and wrote interfaces. We toured sites […]
Read MoreIs It Time to Jettison JIT?
Manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers have come to rely on Just In Time inventory management, or JIT, as a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency. There is no doubt that JIT management has improved companies’ bottom lines and saved manufacturers billions of dollars. While JIT offers the potential to create significant savings for firms, it […]
Read MoreSeeing Is Believing
TBI, a non-profit network of eye and tissue donor banks, relies on supply chain management to expedite time- and temperature-sensitive shipments to doctors and hospitals worldwide.
Read MoreJettison JIT?
Is it time to jettison JIT? It may be, according to industry observers Ike Brannon, senior economist on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and Michael Gorman, assistant professor at the University of Dayton (see Viewpoint, August issue). Let’s think about that. Ike and Mike say that increased transport costs offset savings companies using just-in-time regimes […]
Read MoreFast Food: SCM Feeds the Need
Whether by increasing inventory turns or compressing order cycle time, food companies are looking for ways to reach maximum speed.
Read MoreRetail Roundup: The End of the Supply Chain
It’s all about what happens at the cash register. So how do retailers and their partners efficiently match demand to supply with good customer service, and still ring up profits? Eleven industry observers offer their perspective on what retailers can do to survive and prosper.
Read MoreGalen Erickson: Back to the Sporting Life
After seven years calling balls and strikes in the minor leagues, Galen Erickson was looking for a major change. The former umpire soon found a new career in logistics, rising from receiving dock supervisor to vice president of distribution at Phoenix-based Broadway Southwest Department Stores. Later, he advanced to executive positions with—among other companies—Leslie Fay […]
Read MoreCogistics Part 2: Cutting Costs on Urgent Shipments
Last month I introduced you to Cogistics, a Lakeland, Fla.-based service provider that helps companies plan and execute their transportation and supply chain operations through collaboration and data management. This month, I follow up by concentrating on Cogistics’ Urgent-1 service and pre-audit/carrier payment process. “Cogistics’ critical shipment call center, Urgent-1, does not pertain exclusively to […]
Read MoreLogility: May the Source Be With You
Collaborative sourcing management steers Bell Sports toward greater control over its brands.
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