Articles

Feature Stories

Balancing on the Rim

Like gravity, the lure of Asia’s rock-bottom costs and abundant labor force has a powerful pull. But companies need to closely examine potential pitfalls of sourcing halfway around the globe. Taking that first step into the Pacific Rim means walking a tightrope between the benefits and risks.

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Supply Chain Security: Tapping Into C-TPAT

Many companies embrace C-TPAT in the fight against supply chain security threats, but just as many shun it. What is C-TPAT? How does it work? What benefits—if any—does it bring shippers and carriers? Here’s a closer look.

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Bulk Logistics: Hefty Freight, Hefty Issues

As transportation costs, congestion, and capacity threaten to derail global supply chains, bulk freight shippers are collaborating with their logistics partners to streamline plant operations and rethink how they align stateside distribution networks to better match supply to demand.

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Matchmaking

MORE TO THE STORY: The Load Matcher’s Little Black Book Scoping Out Potential Shippers, like love-scorned romantics, are willing to try almost anything to find a bigger pool of suitors and more capacity. Carriers, by contrast, are continually looking for ways to get the most out of their freight dates while avoiding costly deadhead rendezvous. […]

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Bullseye! Finding the Right Site

The economic development stars are aligned. As U.S. companies reassess their distribution networks to combat rising transportation costs and meet customer demands, business development entities now realize the logistics and transportation industry offers an opportunity to add jobs and vitality to local economies, expand and develop transportation infrastructure, and create a new economic livelihood for the future of U.S. industry. The result is a renewed focus on site selection.

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Supply Chain Technology: Integrating the Old & New

New supply chain technology can power up existing operations, streamline inventory, and increase revenue—if implemented correctly. Making sure new solutions integrate with existing technologies and processes is crucial. Here’s how it’s done.

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Inventory Velocity: All the Right Moves

The need for speed is clear to retailers, manufacturers, and distributors—especially at this time of year. How are companies speeding their freight and inventory to meet customer demands? By collaborating with technology firms and outside logistics experts to gain greater visibility into the supply chain, increase inventory turns, and get the right products to the right place at the right time.

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High Speed Pursuits: Moving Products Faster and Cheaper

A shift is taking place in expedited shipping. While air shipments once reigned supreme—and still do for import and export goods—for domestic expedited cargo, ground transport is catching up. To cut costs and still meet customer demand, savvy shippers incorporate expedited service into their overall transport strategy, making ground a viable expedited option.

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Track to the Future

Innovations in web-based communication technologies, global positioning systems, and equipment are taking freight railroads into a new era.

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Apparel Logistics & Technology: A Perfect Fit

Technology is the latest accessory to hit the apparel world. By embracing technology solutions, forward-thinking apparel and footwear companies are fashioning tight, visible, integrated supply chains—and reaping the rewards.

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Air Cargo’s Highs and Lows

Today’s air cargo market is deeply divided. Integrators such as UPS and FedEx are soaring, while traditional air cargo carriers—choked by soaring fuel prices, excessive taxes, and government regulation—are experiencing serious turbulence. Buckle your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

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Airfreight Forwarding: Small Companies Get on Board

For some small companies, airfreight forwarders play a large part in the flight path to global success. Lacking the resources of larger players, small companies look to air forwarders to cut costs, improve service, provide know-how, and deliver global capability.

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On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Global

As companies race to enter new global markets, many rely on 3PLs to help hurdle cultural and business barriers, while also controlling inbound transportation, driving down costs, reducing inventories, and ultimately mitigating potential supply chain bottlenecks.

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Managing Inventory: From Fat to Lean

As more businesses source from offshore manufacturers and suppliers, having visibility and control over moving inventory requires both a tactical and strategic lean approach.

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Trucking Tips of the Trade

Transport buyers face tough questions every day. To help find answers, Inbound Logistics turned to transport buyers and service providers for the inside story.

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Mission: Critical

Companies are turning to information technology, logistics specialists, and partnerships with premium service carriers to keep their customers’ mission-critical systems running while minimizing their investment in parts inventory. Here’s a look at the unique challenges and solutions driving critical parts logistics today.

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Freight Payment Outsourcing: Getting Finances in Ship Shape

Consider this: Because of administrative overhead, it costs large companies about $11 to pay one freight invoice. For a company with 1,000 carrier invoices a month, that’s $11,000. But if a third-party freight payment/auditing firm processes these invoices, companies pay just 5 percent to 10 percent of this benchmark cost per bill. Companies that outsource […]

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