Latest Supply Chain Services

Air cargo company Worldwide Flight Services opened a temperature-controlled facility in Copenhagen to improve its ability to handle pharmaceutical cargo. The facility has the capacity to store up to 16 cargo units and features separate temperature chambers offering both 35.6-46.4°F and 59-77°F environments. Each lane in the building is equipped with an electronic rollerbed system […]

Fashion Icon Designs Supply Chain Solution

As its main distribution center neared capacity, fashion company Michael Kors redesigned operations without cramping its style by fashioning a digital model of its supply chain.

Dining In is the New Dining Out

As more people order meals delivered, foodservice supply chains chow down on speed, quality, and safety.

U.S. Infrastructure: Will It Finally Be Fixed?

A recently leaked Trump administration draft of the Comprehensive Infrastructure Plan provides funds to states for roads, ports, bridges, and more. But will it become a reality?

Current State of the 3PL Market

Shipper demands, customer expectations, and 3PL capabilities increase, pushing supply chain to the forefront, according to the 2018 22nd Annual Third-Party Logistics Study.

Specialized Transportation: Paying the Price

When moving high-value items, proper packaging and labeling, efficient scheduling, discretion, and a bit of extra effort are key to minimizing the risk of theft or damage.

Let’s Get Visible

Shippers gain powerful insight from end-to-end supply chain visibility, where execution and technology converge right before your eyes.

Spot Market Strategies: Making the Right Connection

Here’s a pickup line that works: tendering freight to compatible carriers through high-tech, digital loadboards.

Inventory Strategies That Satisfy and Retain Customers

The Amazon Effect continues to weigh heavily on the supply chain. Consumers expect to receive packages within a few days—or within one day—of placing an order. The demand for lightning-quick fulfillment, coupled with myriad small-order additions, has led to a complex operating environment. Shipping is the second-most widely reported reason for consumer dissatisfaction when shopping […]

Slowing Down the Driver Shortage

The driver shortage has been an issue in the transportation industry for well over a decade. Carriers need to develop successful tactics and strategies for recruiting and retaining drivers in order to remain competitive. Carriers must first focus on findingdrivers who are not only qualified and driven, but also a fit for the company’sculture. To […]

Cashing In: 5 Supply Chain Financing Trends

Supply chain financing solutions that allow both buyers and suppliers to optimize cash flow are becoming increasingly popular as more options become available. Here are five trends that are on the money.

Supply Chain Convergence: Stitching Together Best-of-Breed Technologies

Transportation management, warehouse management, and yard management systems sew together high-velocity supply chains.

Global Trade Disruption: Managing the New Normal

Global trade disruptions come in all shapes and sizes, and can wreak havoc on supply chains. Find out what proactive strategies and tactics leading companies use to tackle the escalating challenge of supply chain risk management.

Supply Chain Impatience: No Time To Wait

Supply chains are adapting to serve today’s “hurry up” world of impatient consumers. Meet delivery expectations or customers go elsewhere—faster than a mouse click.

VMI Strategies: A Matter of Trust

Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) programs rely on strong working relationships, collaboration, and mutual trust between supply chain partners to make things happen.

Truckload Carriers and E-commerce: Serving the Middle Mile

E-commerce is redrawing the landscape for freight transportation. Do truckload carriers have a place in this new world of high-velocity supply chains, especially as shipments get smaller and delivery windows shrink?

Blockchain Technology: Good in a Supply Chain Crisis

Blockchain, the technology that underpins digital currencies such as bitcoin, offers substantive benefits to supply chains disrupted by natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Blockchain is a digital ledger that creates a chronological and unchangeable record of transactions. It uses an autonomous network of computers to constantly verify the legitimacy of updates to the […]

Seamless Returns Start With Serial Numbers 

Although serial numbers were initially created to track production, they are invaluable tools for reverse logistics. Here’s how they can streamline supply chains. Serialized products are easier to manage during the returns process. If retailers capture a serial number at the point of sale (PoS), they know an item was purchased from them, because they […]

U.S. Manufacturing: Resurgence Sparks Dramatic Change 

With one in every six jobs now tied to manufacturing, American-made products are making a profound comeback. Industry 4.0 innovations—3D printing, robotics, big data, and the Industrial Internet of Things—are changing the fortunes of U.S. manufacturing and its workers, with dramatic impact on the domestic supply chain.

