3PL

Auto Logistics: Revving Up Service Parts Logistics Operations

To boost efficiency and pave the road for global service parts logistics management, Ford is steering a 10-year plan to revamp its service parts network, processes, and technologies. Here is a peek under the hood of Ford’s new “best-in-class plus” operation.

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CSCMP Annual Conference: Can We Talk?

Discussed in general sessions and overhead in the hallways: Shippers are focused on reducing risk and managing volatility, developing supplier relationships, and creating supply chain resilience.

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How to Ship to Alaska

MORE TO THE STORY: Finding the Right Partner Alaska RFP/RFI Alaska can be a challenging place to move freight. The state’s vast and varied terrain, harsh and unpredictable weather, and distance from the rest of the United States present unique challenges for shippers. Whether the task is transporting consumer goods to cities in southeastern Alaska, […]

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Logistics Outsourcing: An Active Culture at Dannon

Partnering with a 3PL keeps Dannon’s supply chain light and fit.

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Gaining Alignment With Your 3PL is Key to Supply Chain Success

When choosing a supply chain partner, it is essential that goals, expectations and strategy are all in alignment. In order to achieve this synergy, open and honest communication between business partners needs to be in place to move the relationship beyond one of simply executing services to one of real collaboration. Measurement, monitoring, and corresponding […]

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3PL Partnerships: Finding Your Better Half

Just like people, companies seeking long-lasting relationships need to keep a strategic focus when choosing their “other half.” In the high-stakes world of international shipping, smart companies considering logistics outsourcing for their supply chain needs should carefully consider the question, “How do I choose the right provider?” Here are five tips to help you properly […]

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Great Logistics Sites: Supply Chain Central

At some spots on the map, the elements combine to create the perfect setting for logistics success.

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Integrate Contract Packaging Into Distribution Operations to Cut Costs by 30%

Specific consumer products look exactly the same when they roll off the manufacturing line. To satisfy retailer requirements, however, these identical products are wrapped, sealed, tied and packed in dozens, even hundreds, of different ways for presentation on the retail shelf. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies often outsource final packaging to outside contract packagers, adding […]

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Memphis: America’s Aerotropolis

Geography, transportation infrastructure, and a strong distribution sector make Memphis a natural logistics hub.

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Capitalizing on Mexico’s Economic Growth

Continuing economic development across Mexico is opening the doors to exciting growth opportunities for U.S. businesses. Mexico is already the United States’ third-largest trading partner, while the United States ranks first among Mexico’s trading partners. Mexico’s established manufacturing base has created many jobs and an increasingly prosperous working class. As a result, Mexico is attracting […]

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Gemma Fillmore: Supply Chain Advocate

TITLE: Corporate logistics projects COMPANY: Medco Health Solutions, Franklin Lakes, N.J., since 2009 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: Various supply chain and logistics positions, Bonaventure Textiles; warehouse manager, inventory supervisor, Tibbet & Britten (now Exel Logistics); corporate operations supervisor, Reckitt Benckiser; senior transportation manager, operations and other supply chain positions, Nabisco Foods; senior manager procurement—logistics, Kraft Foods; director […]

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Collaborative Distribution Eases the Capacity Crunch

Q: The current crunch in trucking capacity has made mainstream news lately. How should the transport industry solve this problem? Kane: The truth is there is no capacity shortage. Also, there are plenty of truck drivers, even after we lose 100,000 drivers through CSA 2010, as industry experts predict. The problem is not capacity or […]

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Consumer Packaged Goods: Lightening the Load

Sorting through logistics challenges can be a dirty job for CPG companies. But well-planned manufacturing, smart packaging, and cost-effective transportation can help wash away inefficiencies from any supply chain cycle.

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Oversized Shipments: Good to Grow

Although container shipping remains the dominant form of ocean transport, breakbulk shipping, in which heavyweight freight is transported without being packed in containers, has seen significant growth. Non-container cargo covers a variety of shipments, ranging from oversized tires for earth-moving equipment to complete electrical power plants. One reason breakbulk shipping grew despite the economic downturn, […]

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Your Guide to Routing Guides

They surface after the sale…at the last minute…potentially costing a fortune. They’re the biggest hidden challenge vendors face.

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Lean Six Sigma: Leaning by Degrees

Lean Six Sigma enablers and practitioners are using continuous improvement methodologies to squeeze cost and inefficiency out of the supply chain.

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What We’ve Got Here is Failure to Communicate

Remember that great line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate”? That’s what popped into my head as I reviewed the more than 4,700 responses from readers and 3PLs participating in our annual third-party logistics survey. We asked both 3PLs and their customers the same question: What is […]

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