Plan Ahead to Avoid Overproduction
Sometimes too much of even a good thing can be bad. Such is the case with excess inventory. Companies need sufficient inventory to meet customer demand, but too much stored product can result in negative consequences, such as high carrying costs. When companies produce or purchase too much inventory, it is often the result of […]
Trends—February 2013
Green: The United Color of Benetton Sustainability has gained fashion appeal over the past few years. But apparel companies are growing even more sensitive to social responsibility, especially as it relates to materials procurement and use in the supply chain. Benetton Group is the latest apparel brand to join Greenpeace’s Detox Program, launched in 2011 […]
Global Logistics—February 2013
Lifting Supply Chain Barriers at the Border Improving border administration and transport, and telecommunications infrastructure and services, could boost global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by almost five percent, and world trade by 15 percent, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Bain & Company and the World Bank. Completely […]
Distance Learning: Making the World Your Classroom
Earn a degree without quitting your job? Online supply chain management and logistics programs make it possible, no matter where in the world you are.
Distance Learning Programs
A sample of supply chain, logistics, and transportation degrees and certification programs offered partially or entirely online.
Less Than Containerload, More Than Worth It
Improved service plus new technology and customized solutions equal new incentive to take advantage of LCL’s benefits.
Ag Logistics: Growing Pains
The success of U.S. agriculture depends on a functional transportation and logistics network that combines efficiencies and economies across all modes.
Learning on the Job
Today’s supply chain is vastly different than 10 years ago—and positively futuristic compared to 1981, when this magazine first espoused a novel approach to managing transportation and logistics. The pace of change has been swift and sweeping. Technology innovation and proliferation have broken down functional silos and torn asunder geographic boundaries and constraints. Shrinking computers […]
Crafting Logistics Provider Contracts That Cover All the Bases
Before committing to a logistics service provider partnership, logistics managers must ensure they understand all the contract’s parameters. One way to accomplish this is by outlining the terms of the agreement before signing the contract. George Muha, regional director of third-party logistics service and solutions provider Transportation Insight, offers this advice on key factors to […]
Sander Eth: Putting Green Principles Into Action
Sander Eth is senior vice president, supply chain at Bambeco, a Baltimore-based direct merchant specializing in ecologically friendly products for the home. He joined the company in 2012. Responsibilities: Inventory management, fulfillment center operations, and vendor compliance. Experience: Several in-store management positions, followed by corporate positions in inventory management, merchandising, and logistics and supply chain, […]
You’re Faced With a Recall. Can You Find That Product?
Product recalls cost the U.S. economy $7 billion annually, according to the Washington Post. Yet most U.S. companies still struggle with real-time inventory visibility, and managing inventory across their network of suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers. With the average product recall costing $10 million, the inability to quickly and effectively recall product presents a huge risk […]
Five Core Competencies Every Supply Chain Manager Should Master
The maze of challenges that makes up the global supply chain demands that logistics professionals never stop developing new skills and enhancing existing ones. Here are five core competencies that supply chain professionals need to master—and continually improve. Global business leadership. If your supply chain isn’t global now, it probably will be soon. Supply chain […]
Trends and Predictions for 2013 and Beyond
2012 was another banner year for many in the third-party logistics (3PL) sector. Shipper procurement strategy has continued to evolve, and there are certainly some notable trends that will shape future decision-making with respect to shippers, asset-based providers, and 3PLs alike. Technology, innovation, and transparency seem to be on the minds of many in our […]
Southeast Asia: Region on the Rise
With an average annual economic growth rate of more than five percent, the countries that comprise this dynamic region represent a thriving trade and economic hub, despite infrastructure and regulatory challenges.
Transportation Liability: Busting Seven Common Myths
What you don’t know about transportation liability can cost you big time. Learn fact from fiction before you tender your next load.
Locking Down Supply Chain Security
When it comes to cargo security threats, each mode faces unique challenges. But thanks to technology and industry best practices, shippers can improve their ability to protect valuable cargo.
Loadboards & Exchanges: Finding the Perfect Match
Shippers seeking capacity and carriers looking for freight find love at first site.
Take Your Pick
Voice-directed or pick-to-light technology? The right choice is often a combination of both.
Project Logistics: Handling the Big Challenges
Experienced and knowledgeable service providers make short work of moving freight with extreme requirements.
Is Your 3PL Financially Healthy?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Conduct a financial checkup of your potential 3PL partners before you sign the contract.