3PLs & Shippers: In It For the Long Haul

Shippers choose third-party logistics (3PL) providers for myriad reasons. 3PLs provide infrastructure and up-to-date technology solutions that shippers may not have or be able to afford to invest in. They provide consistent, reliable service that shippers can pass on to customers. They stay updated with the latest regulations and best practices. They can scale up […]

Indian Truckers Spend Only 40% of Their Time Driving

Venezuela Crisis Surpasses Great Depression

The collapse of Venezuela’s economy has reached historic proportions, equal to or surpassing the 1929 and 1939 U.S. Great Depressions. That’s according to economist Gerver Torres, a researcher at the Gallup Company and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a recent lecture at the University of Miami’s Robert and Judi […]

Realigning Logistics

FedEx Corp. will realign its specialty logistics and e-commerce solutions in a new structure under FedEx Trade Networks, Inc. (FTN), beginning March 1, 2018. The goal is to create an organization focused on serving the unique needs of this important growth driver. "In order to improve our ability to leverage the unique capabilities of our […]

Special Delivery

With delivery dates of June 2018 and January 2019, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, a division of the Ethiopian Airlines Group, is leasing the first Aeronautical Engineers Inc.(AEI)-converted Boeing 737-800 freighters (737-800SF) from GE Capital Aviation Services. “In line with our Vision 2025 Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics strategic roadmap, we are expanding our cargo fleet […]

Middle East Gain for Crane

Crane Worldwide Logistics has expanded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, opening a fully operational office based in Dammam. Providing airfreight, ocean freight, and logistics services, the operation is strategically located in Al-Khobar and served by King Fahd International Airport and King Abdul Aziz Port. Crane Worldwide Logistics also has its own entities in both […]

Status Grow? Yes.

I often disagree with IL’s publisher, but I can’t argue with his perspective in this edition. There is a great opportunity for growth in many business sectors, and supply chain excellence is fundamentally important in that economic environment. It wasn’t always that way, however. This publication’s mission since its inception in 1981 has been to […]

Fleets Don’t Fail Me Now

The number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Russia/CIS and Eastern Europe was 4.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a new report from analyst firm Berg Insight (see chart, right). Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5 percent, this number is expected to […]

WTO Conference Marked by Lack of Consensus on Pretty Much Everything

Nobody left satisfied when the World Trade Organization (WTO) wrapped up its 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017. Here are the highlights: The United States largely withdrew from its traditional leadership role at the WTO conference, expressing interest in developing more direct, bilateral trade deals with trading partners. The European Union (EU) […]

SCPA: One for the Record Books

South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) set a new container volume record, handling 2.2 million TEUs during 2017, and posted nine-percent container volume growth. The port’s total container volume in 2017 surpassed the previous record of 2 million TEUs achieved in 2016. In addition, the port moved 182,884 TEUs in December 2017, an increase of 11.2 […]

Shopper Expectations Outpace Retail Investments

Overall shopper satisfaction has significantly improved over the past decade, although shoppers are still not thrilled with retail staff availability and customer service. While four in 10 shoppers surveyed in Zebra Technologies Corporation’s 2017 Global Shopper Study cite being better connected to consumer information than store associates, more than half believe store associates armed with […]

Four Ways to Optimize Your Supply Chain

Supply chain optimization techniques, if leveraged properly, can help companies achieve their strategic business objectives, drive significant reductions in operating costs, and make informed cross functional decisions in complex scenarios. This comprehensive approach helps find the right balance between minimizing costs and meeting business constraints and strategic goals. The following four primary techniques can help […]

Food Fight

Armed with certification programs and a collaboration platform, the Global Food Safety Initiative is battling to defend the global food supply chain from contamination.

Acquiring Shipt Will Bring Target Shoppers Same-Day Delivery

Target recently acquired Shipt to leverage the same-day delivery company’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers, and quickly and efficiently bring same-day delivery to customers across the country. What does this $550-million deal mean for Target and other retailers? "We are now at a point where same-day delivery service is becoming the rule for […]

E-Commerce Warehouses: SuperSize Me

Thanks to e-commerce, the average footprint of warehouses built in the United States since the early 2000s has more than doubled. The largest expansions are in metro areas with the big populations that online sellers covet and the ample land that developers need, according to a new CBRE report. The real estate firm analyzed the […]

What the Health is Going on?

The U.S. healthcare system faces many challenges that efficient supply chain management can help heal.

