Why Supply Chains Need Business Intelligence
Companies that want to effectively manage their supply chain must invest in business intelligence (BI) software, according to a recent Aberdeen Group survey of supply chain professionals. Survey respondents reported the main issues that drive BI initiatives include increased global operations complexity; lack of visibility into the supply chain; a need to improve top-line revenue; […]
Read MoreInventory Tracking: Crunching the Numbers
With store replenishment lagging behind sales growth, potato chip maker Golden Flake deployed a mobile inventory-tracking solution to satisfy its craving for stock visibility.
Read MoreHow to Select a Returns Management Partner
As retailers turn over stones looking for ways to reduce costs, eliminate waste, become greener, and raise the bottom line, returns management is an area ripe for picking. What was once written off as a lost cost has now become a can’t-miss opportunity—and for good reason. In 2011, U.S. consumers returned more than eight percent […]
Read MoreHow to Measure Sustainability Program Performance
For many companies, sustainability has become a burning platform for exploring smarter ways to move product through the supply chain. Sustainability principles dovetail with transportation and logistics best practices to rationalize natural resource and raw material consumption, and ultimately reduce operating expenses. In addition to the economics of eliminating environmental waste, an element of risk […]
Read MoreHow to Drive Visibility Through a Supply Chain Network Control Tower
As supply chains become increasingly stretched geographically and functionally, the challenge of driving visibility through layered and disparate networks becomes infinitely greater. When it comes to managing compliance among third-tier suppliers in Asia, speeding asset turns at a domestic distribution yard, or keeping track of carrier partners and shipments on the ground, at sea, and […]
Read MoreHow to Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions
As supply chains trend toward demand-driven, lean inventory models to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and increase responsiveness, their exposure to risk grows. When natural disasters, political upheaval, labor strife, supplier failures, and countless other types of supply chain events arise, shippers need to react quickly—without incurring undue costs—to keep production in line with demand. Companies […]
Read MoreHow to Foster a Long-Term 3PL Partnership
When companies begin working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL), they are generally looking to address a functional pain point. The partnership is transactional and fills an operational gap. But the true value of 3PL partnerships can grow infinitely greater when shippers take a long-term approach that focuses on sustainable gains rather than short-term savings. […]
Read MoreHow to Reduce Costs by Integrating Packaging with Distribution Center Operations
Product packaging is often handled as a discrete supply chain function, separate from warehousing and distribution. But companies can capitalize on considerable efficiency and economy gains by driving toward greater integration of these functions. In fact, performing final packaging in the distribution center can reduce combined warehousing, logistics, and freight costs by 30 percent and […]
Read MoreHow to Move Freight in Volatile Locations
Despite geopolitical upheaval, natural disasters, labor strife, war, and countless other disturbances that threaten supply chain efficiency and economy, freight still needs to move. From delivering humanitarian aid in hurricane-ravaged locations to managing mission-critical parts replenishment in remote areas and delivering heavy equipment in support of government operations, shippers need to be flexible and responsive […]
Read MoreHow to Make Driver Recruitment a Competitive Differentiator
One challenge the logistics sector faces is, well, finding new faces. While the U.S. recession largely suppressed a dormant truck driver shortage, the prospects of economic recovery are stirring old concerns. Adding to the problem, recent government mandates including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Hours of Service and Compliance, Safety, Accountability rules threaten to […]
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