Inbound Logistics’ Winter Reading Guide 2013
Whether you want to casually brush up on your supply chain management techniques or drastically reorganize your purchasing processes, you’ll find the knowledge you need in the pages of these supply chain resources.
Cloud-Based WMS Fires Up Supermercados Supply Chain
Peruvian supermarket chain Supermercados feeds its need for DC network realignment with a SaaS WMS solution.
Improved Warehouse Operations: Cause to Celebrate
Party goods supplier Oriental Trading Company revamps its warehouse technology to keep pace with online sales.
Inventory Replenishment: A Push in the Right Direction
Close-out retailer Tuesday Morning uses a WMS to allocate and ship a constant stream of new products to stores, keeping customers happy every day of the week.
St. Louis: New Gateway to Asian Markets
Nicknamed the Gateway to the West nearly 200 years ago for its presence as an economic powerhouse, St. Louis, Mo., is making significant progress as a key partner for international trade relations and economic growth. For new businesses or those seeking to grow trade relationships, St. Louis now represents a gateway to Asian markets. St. […]
Wasting Away to Meet Sustainability Goals
An average distribution center generates or handles anywhere from 100 to 1,000 tons of solid waste each year—or approximately 30 pounds per square foot—that could be reduced, reused, or recycled. Typical distribution center waste streams include corrugated cardboard, office and breakroom waste, plastic strapping, pallets, paper, batteries, yard waste, accumulated scrap such as defective or […]
Supply Chain Management: The Great Equalizer
In the supply chain, all things are never equal. Success and failure hinge on your capacity to adapt and respond to change. It’s a matter of creating innovative products, developing a means to deliver them to market, and jockeying for competitive position—in effect, matching supply to demand in the most efficient and economical way possible. […]
Demand-Driven Logistics: Remote Control
Adopting demand-driven logistics can increase visibility, drive supply chain efficiency, and offset any market advantage your competitors might have.
Transportation & Distribution: Geared to Demand
Frequent logistics network optimization, aggressive attempts at collaboration, and partnering with trusted 3PLs act as force equalizers to garner greater supply chain efficiencies.
Technology: The Leading Edge
A new wave of strategic software acts as a force multiplier, giving you greater supply chain power.
Materials Handling Equipment: Flex Appeal
Refining materials handling systems to be more agile, flexible, and dynamic acts as a competitive force equalizer.
Workforce Management: The Human Factor
Training counts. A skilled, motivated, enthusiastic, and optimistic supply chain workforce gives you a strategic and competitive advantage.
Site Selection: You Are Here
Looking past the obvious and digging deep when making site selection decisions will multiply your logistics capabilities.
Trimming Your Transportation Spend
Transportation costs run high, but cutting your spend might be more feasible than you think.
Resilient…Responsive…Determined: Rails Focus on the Future
Despite economic headwinds, rails are investing heavily for future growth. Inbound Logistics gets the full story at the annual RailTrends conference.
A Reader Profile Reunion: Where Are They Now?
Inbound Logistics gets back in touch with former Reader Profile subjects who have since moved on to new challenges. All of them are most likely to succeed.
Logistics Leadership: Secrets to Success
Ready to elevate your logistics career to the next level? Here are the skills and knowledge you need to take you to the top.
Transportation Advocacy: Shippers Stand Up for Their Rights
Dissatisfied with transportation policy coming out of Washington? Waiting for our national logistics strategy? With so much at stake, standing on the sidelines is not an option. Now’s the time to get involved to drive real change.
U.S.—Mexico Trade: Two-Way Traffic
Integrated third-party logistics solutions, expanded and improved intermodal service offerings, and creative collaborations to optimize transport resources are making cross-border shipping easier than ever.
Comfort Zone: A Better, Faster FTZ
The Alternative Site Framework designation is changing the Foreign Trade Zone landscape, allowing shippers a more expedient process for streamlining the supply chain.
