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Global Logistics—April 2016
Air Cargo Struggles to Find its Wings Times are tough for the air cargo industry. Despite the fact that the rest of the world seems to be recovering from the global financial crisis, air freight just can’t seem to sustain any type of upward momentum. The industry has gone from a $67-billion annual profit in […]
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Trends—March 2016
Trucking Companies Hit the Brakes on Driver Wages The capacity crunch that has plagued the trucking industry since 2013 appears to be easing as poor economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 has trucking companies lowering their freight estimates. Only one-third of carriers expect to have any increase in freight volume in 2016, according […]
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Global Logistics—March 2016
What Keeps Supply Chain and Risk Managers Up at Night? Every type of business risk has an impact on the supply chain. And when risk becomes reality, risk managers and supply chain managers work in tandem to keep goods and materials flowing. In 2016, companies need to be prepared and ready to meet the following […]
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Trends—February 2016
UAV Operators Wait As FAA Guidelines Drone On Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced in 2013 that Amazon Prime Air would use unmanned drones to deliver packages to your door in 30 minutes or less. The online retailer has since claimed that it is only waiting for the government to make drone package delivery legal. Unfortunately, […]
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Global Logistics—February 2016
Global Infrastructure Projects: Building for the Future A $305-billion transportation infrastructure bill passed the U.S. Congress at the end of 2015, but the United States isn’t the only country looking to spend big money on infrastructure projects, according to the 2016 Global Infrastructure Report from CG/LA Infrastructure. The report details 100 infrastructure projects in 71 […]
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Trends—January 2016
Of Potholes and Politics Transportation infrastructure became a hot topic at the end of 2014. So hot, in fact, that it was on the short list of items that had Congress prepared to shut down the government again. This was an interesting development for those who depend on our nation’s highways and waterways—especially because there […]
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Global Logistics—January 2016
It’s Not Easy Beijing Green China reached its highest level of air pollution on record in December 2015. The smog in Beijing was so bad that the government issued a series of red alerts (the highest alert on a four-tier scale) spanning days. The alerts forced more than 2,000 factories to reduce or shut down […]
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Global Logistics—October 2015
Today’s Digital Economy: What’s in Store for Retailers? Retailers are currently pressured to adjust their internal and customer-facing strategies to meet consumer demands, which are evolving at a rapid pace. But they must be willing to evolve as well, according to SAP’s inaugural Retail Index survey conducted in partnership with global forecasting firm Oxford Economics. The survey […]
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Trends—December 2015
Data Capture Technology Ripe for Picking Reducing picking errors remains a high priority for distribution center operators, especially as customer expectations, particularly for faster and more accurate delivery, continue to increase, according to a recent Honeywell survey. Distribution centers are currently losing an average of more than $400,000 annually to picking errors, the survey finds. […]
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Trends—November 2015
GHS: Label It a Problem Fewer than 50 percent of the nearly 150 supply chain professionals from internationally based chemical companies responding to Loftware Inc.’s recent GHS Readiness Survey have met the latest Globally Harmonized System of Classification (GHS) labeling requirements. The United Nations originally adopted the GHS in 2002 to ensure hazardous materials are […]
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Refugees Cause Price Hike for EU Shippers
Refugees Displace EU Supply Chain In many cases, even under the best circumstances, border crossings can be rife with paperwork, passports, and delays. But Europe has streamlined the process, with free and open border crossings between most of its member states that eliminate many of these hassles. That is, until recently. More than nine million […]
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Global Logistics—October 2015
Ocean Containers Talk Back What would Malcom McLean say if “the box” talked back? Now it does. CMA CGM recently debuted the Bougainville as the first containership with connected container technology that transforms the box into a smart asset. The initiative is part of a collaborative project between the French steamship line and Traxens, a […]
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Trends—October 2015
Amazon Dash Turns the Tide When Amazon debuted its Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) and buttons in spring 2015, it gave consumers a taste for how the Internet of Things (IoT) can simplify even mundane tasks. The underlying DRS architecture enables connected devices that measure consumable usage to automatically order physical goods from Amazon when supplies […]
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Trends—September 2015
Rising Labor Costs Eat Into Fast Food Supply Chains When New York State’s wage board voted to raise minimum pay to $15 in July 2015, it set tails wagging around the country. The wage hike, which will be phased in over the next three years upon approval by the state’s labor commissioner, only applies to […]
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Global Logistics—September 2015
Ocean Carrier Dependability Ebbs Over the past few years, steamship lines have been juggling assets and throttling back transit times to better balance supply and demand. A slowdown in global trade—especially between Asia and Europe—and the industry’s well-publicized struggles with overcapacity have forced the issue for many carriers. While shippers and supply chains have adjusted […]
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Trends—August 2015
Warehouse Performance: It’s a Whole New Game One new way to save money on warehouse labor costs is to turn work into a game. No, we don’t mean a chucking-things-across-the-warehouse-floor kind of game, but creating competition through gamification. It’s a way to drive down warehouse labor costs by increasing employee performance and morale. The process […]
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Global Logistics—August 2015
UPS Peddles Electric Cargo Bikes in Europe E-commerce growth and last-mile expectations place a greater burden on shippers and carriers to find more efficient means to deliver parcels—especially in congested urban areas. That’s why UPS is currently testing the feasibility of using electric cargo bikes to pick up and drop off packages in downtown Basel, […]
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Trends—July 2015
ShippingPass vs. Prime: The Fight for Last-Mile Rights Walmart and Amazon are a study in contrasts, from corporate culture to omni-channel strategy. One promises everyday low prices; the other prioritizes selection and speed. But all things being different, they are chasing the same thing—customer satisfaction. Both retail leaders have found a common battleground when it […]
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Global Logistics—July 2015
TPP: Fishing for Accountability Buried within the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are provisions that will help protect global fisheries—and consumers—from widespread fraud in the seafood supply chain. It’s a pet project of the Obama Administration, which specifically created the Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud in June 2014 […]
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Global Logistics-June 2015
GCC States Warm to Regional Collaboration Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states —Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain—have long been hamstrung by independent-minded sovereigns who prefer to think and act unilaterally. Despite the formation of the trade bloc in 1981, collaboration, especially around transportation and logistics, often goes wanting. It’s why […]
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