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Enhanced Visibility: The Future of TMS
Q: How does a SaaS transportation management system (TMS) encourage collaboration, and why is collaboration important in today’s challenging economic environment? Timmer: In a SaaS multi-tenant TMS environment, all community members of the transportation network operate from the same instance of the TMS software, regardless of their point or date of entry into the network […]
Read MoreEnsuring Successful System Integration
Q: What factors make software system integration necessary? Rodriguez: Variety among parties is a fact in the supply chain. Because of that variety, there is no software system that covers the immensity of combinations and scenarios that can occur in today’s supply chain. In the same way, there is no software right for every supply […]
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Global Trade Management Software: International Trading Made Easier
Q: What role does technology play in optimizing global supply chains? Preuninger: Many companies have seen the value in using global trade management (GTM) software to lower costs, ensure regulatory compliance, improve customer service, and automate facets of their supply chain operations. Two capabilities that leading companies are using today to weather the downturn are […]
Read MoreVoice Technology Frees the Warehouse Workforce
Q: The supply chain and logistics sector has been positively impacted by a wide variety of input and output technologies. What are the most exciting changes inside the warehouse today? Wills: Over the past few years, a lot of companies have integrated and benefited from voice technology, which frees the warehouse workforce to use their […]
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The Secrets to a Successful Global Trade Management Program
Q: What are the elements of a successful global trade management program? Madzy: Global trade management is a dilemma for most organizations because it is an enterprise-wide discipline that needs to be developed. In today’s decentralized and outsourced business climate, it is difficult to bring together all the resources and expertise required to develop and […]
Read MoreBenchmarking Data Supports Pricing Decisions
Q: How can shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) ensure that their business methods and metrics conform to best practices for the industry? Schrader: The best transportation companies identify and measure their key performance indicators and strive for continuous improvement. Most companies have done a good job using their transportation management system or enterprise resource […]
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South Carolina: The Logistics Advantage
Boasting proximity to major U.S. markets and a wealth of transportation resources, the Palmetto State leads the Southeast in serving the nation’s distribution needs.
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Northern Exposure: Navigating the Alaskan Supply Chain
Intermodal transportation stitches together Alaska’s 663,268 square miles of rugged terrain, presenting challenges and opportunities for intrepid shippers.
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Harnessing the Winds of Change
The wind power industry blows gusts of opportunity for project sites, equipment manufacturers, and specialty transportation providers.
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Global Air Service That Inspires Customer Confidence
When you buy global air transportation services, what you are really buying is confidence. That’s because when you send freight by air— and when your customer is anxiously waiting for that shipment to meet production schedules or avoid penalties— no one can afford uncertainty. The freight has to be there on time, period, no matter […]
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Achieving Competitive Advantage: How the Right 3PL Partner Can Help You Dominate Your Market
In today’s marketplace, all too often there is a disconnect between 3PL performance and clients’ expectations. As established 3PL companies mature and less robust players continue to enter the market, the gap between client expectations and 3PL deliverables continues to grow. Most 3PL value propositions focus primarily or exclusively on a client’s financial performance. Profit […]
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Protect Your Supply Chain From Merger Mania
In recent months, several third-party logistics (3PL) providers have merged to form large conglomerates, and consolidation in the 3PL market is likely to continue. Although the trend is not new, the New Year is a good time for companies to take a closer look at 3PL relationships and consider how they impact supply chain performance. […]
Read MoreNexus Distribution: A Fresh Sheet of Customer Service
When Boise Paper wanted to consolidate five Northeast region facilities into just one, it turned to Nexus Distribution for customer service excellence built on a sound implementation process.
Read MoreHyundai Merchant Marine (HMM): Plus-Sized Customer Service
Women’s apparel retailer Charming Shoppes praises the red-carpet treatment it gets from logistics partner Hyundai Merchant Marine.
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How to Select Expedited Services
MORE TO THE STORY: 5 Steps to Expediency, Efficiency, Economy Expedited delivery is a necessity for all companies, whether they are meeting unexpected seasonal demand or managing shipments by exception. They use expedited service to move parcel and temperature-sensitive packages, specially packaged product, oversized equipment— and everything in between. Cost is secondary to timeliness and […]
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How to Drive Collaborative Distribution
MORE TO THE STORY: Playing the Part In the retail space, competition among small and medium manufacturers is fierce. But many are missing out on significant cost savings by failing to recognize and execute shared strategies that consolidate shipments in the interests of all supply chain stakeholders. The collaborative distribution concept leverages freight consolidation as […]
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How to Develop a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model
MORE TO THE STORY: Is a Direct-to-Store Delivery Model Right for You? Speed is the name of the game in today’s retail landscape. How quickly products are purchased from store shelves depends on a myriad of factors: consumer preference, special promotions, and brand recognition, to name just a few. The real trick to gaining speed […]
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How to Find the Best EDI Solution For Your Operations
MORE TO THE STORY: 7 Rules to Finding the Best EDI Solution In today’s supply chain, change is a constant. Businesses have to gather and communicate information in real time to manage variability and efficiently match supply to demand. Flexibility and scalability are important. But with new sets of transactional requirements and data elements emerging, […]
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How to Enable a Proactive Supply Chain
MORE TO THE STORY: 5 Steps to Supply Chain Empowerment Tomorrow’s supply chains will be intertwined supply networks predicated on responding to supply and demand changes as they happen, not after the fact. Transaction and shipment exceptions are common, so businesses must be able to account for these variables by enabling a proactive supply chain. […]
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How to Leverage Rail/Intermodal For Refrigerated Freight
MORE TO THE STORY: A Refrigerated Case Rail/intermodal solutions are fast gaining traction among shippers looking for additional capacity, exploring more cost-effective transportation options, and seeking means to reduce their impact on the environment. While there has always been a captive rail audience among bulk commodity and dry goods shippers, more specialized freight, including refrigerated […]
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