Training Tomorrow’s Logistics and Transportation Executives Today
A volcanic cloud descends on Europe, disrupting flight plans. A tsunami in Thailand ripples across the Pacific and affects port activity in California. Forest fires in Los Angeles close highways for days. Threats of a terrorist attack in Brussels halt all transportation. Today’s logistics and transportation executives must be prepared to handle these scenarios. Their […]
Improving Supplier Compliance
Developing an effective supplier compliance program requires a well-defined plan. To achieve success quickly, it is crucial to initiate the plan with the right suppliers. Peter Wharton, IBM’s team lead for commercial product marketing, offers this advice for ensuring supplier compliance. 1. Define a successful supplier compliance strategy. Clearly define the stakes and risks, and […]
William Gregory: Into Africa
William Gregory has served as global supply chain coordinator at VT iDirect, in Herndon, Va., since 2012. VT iDirect is a global vendor of technology for satellite-based Internet Protocol (IP) communications. Responsibilities: International shipping, customs, and regulatory compliance; liaison with freight forwarders; subject matter expert for Middle East and Africa. Experience: Intern, Samuel Shapiro and […]
Connectivity-Visibility-Optimization: Three Keys To a Successful Supply Chain Trading Partner Network
2013 has been called the Year of the Network by numerous supply chain and transportation industry thought leaders. A well-oiled trading partner network allows one-to-many and many-to-many partners to collaborate and communicate using a single source of truth garnered from real-time information. Harnessing this collective power provides a competitive advantage as well as the flexibility […]
The Lean Supply Chain: A Field of Opportunity
Businesses all around the world are familiar with the value of lean principles. The current conditions of globalization and competitive environments require operating a lean business now more than ever. Lean principles teach to eliminate waste and focus only on those things that result in customer value—ultimately building business cultures that focus on problem solving. […]
Outsourcing for Newbies, and a Refresher for All
While Fortune 500 companies routinely outsource everything from distribution centers and transportation management to packaging, freight audit/payment and other functions, your up-and-coming company may only need to outsource a single function of its operations, perhaps a combination. It’s rarely an easy decision process, but the objective is always clear. Growing companies need access to better […]
Using Strategic Acquisitions to Satisfy Your Customer Base
Global shippers continue to face supply chain challenges that seem to change more often and more dramatically than ever before. They require logistics partners who can react to these changes and help them navigate the complexities of global trade. Shippers want 3PL partners that not only responsively evolve service networks and capabilities to flex with […]
Trends—January 2013
It’s a Smaller World After All The shrinking distance between demand and supply is triggering a trend toward inter-regional supply chains and creating a globalization tipping point, according to research by Philadelphia-based third-party logistics provider BDP International, its Centrix consulting unit, and Temple University’s Fox School of Business. Real-time communication technology has greatly increased global […]
Global Logistics—January 2013
Tesco Tests Longer Reefer Trailers As part of a government-backed trial program testing the efficacy of longer trailers, United Kingdom-based grocery chain Tesco has taken delivery of 25 new 51-foot Gray & Adams refrigerated units. The company will use the new trailers to deliver store inventory from regional distribution centers. Each trailer can carry 51 […]
Surveying the Home Delivery Landscape
Shortly after Claude Ryan and Jim Casey began delivering telegram messages in 1907, they seized on the idea to solve a business problem between department stores and the growing urban population in Seattle: managing home delivery of store-bought products. These new urbanites mostly walked or used streetcars, with only a few owning early automobiles. Safely […]
Five Signs Your Production Logistics Needs Help
Most manufacturers experience and address common inbound logistics challenges, but one area of improvement that many overlook is the discipline of production logistics — ensuring each machine and workstation is fed with the right product in the right quantity and quality at the right time. As the crucial link that connects inbound materials to on-time […]
Yard and Dock Management Tools: An Extra Set of Eyes in Your Facility
Facility managers and warehouse executives face unique challenges as global supply chain complexity grows. While many issues and costs associated with moving materials and products are out of their control, optimizing yard, dock, and warehouse processes can increase operational and logistics efficiency. Designed to eliminate common and costly logistics problems, yard and dock management systems […]
Supply Chain Force Multipliers
For years, I’ve wanted the Logistics Planner issue theme to focus on the concept of using inbound logistics as a force multiplier. When I entered the conference room for the Planner issue strategy meeting this year, I was ready to make my case. But when I presented my idea to the editorial team, I was […]
The Great Equalizer
Tension and drama always permeate the conference room when the Inbound Logistics team gathers to decide the theme of the Logistics Planner issue. This year was no different. While we did agree to focus on how demand-driven logistics, or supply chain management, drives competitive advantage, we couldn’t agree on how best to present that idea. […]
Maximizing Productivity in E-commerce Warehousing and Distribution Operations
As e-commerce continues its rapid growth into virtually every market sector, retailers are anxious to expand their presence online to capture this market share. Between 2006 and 2010, global online retail sales grew by 16.3 percent annually, according to Global Online Retail 2011, published by Datamonitor. Online retail sales for 2010 alone showed an annual […]
Redefining the Race to Profitability Through Innovation
Every manufacturer, supplier, and U.S. business is feeling the effects of today’s tough economic conditions. It has never been more important to control costs and operate efficiently. The pressure is on for manufacturers to reduce waste, and operate in a truly lean manner. These facts are even more prevalent in the automotive sector, where profitability […]
Connecting Through an Online Network Gives Supply Chain Partners Strength in Numbers
Q: What is the Real Time Value Network, and what differentiates it from traditional technologies? A: The Real Time Value Network is a cloud-based "many-to-many" network platform that enables a virtually unlimited number of trading partners to plan, execute, monitor, optimize, and synchronize in real time all of the business processes and events that take […]
Measuring Customer Service: The Up-and-Coming KPI
Using key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to customer service metrics helps logistics providers benchmark their value to shippers.
