Articles
IT Matters: Logistics & Supply Chain Technology
RFID Use Limited Only by Imagination
Logistics professionals have long viewed radio frequency identification (RFID) as a technology of the future. By fixing their vision on the distant horizon, however, they may be overlooking the real value that RFID can deliver today. RFID technology is already used thousands of times each day in port, distribution center, and fleet operations around the […]
Read MoreCRM and the Danger of Dirty Data
Time doesn’t stand still. Neither do your customers. Face it. We are a nation on the move, and rapidly growing as well. In 2000, businesses filed 2.6 million change-of-address orders. There are a mind-boggling 140 million deliverable addresses in the United States, and the number is growing by nearly two million annually. If you are […]
Read MoreBalancing IT Strategy with ROI
For years enterprise software implementations were all about the Big Bang. After spending months and millions of dollars installing a new system, the grand moment would come, the “on” switch would be thrown, and the organization would suddenly achieve Nirvana. Times have changed. In a chilly economy, IT executives cannot afford to wait very long […]
Read MoreIf You Spend IT, Efficiencies Will Come
While corporate departments such as operations are often high on the list for systems improvements, logistics departments are usually close to the bottom of the pecking order. As a result, many supply chain management systems are woefully behind the times. This, however, doesn’ t mean that logistics professionals have to or should accept this slight […]
Read MoreNetwork Software: Finding the Perfect Fit
A shift is occurring in the way logistics software is delivered. Companies have spent billions of dollars customizing, implementing, and maintaining supply chain software to improve efficiency and service. Yet, despite this investment, projects are often discontinued as software too quickly becomes shelfware. High failure rates and delayed ROI can be attributed to costs associated […]
Read MoreBuilding a High-Velocity Supply Chain Network
Managing an extended supply chain network effectively requires coordination among many geographically dispersed partners. Done well, you can reduce operational costs and increase bottom-line profitability and customer loyalty. Done poorly, you can face increased personnel, as well as higher inventory and rush charges, all incurred in an attempt to avoid dissatisfied customers. With increasing decentralization […]
Read MoreTransforming Companies and Services on the Web
Developments in information technology are transforming the logistics industry by expanding the capabilities of logistics providers and enabling them to automate services to enhance customer support. Using the web, a logistics company can offer a variety of services and information to you without requiring them to invest in special software programs. Logistics services providers are […]
Read MoreWhole Order Visibility Supports Front Lines of Customer Satisfaction
In the days of dot.com euphoria, an order was an order, plain and simple. Consumers went to Amazon.com to buy a book, then felt the excitement of clicking on “track your package” to follow each step of the delivery. But B2B order tracking is different. No company uses Amazon.com to place complex equipment orders or […]
Read MoreReal-Time Visibility Ensures Real Savings
Cost control is an increasingly critical factor as companies fight to remain competitive. Simply put, if you cannot grow revenues, you must cut costs. Supply chain integration across business units is a leading cost-cutting measure, according to corporate managers responding to a recent Gartner Dataquest survey. One problem with most installed procurement and logistics systems […]
Read MoreVMI Heals Distributor/Manufacturer Mistrust
Imagine if your doctor had real-time information about your blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level, blood sugar, and brain wave patterns and could intervene remotely at any time. Medical technology hasn’t developed quite to that point yet, but enterprise software has. It’s called vendor-managed inventory (VMI). A Healthy Dose of VMI VMI has a healthful […]
Read MoreReading the Logistics Radar Screen
Private network proliferation and the Internet’s global commercialization improve productivity in manufacturing and customer-facing business operations. But at the interface between information technology and the physical world of transportation and logistics, we still have a long way to go. The flip side of the IT revolution is that the quality of data fed into logistics […]
Read MoreCreating a High-Velocity Supply Chain
Performance improvement over the past 10 years has been largely based on internally focused enterprise systems that integrate functional processes and promote internal efficiencies. With ERP and various flavors of supply chain planning and transportation management tools, manufacturers and distributors have been successful at achieving a first level of benefit, but often at the expense […]
Read MoreBoosting Supply Chain Agility for a Competitive Edge
The recent downturn in the high-tech economy is leading companies to scrutinize their supply chains more closely. With profits falling, staffs shrinking, and doors closing, it becomes even more imperative that companies foster supply chain agility to retain a competitive edge in the face of highly volatile demand. Companies can improve supply chain agility in […]
Read MoreExtending Efficiencies Beyond the Four Walls
Most companies that have successfully streamlined the internal links of their supply chain have not been able to extend those efficiencies outside their own four walls. Inside, they’ve found many ingenious ways to squeeze time and complexity from supply chain processes. Outside, where the supply chain branches out to myriad partners who help move goods […]
Read MoreUnlocking the True Value of e-Marketplaces
E-marketplaces have earned tremendous interest and participation in almost every industry, from chemicals to office supplies. However, e-marketplaces are only now reaching a level mature enough to evaluate the benefits. Surprise! The main reasons used to lure participation—such as lower product prices for buyers and increased access to new customers and markets for suppliers—are not […]
Read MoreChoosing Technology Over Nuts and Bolts
Picture this Information Technology (IT) department of a transoceanic shipping company: Hundreds of programmers sitting in front of computer screens. Managers training employees on outdated systems in use for 20 years. Phone calls from business unit heads wondering why legacy work is delaying project deadlines. This was Sea-Land in 1992, when I became CIO. Yet […]
Read MoreTransportation Software: A Guide for the Perplexed
Making the right transportation software choice is harder than ever. More than 60 Internet transportation dot.coms have launched in the last 12 months alone. If you’re like most people, you’re wondering: “How can I make sense of all these companies?” The good news: the Internet can provide enormous productivity gains for transportation and logistics companies. […]
Read MoreOnline vs. Offline Shopping: Retailers Must Respond
E- tailing has emerged as a significant retail force—consumers are shopping online. Now it’s up to traditional brick and mortar retailers to respond. With even more recent pressure on pure-play dot.com retailers, an integrated retail strategy seems to be in mode. Whether you adopt the creative label, or simply treat the Internet as a channel […]
Read MoreGetting On Board with Windows CE
Although on-board computers have been used in the transportation and logistics industry for more than a decade, most have been single-function proprietary devices that users could not customize. Now, multi-function, open-systems devices are available that operate all applications, are user programmable, and can be connected to corporate data networks with widely used protocols. Industries such […]
Read MoreE-Commerce Changes Rules for Back-End Operations
Prior to 1999, every aspect of back-end support operations for the direct marketing industry was tailored to meet the typical cataloger’s needs. In the 1970s and 1980s, direct marketing was limited to the mailbox, and order processing and fulfillment operations were designed to meet the catalog or direct mail customer’s demands. The costs and requirements […]
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