Three Supply Chain Trends You Need to Know

The pace of supply chain and logistics transformation shows no signs of stopping in 2018, and changes in commerce, technology, demographics, and regulation will have huge implications for the sector. Three trends to keep top of mind are: 1. The electronic logging device (ELD) rollout in the United States, combined with previously introduced Hours of […]

Outsourcing Distribution: Good For What Ales You

Thirsty to sell regional craft beer on a global scale, Velour Imports partners with a 3PL and hops to it.

Digital Supply Chain: What’s Your Reality

What does the digital supply chain mean for your company? More integration, better visibility, a single version of the truth, a clearer view of the future—and maybe a few flying robots.

Welcome to the Neo-Panamax Era: Big Ships, Big Opportunities

The arrival of the cargo vessel T. Roosevelt at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, in September 2017, marked the beginning of a new era for international commerce and trade. At 14,414 TEUs, four times longer than a football field, T. Roosevelt was the largest vessel to dock at an East Coast port after traversing the widened […]

Top 8 Logistics Challenges Facing the Industry – DDC FPO

These days you have more challenges than just trying to keep trucks full; you have your hands full of business process needs that can often feel like too much to handle. According to a third-party logistics study by Capgemini, "cutting transportation costs" makes the top of the list as far as concerns for the logistics […]

Lease Me a Loan: Transport Financing on the Upswing

Today more businesses rely on leases, loans, and equipment lines of credit to finance increased spending on new equipment. Businesses have increased their capital equipment spending for the seventh consecutive year, with overall new business volume growing by 2.5 percent, according to a recent Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) study. The equipment-financing sector outperformed […]

Accelerate Breakthrough by Helping Human Experts – Transportation Insight

While machine learning and predictive intelligence will shape this era, creative companies which value collaboration, human expertise and servant leadership can change the game.

Creating The Internet of Everything

From factory floor to retail store, companies are linking up products, conveyances, machines, and tools along the entire supply chain.

How TMS is Proving ‘Time is Money’ for Shippers in 2018 – UltraShipTMS

There is only one way forward for high-volume shippers who are facing a logistics environment where they’ll be forced to produce far more efficient shipping using far fewer resources in a much more competitive environment. Expectations surrounding shipping velocity (and the fines increasingly imposed for late delivery) have never been higher. The visibility required to […]

5 Ways Your 3PL Can Help Meet E-commerce Challenges

With unlimited e-commerce potential on the horizon, it is worth exploring if an experienced third-party logistics (3PL) provider can help you accommodate growth and ensure an optimal customer experience. If you’ve just launched your e-commerce channel or are striving to make that channel more seamless, scalable, and cost-effective, an experienced 3PL can be a valuable […]

10 Ways To Play IT Safe

State-sponsored and individual bad actors will escalate supply chain cybersecurity risks. Here are 10 threats and trends to look out for across business, governmental, and personal arenas: 1. Software updates—the new Trojan Horse. Criminals use the normal software update process to get companies to infect all their clients, which then affects everyone down their software […]

LTL Carriers: E-Commerce Powerhouse

Less-than-truckload carriers are developing new strategies to serve retailers and manufacturers who create the goods that impatient e-commerce consumers expect will be delivered fast and free.

It’s Time to Make Inbound Freight Management a Priority – Kuebix

Frequently overlooked and often pushed to the bottom of a shipper’s supply chain agenda, good inbound freight management can help companies improve shipment visibility, save money, and enhance customer service—all of which add to the bottom line and boost profitability. Unfortunately, few shippers make inbound freight a priority, and even fewer consider it a strategic […]

Peak Season Planning: A Year-Round Venture

It’s never too early to start planning for peak season supply chain capacity. To meet customer demand at a reasonable cost, it is best to plan ahead as much as possible with a lean, flexible supply chain. Many retailers do an inordinate volume of business—some as high as 70 percent—from Black Friday until the end […]

How Leadership Training Can Improve Company Culture – MD Logistics

Use this advice to implement a leadership training and development program that can pay long term dividends.

Steve Ahern: Supply Chain Strategist

Steve Ahern is manager of supply chain operational design with BASF, a leading chemical company with global sales of $67.8 billion. He has held this position since October 2014. Responsibilities Optimizing BASF’s North American network of 100-plus warehouses and distribution centers, and designing supply chain services and upgrades to its transportation process and system. Experience […]

Top 3 Supply Chain Check-ups Provide Cost Savings – A.N. Deringer, Inc.

