Articles
Commentary
Conflicted
As a culture, are we really committed to sustainability? Yes and no. Conventional wisdom can be contradictory. For example, some of you are reading this on paper. BAD! Yet studies show that fast-growth carbon capturing recyclable paper is much more sustainable than the gigawatts of energy and massive server farms needed to deliver Inbound Logistics […]
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | What’s one supply chain myth you’d like to debunk?
Myth: Reducing labor costs is the best way to improve a supply chain operation. Much bigger gains can be made in reducing total supply chain cost by improving service levels and reducing lead times.
Read MoreThree Steps to Addressing the Staffing Shortages in Manufacturing & Logistics
As baby boomers in manufacturing and logistics look toward retirement, there aren’t new workers to take their place. Millennial and Gen-Z workers just aren’t interested in the work—and, as a result, valuable jobs are being left unfilled.
Read MoreTime to Stop Hating the ‘A’ Word
To small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the “A” word usually coincides with fear and frustration. While small business owners love to hate Amazon, the time has come to embrace the changing purchasing and distribution landscape.
Read MoreManaging Change in Turbulent Times
We are now in a "white water rapids" phase in terms of the global economy, requiring flexibility from the processes, technology, and people in the supply chain to navigate these rough waters. Making the transition to a truly flexible and lean supply chain, especially during these turbulent times, involves changing the three elements necessary for […]
Read MoreHelp From Your Warehouse
Your warehouse and fulfillment operations—and the people, partners, and processes that make them run—have just gotten monumentally more important, because a series of convergent events are raising national supply chain costs at every touch. Let’s unpack the why. In the industrial and manufacturing sectors, added costs on materials and products impacted by ongoing trade friction […]
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | What’s the first thing you would do to address the supply chain talent gap?
Cast a wider net. Recruit graduates with non-traditional degrees. Work with vocational schools to create two-year-degree supply chain programs. Perhaps even create near-shore supply chain centers of expertise.
Read MoreSingularity: Shape-Shifting Self-Aware Supply Chains?
Recent AI advances indicate that self-aware, or cognitive supply chains, may be closer than we think.
Read MoreTackling the Talent Gap From the Inside Out
To address the logistics talent gap, we need to put far more emphasis—and money—on sourcing future leaders from inside our companies.
Read MoreSoy to the World
The longer the trade tensions between the United States and other countries persist, the more the U.S. agricultural industry needs to rally around containerized soybean shipping to overseas markets.
Read MoreDon’t Gamble With Trade Compliance
Recent trends in tariffs, enforcement, and e-commerce shipping complicate the international trade landscape. To avoid significant fines, businesses must learn to dot every i and cross every t in the compliance process. Even existing allowances and privileges are being threatened, challenged, or taken away from shippers who violate trade regulations, creating an immediate threat to profitability.
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | What advice would you give someone just starting out in logistics/supply chain?
Ask every question you can. Figure out the "why" and not only will you learn more about the overall process, you’ll understand how a seemingly small change could create significant problems for someone else. Mary O’Connell Pricing Analyst Sunset Transportation Make what it means to be emotionally intelligent a priority and embrace the principles as […]
Read MoreOmnichannel Retail: 4 Rules for Success
While it’s not possible to be truly omniscient when it comes to omnichannel retail and your supply chain, it is possible to try to anticipate some of the challenges ahead.
Read MoreAI for Logistics: Turning Complexity into Predictive Outcomes
Despite Artificial Intelligence (AI) entering beyond-hype territory, its true value proposition is far from evident for most logistics leaders today.
Read MoreWomen in Logistics: Support Matters
Women in logistics need support from their companies to succeed in their careers.
Read MoreGlobal Trade Resilience
Global trade analysts predicted the sky was falling, but that is not currently the case. How did they get the projections so wrong?
Read MoreKnowledge is Power
There are 13,000 unfilled supply chain positions nationwide, according to recent labor surveys. I think there are more. A lot more. To fill those positions, we need young professionals who possess the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the supply chains of the future. Schools and universities are doing their part to develop curriculums that […]
Read MoreTime to Get Cracking on Compliance
As the global marketplace expands and countries start to flex their economic muscle, the rules that keep goods moving across borders will only get more complex. How can your company keep up? Automating your import/export processes is one smart step. A future-oriented customs management suite that goes beyond electronic customs declarations, with flexible integration and […]
Read MoreRetail Combats a $351-Billion Problem
The next time you think about returning an item to Amazon, be forewarned: Return too many items in one year, and you might just be exiled for good. Amazon’s controversial decision to ban return-happy customers in an effort to reduce returns costs shows the lengths retailers are willing to go. Last year, total merchandise returns […]
Read MoreThe ABCs of Supply Chain Cybersecurity
Supply chain cybersecurity is one of the biggest issues facing logistics planners.
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