Articles
Feature Stories
Full Kitting: Process, Benefits, and Types
Kitting is a beneficial process that brings together individual components for assembly. It’s an essential step in the manufacturing process where every component is gathered for assembly, saving time and money. Kitting processes take place before the assembly line, gathering the components that are used to make the complete product. However, kitting can mean different […]
Read MoreConsignment Inventory: Definition, Advantages, and Disadvantages
Talk to any retailer and they will tell you without a doubt that there is a certain amount of risk that results from purchasing traditional inventory. This is because when retailers stock their products, they usually hope that they will sell enough to get a profit before their stock expires. However, this will not always […]
Read MoreWhat is a Certificate of Compliance? Meaning, Requirements, Examples
A certificate of compliance is a document that certifies that a product or system meets the requirements of a safety regulation or standard. It is typically used in shipping and logistics to ensure that products are safe for transport and meet the destination country’s requirements. Certificate of compliance examples in logistics include documents such as […]
Read MoreTop 12 Importing Do’s and Don’ts
To operate a supply chain that meets today’s global logistics challenges, importers need to rethink some approaches. These 12 strategies can be key components of a comprehensive plan.
Read MoreWhat Is Intermodal Transportation? History, Benefits, Examples
Intermodal transportation is not as mysterious or complicated as the name would have it sound. It means transporting one set of goods in a steel container using two or more modes of transportation, such as rail and truck.
Read MoreBlanket Purchase Order: Definition, Benefits, and When to Use
A Blanket Purchase Order is a legally binding agreement between you, a buyer, and a supplier who has come to a long-term deal to deliver goods or services for a specified period. But what does that actually mean? What are the benefits of using this kind of agreement? And when is a good time to […]
Read MoreWhat is FOB Destination? Meaning, Terms, Who Pays?
If you’re in the shipping industry, you need to be familiar with the shipping term FOB destination and all it implies. You should be able to answer the question of what does FOB mean in shipping and convey the fob price meaning. FOB is an acronym that means “free on board,” so FOB destination means […]
Read MoreMaterials Management: Definition, Process, Benefits
Materials management is an aspect of supply chain management and planning. The primary purpose of materials management is to ensure that manufacturers have all the raw materials they need to make goods. Materials management also focuses on ensuring that no components are wasted and optimizing inventory maintenance and management. While materials management requires understanding what […]
Read More5 Ways to Step Up Your WMS Game
A play-by-play guide to choosing the warehouse management system that will help you win the supply chain.
Read MoreWMS Guide 2022
This short list of leading WMS solutions can help your enterprise react agilely and quickly to meet today’s new customer demands.
Read More2022 Top 100 Truckers
Find Trucking Solutions In today’s challenging and volatile business climate, it’s more important than ever to find carrier partners that best fuel your diverse and demanding needs. Inbound Logistics’ annual Top 100 Truckers list helps you find them. More than 200 trucking companies, including the best-paying truckers, submitted their credentials to be considered for the […]
Read More2022 Trucking Perspectives
Inbound Logistics’ exclusive yearly survey of motor carriers and shippers offers a close look at the state of the trucking industry in an era of inflation and supply chain volatility. In 2022, as shippers and their trucker partners have settled into what might or might not become the “new normal,” some are breathing a bit […]
Read MoreThe Building Blocks of Omnichannel Fulfillment
How leading brands snap together their omnichannel mix to meet market needs and expectations while serving business goals. E-commerce growth, accelerated by the pandemic combined with organic changes in customer needs and expectations, has forced both business-to-consumer and business-to-business (B2B) brands to adjust their omnichannel mix. Consumers are driving much of the change, with 82% […]
Read MoreWhite Glove Delivery Strategies and Techniques
When consumers were sent home to work, big and bulky e-commerce orders took off, along with white glove delivery expectations. The right combination of technology and strategy can help retailers meet them. Saying that e-commerce shipping has had an eventful two years would be an understatement. The pandemic accelerated the shift toward online retail by […]
Read MoreProject Logistics: The Basics of Anything But Basic
Moving big, bulky, unconventional freight around the globe precisely and effectively in the face of myriad challenges is not for the faint of heart. Here’s how project logistics experts get it done. It’s not every day in transportation and logistics that you are involved in a star-studded movie premiere with both Hollywood royalty and actual […]
Read MoreCalling in the Troops
The ingenuity of America’s fighting forces has been the deciding factor in the greatest challenges the world has ever seen. Could history’s best-trained military men and women provide the answers to the supply chain workforce challenges we face today? Military leaders’ claim on logistics is pervasive throughout history. Everyone from Patton to Sun Tzu acknowledges […]
Read More2022 Inbound Logistics Perspectives: 3PL Market Research Report
Our 17th annual 3PL market research report takes a deep-dish dive into the dynamics of logistics partnerships in 2022. Rampant inflation, including high transportation costs. A tight labor market. Commodities shortages. Uncertainties tied to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. There seems to be no end to the obstacles ready to frustrate shippers as […]
Read MoreMaritime Challenges: Ports Sea It Through
Ports ease rough supply chain conditions with new services, technology, and other initiatives. Even as many books, music, and movies travel electronically, physical goods still need to move, well, physically. More than four-fifths of global merchandise trade by volume travels by sea at some point, according to The Container Port Performance Index 2021, a publication […]
Read MoreTechnology for SMBs: No Small Matter
Supply chain technology isn’t just for large companies. It’s possible — and necessary — for businesses to invest in new innovations, no matter what their headcount. It was not long ago when supply chain operations were thought of as a backroom affair, running on paper charts and fax machines. But after nearly two years in […]
Read MoreTop 10 3PLs: Readers’ Choice Excellence Awards
These third-party logistics providers made the cut, earning your votes by dishing out top-notch customer service and helping you save dough. AND THE WINNERS ARE: 1. Echo Global Logistics 2. Hub Group 3. Kenco 4. SEKO Logistics 5. Sunset Transportation 6. Werner 7. DHL Supply Chain 8. […]
Read More