Articles

April 2023

Balancing Shipping Costs with Inventory Carrying Costs
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Balancing Shipping Costs with Inventory Carrying Costs

Shippers must learn how to navigate the new balancing act between just-in-time and just-in-case demands, especially as the shipping market increases in complexity. Just-in-time logistics will stay with us in the coming years, but it will be augmented by a slight increase in just-in-case inventory, depending on the industry. However, creating better resilience is far […]

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Remaining Vigilant, Post Pandemic
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Remaining Vigilant, Post Pandemic

The supply and demand imbalances wrought during the pandemic magnified deficiencies in public and private infrastructure and investment. And although the pandemic may no longer be throwing logistics operations into upheaval, shippers should remain vigilant. With these challenges in mind, where should shippers focus their attention and what can they do to mitigate these threats? […]

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Playing Nice
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Playing Nice

Distributors and manufacturers can find themselves at odds when it comes to supply chain management. Overcoming siloed data streams, friction in workflows, and misalignment on goals can cause tension in partnerships. In worst case scenarios, these disconnects can lead to arguments, disputes, and a lack of customer focus. It pays to focus on a solution. […]

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Are Things Looking Up?
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Are Things Looking Up?

As 2023 began, the global economy focused on inflation and recession fears. Now add geopolitical tensions and domestic challenges in key markets that are slowing return to sustained growth, according to KPMG’s latest Global Economic Outlook report. Pressure on global supply chains has eased in 2023 and shipping costs have dropped, which should alleviate some […]

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Turn Up the Tech
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Turn Up the Tech

Driven by the need to improve visibility and better manage the workforce, nearly three-quarters of supply chain leaders are increasing technology and innovation investments, finds the 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report, The Responsible Supply Chain: Transparency, Sustainability, and the Case for Business, conducted with Deloitte. Sustainability is also top of mind, as nearly half of […]

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Specialty Retail Hits the Mark
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Specialty Retail Hits the Mark

What makes a successful retailer? To answer that question, Manhattan Associates, in partnership with Google Cloud and Zebra Technologies, examined data insight from real purchases, returns, and customer journeys across digital and physical channels to create The Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, a report conducted by Incisiv. The benchmark assesses retailers across 11 specialty […]

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WMS Grows Up
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WMS Grows Up

As technology adoption increases and ecommerce continues to grow, companies are looking to smart warehouses to meet customer demands. As a result, warehouse management systems (WMS) are poised to take off. The WMS market will see a 17.3% compounded annual growth rate—culminating in a market worth more than $51 billion by 2030—predicts an Insight Partners […]

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A Closed-Loop Solution Provides Savings and Streamlines Supply Chains
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A Closed-Loop Solution Provides Savings and Streamlines Supply Chains

Q. Why should a company consider a closed-loop supply chain solution? A. Supply chain disruptions have affected multiple industries this year. A closed-loop approach to your company’s logistics needs allows you to access thousands of additional carriers, enforce business rules throughout the shipment process, identify incorrect charge codes, and easily recoup hard-dollar savings. The cloud-based […]

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Shippers, It’s Time to Seize the Moment and Take Control of  Your Rates
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Shippers, It’s Time to Seize the Moment and Take Control of  Your Rates

The transportation and logistics industry ecosystem continues to adapt and innovate as conditions shift. In the past couple years, shippers have had to contend with increased direct rates and exposure to the spot market, as well as supply chain disruption caused by macroeconomic conditions such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, there’s finally a window of […]

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GOOD QUESTION: How has logistics technology impacted your job?
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GOOD QUESTION: How has logistics technology impacted your job?

We’re going through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) switchover that requires a great deal of patience, change management, and transactional discipline. The change is definitely tough and requires a steep learning curve to keep up. The new technology allows for greater control and visibility of product locations as they move from the production team through […]

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Digitalization Unlocks Resiliency
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Digitalization Unlocks Resiliency

Brands and retailers are navigating a seemingly endless cavalcade of new supply chain threats ranging from inflationary pressures to trade wars. Conditions seem unlikely to improve soon. As businesses work to build more resilient supplier networks, they must start by investing in a comprehensive digital transformation.

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IN BRIEF: New Services and Solutions
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IN BRIEF: New Services and Solutions

Services cargo-partner launched less-than-container-load services from Asia to Western Europe via the port of Rotterdam. Its new weekly sea freight consolidation services from China and India to Rotterdam call on various destinations in Western Europe. TLI, a provider of transportation and logistics services, expanded into Houston, Texas, bringing managed LTL solutions to shippers in the […]

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