Articles
Checking In
When Robotics, Starlink, and AI Converge: What’s Next?
The maturation and convergence of three technologies—robotics, Starlink, and artificial intelligence—will revolutionize the practice of supply chain management across the globe. I know you have heard that before, but this time it is not hyperbole. When these three technologies converge, much of how we manage logistics today will be legacy, a fading memory in a […]
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AI Power Drives Supply Chain Gymnastics
If you’re reading Inbound Logistics, you already drank the supply chain Kool-Aid. But many others in our audience are tasting the inbound logistics brew for the first time. “Inbound logistics makes sense,” they say as they sip. “But it’s a lot more complicated than just letting my vendors and logistics partners control my inbound flow. I just don’t think I can handle that.” It tastes great, […]
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How ESG Policy Impacts Truckers
How do ESG mandates impact trucking? Let’s take a look at some examples. Leading global transportation and logistics player DSV, with headquarters in Denmark, just ordered 300 electric vehicles from Volvo Trucks. If those trucks get the job done, DSV plans to order 2,000 more, making those EVs 10% of the 20,000 total DSV fleet […]
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The New Retail Equation: Better, Not Bigger?
In this new retail landscape, companies that innovate and adapt by refining their operational models to be more agile and responsive will be best positioned to thrive.
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Is Your Enterprise Flexible Enough To Scale?
Scalability is important. In this annual Third-Party Logistics edition, you will find partners and resources to ensure your enterprise is flexible enough to scale.
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Are Supply Chain Managers Running the Company?
Supply chain managers are playing a greater role in directing company operations and creating shared enterprise value as silos between suppliers and customers start to come down. Technology plays a part in opening those pathways because it cuts across company barriers. Third-party logistics (3PL) providers promise to do the same by cutting across inter-company barriers […]
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Strip It Down to the Studs?
Our publisher sounds off on Ancora Holdings’ attempted takeover at Norfolk Southern.
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Supply Chain Technology: What’s Coming Online?
The next wave of supply chain technology includes exciting innovations such as closed AI systems, non-human customers, edge processing, and LEO satellites. Are you ready?
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Women’s History Month – Supply Chain Style
In honor of Women’s History Month, we take a look at some remarkable women leading the charge in the supply chain sector.
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Bringing Automation to Food Production
John Deere and SpaceX have partnered to bring new automation advances to food production. Automation in the food supply chain is nothing new and there are many examples of how automation has driven efficiencies by saving time and keeping costs down. Most of the existing examples are found in the middle mile—the warehouse and DCs—moving […]
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Are You Ready to Navigate 2024?
Let’s put last year’s pain and friction points out of our minds and stage for growth this year. We asked our readers what skills we should tune up and emphasize to drive value and maximize growth in 2024. Keep your cool. “Circumstances can turn on a dime and require not only quick, but also clear […]
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Next Year? AI is a Retailer’s Lifeline
Retailers faced a broad array of challenges this past year. What will they face next year? Does it really matter?
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Shipment Speed and Size: Why It Matters
The 2023 holiday season outlook is a bit more “merry and bright,” according to a recent DHL survey of 800 U.S. small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), as respondents anticipate an increase in ecommerce buying activity over last year. Overall, the survey findings suggest that while challenges—such as inflation and supply chain disruptions—persist, a majority of […]
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Publisher Viewpoint: Pay More Attention to Supply Chain People Skills
The value of people in the supply chain cannot be overlooked. But where does that leave us as many new supply chain pros, raised on communication skills driven by little keyboards, enter the workforce and supplant today’s practitioners? Here’s some unsolicited and perhaps unwelcome advice.
Read MoreYellow Bankruptcy Puts Management and Labor Under Pressure
When 99-year old trucking company Yellow Corporation shut down, with the Teamsters Union planning to file for bankruptcy, we gained some insight into labor and management navigating an economic crucible not of their making. It’s true the players in this sad episode shoulder direct responsibility, but the backdrop of inflation impacted both labor and management […]
Read MoreDC Diversification: Direct-to-Consumer Reigns
Despite research to the contrary, direct-to-consumer sales will continue to grow.
Read More3PLs and AI – A Historical Combination
I am not much for predictions, but here’s one you can bank on: When artificial intelligence (AI) is truly applied to logistics operations, that combination will be a defining moment like few that have come before.
Read MoreWarehouse Location Automation
If a robot told you where to go, would you listen? Choosing a domestic distribution site is a well-honed science with several schools of thought. Some supply chain practitioners favor the mega-DC approach, while others use retail locations to do double-duty as efulfillment centers. Other practices include a blended approach to match evolving customer demand.
Read More4 Reasons for the Warehouse Investment Boom
Right behind the frenzied investment in ChatGPT and related AI is an investment boomlet in distribution center and warehouse automation and robotics. Four convergent trends are at work here. 1. Driven by current economic challenges is the necessity to extract every ounce of ROI from each sale’s dependency on inventory and the infrastructure that supports […]
Read MoreRobots, Robots, Robots
Robots generated much of the excitement and glory at MHI’s recent ProMat exhibition in Chicago, especially the ones that walked on two feet. Bipedal humanoid robots are sexy and you can’t blame logistics pros for being intrigued by the possibilities. But robots with no legs are still doing most, if not all, of the real […]
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