Global Logistics—December 2012
Maersk Digs Drilling, Ditches Shipping The name most synonymous with container shipping is taking a break from navigating an increasingly agitated ocean trade. Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk is shifting the focus of its business activity from shipping, choosing instead to concentrate on its oil, drilling rigs, and port operations, according to a Financial Times report. AP […]
Measuring the Value of Collaboration
Structured, achievable supply chain collaboration that drives savings relies on the relationship between purchasing and inbound logistics departments. Without real collaboration, two distinct decision-making processes exist based on separate performance metrics and personnel incentives. Buyers determine what orders to place. Logistics planners determine how to route the shipments. Buyers strive to avoid stock-outs while keeping […]
Logistics: It’s Where The Jobs Are
Effectively managing human capital is more vital than ever to businesses and organizations, and higher education will continue to play a critical role in training the next generation of transportation and logistics management (TLM) leaders. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects increases in TLM occupation employment growth and replacement needs, which are on the rise […]
Playing the Waiting Game
We all want to do our jobs, and are paid to do so. Often, however, we must wait for information or materials from suppliers, supervisors, other departments, and even customers. While we wait, we can get distracted and end up wasting even more time. In Lean terms, waiting is one of the eight wastes. Identifying […]
3PLs Create a Unified Supply Chain Voice
The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) created its new Public Policy Center to ensure third-party logistics (3PL) providers are knowledgeable players in the public policy arena. Its goal is policy creation that makes sense and benefits all businesses, employers, and employees throughout the supply chain. The IWLA and its active, policy-aware members have experience leading […]
Ports and Shippers Prepare for the Post-Panamax Age
Q: What are the key issues shaping the future of maritime trade? A: One of the greatest opportunities coming to the maritime sector is the widening of the Panama Canal, which will be completed in 2015. It will impact the face of global commerce, and affect trade patterns to the U.S. East Coast. Shippers bringing […]
What Sandy Showed Me
As the editor of Inbound Logistics, my job is to provide information about keeping product moving from source to selling point. In my nearly 30 years in the industry, I have read, written, and edited many articles about supply chain disruptions. But words are just words. It was quite different to experience disruption with my […]
Cutting LTL Costs
Saving money on less-than-truckload (LTL) procurement is a laudable goal—except when operational problems eclipse savings gains. Shippers who prioritize securing the lowest price from carriers may actually end up paying more because of costs embedded in carrier expenses—resulting in problems such as service degradation and supply chain disruption. Danny Slaton, executive vice president of supply […]
Victor Hougan: Finding a Love for Logistics
Victor Hougan joined Primus International, a Bellevue, Wash.-based Tier II supplier of engineered metallic and composite parts, kits, and assemblies to the global aerospace industry, in the fall of 2012. His role in its logistics operation is still evolving. Experience: Finish carpenter in the construction industry; computer technician; delivery coordinator, ISEC Inc.; warehouse manager, Elegant […]
Trends—December 2012
Bringing Logistics Efficiency To the Front Line In The Art of War, Sun Tsu teaches that "every battle is won or lost before it is ever fought." It is a reminder of the planning and logistics necessary to move and replenish supplies and armaments during successful military operations. The completion of a three-year study conducted […]
Weaving a New, Strong North American Presence
Geodis Wilson helps fashion powerhouse Desigual establish its U.S. operations and ensure the latest fashions are immediately delivered.