At the onset of overseas procurement, logistics professionals focus on supply chain strategy. Finding the right supplier, defining sales terms, determining the best transportation solution and speed to market mean sourcing start-up can be time intensive. When the goods finally arrive at the consignee, many supply chain professionals relax a little knowing that leg of […]

Maximizing Deliveries While Driving Down Transportation Costs – Transplace

Transplace established an LTL consolidation program to increase load capacity and reduce freight costs for a Canadian hardware wholesaler.

How to Prepare for the Unexpected

Disruptions are part of our world. Weather, labor strikes, materials shortages, and demand spikes or valleys are simply part of doing business. High-performing supply chain organizations are differentiated on how well they respond to the unexpected. Moments when things don’t go well should remind anyone involved in the intricate and complex supply chain process to […]

Fraud Goes Broad

The use of analytics to mitigate third-party supply chain fraud, waste, and abuse risk jumped to 35 percent in 2017 from 25.2 percent in 2014,according to a Deloitte poll. Between 2014 and 2017, an average of 30.8 percent of poll respondents report at least one instance of supply chain fraud, waste, and abuse in the […]

The Son Also Rises

Chuck Wall never pressured his son Ryan to enter the family business, FHI (Freight Handlers, Inc.). But in 1998, as the young man’s college graduation drew near, he asked his father for advice about the future. Chuck Wall painted a tempting picture: “If you apply yourself, within a year or two you could be a […]

Multi-Stop Steps

If you suspect that carriers reject multi-stop truckloads more often than single-stop loads, you’re only partially right. While carriers dislike specific factors about multi-stop, you can employ some strategies to make multi-stop freight more attractive to carriers and better control your costs. Here are four ways shippers can reduce rates and increase acceptance of multi-stop […]

Status Quo? No.

The coming year is destined to be one of some major and minor changes in business operations. Given your role in logistics, you will face a perfect storm of new. Here are some events and trends that will drive change and the need to think flexibly and laterally, and adapt operations accordingly. Domestic trucking capacity […]

Rapid Rollout Plan for Manhattan’s WMS – ITOrizon Inc.

Currently, there is no proven rapid implementation strategy for Enterprise Warehouse Management Solutions. Complexity quadruples based on the MDM, ERP, EOM, WCS, MHE, and interface architecture, and presents unique challenges for each probable combination. In the case of Manhattan, there are not many system integrators whom understand the product in-depth, and can implement quickly and […]

Managing Complexity in the Aerospace Supply Chain – SCTL at the University of Washington

Aerospace is currently an industry at an inflection point, as it struggles to meet unprecedented challenges.

Inbound Logistics Winter Reading Guide 2018

The weather may be cold, but that doesn’t mean your supply chain skills have to freeze up. Check out the books on this list to gain the hottest logistics and supply chain knowledge.

Online Purveyor of Artisanal Goods Finds Uncommon Solution

Online retailer UncommonGoods needed a way to provide extraordinarily fast shipping times to sell and transport goods to the other side of the country.

Three Transportation Innovations that Can Deliver Short-Term ROI

Managing transportation has become increasingly challenging as customers grow more demanding and the driver shortage constrains capacity. Innovations such as driverless vehicles loom as potential solutions, but have yet to reach commercial viability. That doesn’t mean transportation managers are forced to deal with process inefficiencies and data siloes while they wait for new technologies to […]

Why Adherence to SQF Requirements Is Crucial to Supply Chain Integrity

In early 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the Safe Quality Food (SQF) rule as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The rule was created to help prevent both intentional and unintentional contamination of the food supply chain from farm to fork. The rule requires those transporting food by motor […]

It’s Now or NAFTA

The odds are “about 50-50” that NAFTA will be terminated, according to Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, following a fifth round of renegotiations among the United States, Mexico, and Canada on the nearly 24-year-old free trade agreement. “I remain concerned about the lack of headway,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in […]

Building Resilience in Your Global Supply Chain

If your company has a business continuity plan in place in the event of a supply chain disruption, you are not alone. Nearly 75 percent of organizations responding to a report published by the Business Continuity Institute and supported by Zurich Insurance Group have made business continuity arrangements related to supply chain management. Companies that […]

Meet a New Breed of Procurement Professionals

In a workforce being transformed by the rise of the gig economy and industry restructuring, what attitudes and behaviors do procurement professionals need to climb the career ladder? The first global survey from Procurious.com reveals some answers. From developing vital mentoring relationships, to building social media profiles that have eclipsed the importance of resumes, to […]