Articles
Commentary
Don’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 […]
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Omnichannel 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.
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AI 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.
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Women in Logistics: Support Matters
Women in logistics need support from their companies to succeed in their careers.
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Global 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?
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Knowledge 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 […]
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Time 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 […]
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Retail 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 […]
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The ABCs of Supply Chain Cybersecurity
Supply chain cybersecurity is one of the biggest issues facing logistics planners.
Read MoreGOOD QUESTION | Should the United States Postal Service be privatized? Why or why not?
Readers weigh in on whether the USPS should go private.
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Is Your Supply Chain Ready for 2019?
Some of the most relevant topics in today’s headlines—technology, commerce, international relations, the legal landscape, and even immigration policy—will impact supply chains over the next 12 months and beyond. The key for supply chain and logistics professionals is to contextualize these issues and think strategically about how they will play out. Here are a few […]
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Minimize Returns While Improving Sales
The popularity of free shipping has led to a growth of online sales. It has also created a problem: a large number of online returns. The shipping world defines the returns process as reverse logistics. Minimizing costs and even making a profit in reverse logistics is critical to an e-commerce company’s health. Here are some […]
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Fighting Counterfeit Products
As pharmaceutical and food supply chains become more global, the risk of fraud, substitution, and counterfeiting increases. Consumers are demanding more transparency and safety adherence as these issues arise. Consumers are also increasingly concerned about the source of their products and the conditions under which they are manufactured. In the pharma supply chain, patients are […]
Read MoreGood Question: What’s your best supply chain tip?
Industry professionals share their best supply chain tips.
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When Worlds Combine
Inbound Logistics continues to provide actionable content to help drive supply chain change.
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When Worlds Collide
In retail there are two worlds or approaches: online and traditional. It appears the online retailers have been winning in the market with all types of consumers, even in manufacturing and industrial products. But don’t count the traditional retail world out yet. Good supply chain management practices, along with blended approaches to serving the customer, […]
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Today’s Technology, Tomorrow’s Demand
The late actress Carrie Fisher said, “instant gratification takes too long.” Her prescience is spot-on. Consumers don’t just want convenient, personalized products and services—they want them immediately. Speed and flexibility are the most significant aspects of meeting this heightened sense of “must have it now.” Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are in a fierce race […]
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Six Ways to Develop Character in Leaders
One of my hardest days in the military came in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. I was leading a Special Operations Planning Team and we were using an event tracking system to predict where, what type, and when acts of violence would occur. We predicted a huge rise in attacks with little end […]
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Using Technology to Cut Freight Costs
The bad news: Tight capacity and higher freight rates are the new normal. The good news: There are ways to handle the impacts far better than your competition. Aside from securing reduced freight rates from your carriers, here’s how you can cut freight expense while improving service: Coordinate business intelligence Improve load planning Provide carriers […]
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