A Window of Opportunity
Window and door maker Simonton Windows partners with Cardinal Logistics to open the door to new efficiencies
Food Logistics Taps into Tech Solutions
Smart technology helps cold chain shippers prevent product spoilage and loss.
Panama Canal: More Questions Than Answers
As the Panama Canal expansion nears completion, shippers could gain a viable all-water alternative for transporting product from Asia to U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. Is there a boom on the horizon?
Career Solutions: Closing the Talent Gap
With an eye toward the looming logistics labor shortage, some companies are working studiously to attract millennials.
An Appetite for Refrigerated Warehousing Improvement
When food company Bob Evans farmed out its warehousing and distribution operations, it engaged more than a provider—it found a true business partner that optimized its processes.
Why Innovation Matters for Rugged Mobile Technology
The proliferation of smartphones and tablets is giving many logistics IT and operations leaders pause. They are questioning what these mobile computing trends mean to their operations, and their potential impact on traditional rugged mobile computing for supply chain and logistics applications. Behind the innovation in smartphones and tablets is a deep understanding of how […]
Are You in the Dark About Labor Visibility?
This is an extremely challenging time for logistics companies. Margins that were already razor-thin continue to be squeezed due to rising costs and constant pressure to cut prices to stay competitive. At the same time, customer expectations are higher than ever as they demand faster delivery requirements and shorter lead times. In logistics — already […]
Air Freight Collaboration and Agility
In response to a sluggish airfreight market and generally lower cargo volumes and capacity, airfreight forwarders (AFF) are using strategic business practices and concepts to assist them in effectively managing airfreight shipments for optimal efficiency, performance, and results. By implementing collaborative and flexible logistics practices and remaining agile, managing air freight today can be a […]
Why Supply Chains Need Business Intelligence
Companies that want to effectively manage their supply chain must invest in business intelligence (BI) software, according to a recent Aberdeen Group survey of supply chain professionals. Survey respondents reported the main issues that drive BI initiatives include increased global operations complexity; lack of visibility into the supply chain; a need to improve top-line revenue; […]
Retailers Rebalance Time vs. Cost?
For retailers and their value chain partners, practicing inbound logistics provides two competitive advantages—the ability to keep prices low, because matching demand to supply optimizes inventory-to-sales ratios and creates other economies; and the agility to use time as a competitive advantage by serving customers faster and more completely. In the past, retailers emphasized keeping costs […]
Transloading to Maximize Cost Savings
Transloading offers a cost-effective way to bring ocean containers inland to distribution centers. By transferring cargo without sorting the contents for shipment to a single destination, transloading services can reduce total landed costs, and—when combined with value-added services such as palletizing and shrink-wrapping—reduce handling at the destination. Jeff McCorstin, senior vice president of air and […]
Michael Smyers: Molecular Logistics
Michael Smyers is associate director, logistics, at Amyris, a manufacturer of chemical products and transportation fuels made from renewable resources, based on an industrial synthetic biology platform. Smyers has worked at Amyris, in Emeryville, Calif., since 2010. Responsibilities: Global logistics, trade compliance, and sourcing. Experience: Internship, TranzAct Technologies; several operational and managerial positions culminating in […]
Trends—November 2012
CSCMP: Notes, Quotes, and Totes The 2012 Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) conference in Atlanta was awash with new ideas and strategies, discussions of recurring economic and regulatory challenges, and examples of supply chain best practices. Logisticians and supply chain practitioners on both sides of the supply/demand coin mingled within the expansive Georgia […]
Global Logistics—November 2012
U.S., China Consider Joint Logistics Response Partnership Sometimes shared pain, or even altruism, can create unlikely allies. U.S. and Chinese officials plan to discuss the possibility of combining logistics resources during counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response missions. The United States officially extended an invitation for a team of senior Chinese logisticians to visit Washington […]
International Shipping: Moving at the Speed of Technology
New technologies for planning, managing, tracking, and securing shipments are continually evolving. With new digital options always just around the corner, organizations of all sizes must stay informed of the latest advances. When it comes to international shipping, technology is especially important—not only because tremendous growth is expected, but also because the processes involved are […]
4 Steps to Reducing Emissions in the Supply Chain
Businesses around the world have increased efforts to manage and reduce their carbon footprint. These companies also realize that carbon management in the supply chain is an essential capability—the next great step in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By collaboratively engaging with their supplier networks, companies can mitigate GHG emissions and improve supplier relationships, while […]
Holiday Rush Planning: How to Mitigate Risk in a Volatile Market
In today’s globalized supply chain, extended manufacturing and transportation lead times dictate that retailers complete most holiday season planning in June and July. These plans are based on the best available intelligence at the time, including consumer forecasts, retailer promotions, and the competitive landscape. Within the build window for seasonal holiday demand, the industry is […]
Sorting Out Savings Opportunities in Your E-Commerce Warehouse
The continuing growth of e-commerce has created challenges for distribution centers (DCs). Parcels are smaller, lighter, and harder to handle on the same conveyors and sorters. And shipping and logistics firms have amped up the pressure, adding dimensional charges as a penalty to those that ship lightweight goods. But from the shipper’s perspective, the less […]
Embarking On an IT Modernization Journey
Planes, trains, and automobiles represent just a few possibilities to consider when moving an object from Point A to Point B. To secure a competitive advantage, shippers must ensure the transportation services they buy are safe, modern, reliable, and competitively priced. Many transportation providers have realized these goals by investing in an information technology (IT) […]
Expedited Transport: It’s All in the Timing
Once cost-prohibitive for all but the most time-sensitive rush deliveries, today’s expedited services help shippers balance their need for speed with cost-effective solutions.
Inventory Tracking: Crunching the Numbers
With store replenishment lagging behind sales growth, potato chip maker Golden Flake deployed a mobile inventory-tracking solution to satisfy its craving for stock visibility.
Kentucky: Racing Toward Logistics Leadership
Kentucky is building America’s future with its technological savvy, good jobs, hard work, and a government focused on making the most of the state’s logistics assets.
Holiday Stocking: Preparing for the Seasonal Retail Rush
Smart planning throughout the year helps retailers strike the right balance for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond.
How to Find Savings Through Landed Cost Analysis
As shippers adapt sourcing strategies to build redundancy, economy, and responsiveness into their supply chains, the complexity of drilling down total landed costs increases. Shippers often focus resources and attention on procurement, looking only at production and logistics spend. At a more granular level, a myriad of other factors can impact the total supply chain […]
How to Manage the Supply Chain Following a Natural Disaster
Planning for supply chain exceptions is increasingly an expectation for risk-sensitive shippers. The last decade has unleashed a flood of global weather disasters, from Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina to the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Each has impacted business operations in different ways. Failing to properly react to […]
How to Make Driver Recruitment a Competitive Differentiator
One challenge the logistics sector faces is, well, finding new faces. While the U.S. recession largely suppressed a dormant truck driver shortage, the prospects of economic recovery are stirring old concerns. Adding to the problem, recent government mandates including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Hours of Service and Compliance, Safety, Accountability rules threaten to […]
How to Move Freight in Volatile Locations
Despite geopolitical upheaval, natural disasters, labor strife, war, and countless other disturbances that threaten supply chain efficiency and economy, freight still needs to move. From delivering humanitarian aid in hurricane-ravaged locations to managing mission-critical parts replenishment in remote areas and delivering heavy equipment in support of government operations, shippers need to be flexible and responsive […]
How to Reduce Costs by Integrating Packaging with Distribution Center Operations
Product packaging is often handled as a discrete supply chain function, separate from warehousing and distribution. But companies can capitalize on considerable efficiency and economy gains by driving toward greater integration of these functions. In fact, performing final packaging in the distribution center can reduce combined warehousing, logistics, and freight costs by 30 percent and […]
How to Foster a Long-Term 3PL Partnership
When companies begin working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL), they are generally looking to address a functional pain point. The partnership is transactional and fills an operational gap. But the true value of 3PL partnerships can grow infinitely greater when shippers take a long-term approach that focuses on sustainable gains rather than short-term savings. […]
How to Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions
As supply chains trend toward demand-driven, lean inventory models to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and increase responsiveness, their exposure to risk grows. When natural disasters, political upheaval, labor strife, supplier failures, and countless other types of supply chain events arise, shippers need to react quickly—without incurring undue costs—to keep production in line with demand. Companies […]
How to Drive Visibility Through a Supply Chain Network Control Tower
As supply chains become increasingly stretched geographically and functionally, the challenge of driving visibility through layered and disparate networks becomes infinitely greater. When it comes to managing compliance among third-tier suppliers in Asia, speeding asset turns at a domestic distribution yard, or keeping track of carrier partners and shipments on the ground, at sea, and […]