Articles
Commentary
Girding for Supply Chain Turmoil in 2022
Despite the expectation that this year will be a difficult one regarding supply chain management, strategies exist to ease the burden. Companies can minimize disruption by implementing specific tools and best practices that will enable clearing logistical, transportation, and technological hurdles. Those include modernizing your business’s supply chain management processes—adopting artificial intelligence, for instance—enhancing visibility […]
Read MoreTaking a Fresh Look at Brazil’s Transportation Sector
International investors may have had hesitation about moving into new markets amid the myriad changes of the past year. However, as the economy continues to rebound, many are taking a fresh look at one emerging market in particular: Brazil. Indeed, the Brazilian government has been working to establish new regulations that open doors for foreign […]
Read MoreHow Manufacturers Can Navigate Global Supply Chain Upheaval
Supply chains have been teetering on the brink of downfall for many years from issues such as labor shortages, and the pandemic has only highlighted this problem further. When lockdowns started around the world, many empty shipping containers remained where they were. However, in early summer 2021, many countries loosened restrictions around COVID, unleashing pent-up […]
Read MoreThe Manufacturing Workforce in 2022: Restraints, Predictions, and Implications
Manufacturers are not immune from the impact of the worker shortage that shows little to no sign of ceasing. Heres how to rebuild the talent pipeline.
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4 Steps to Building Cyber-Resiliency
Cyber-exploitation through contractor networks is becoming more prevalent. Cyber-insecure suppliers and contractors provide covert backdoor access to more prominent corporations.
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Early Amazon Story Explains How to Create Resiliency
Early in Amazon’s history there is a famous story about a renegotiation of its UPS contract. It is one of the first examples of Amazon realizing its scale and utilizing and leveraging it for growth.
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Sideways Ships and Missing Chips: Overcoming E-Bike Blockages
Most businesses were impacted by the pandemic and the e-bike supply chain was no exception.
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Robots Do Yardwork, Too
Efficient warehouse operations provide the levels of service that customers demand as America’s economy scales up. In many instances, yard operations impede that efficiency. Safety, driver facilities, cooperation, and consideration for truckers’ time are ongoing challenges. One driver tells us that a yard he regularly serves is "like a moonscape." The confluence of e-commerce growth […]
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How would you summarize the supply chain in 2021 in five words?
A never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
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Big Transportation Impacts Small and Mid-Size Businesses
One often overlooked budget item in growing companies is transportation and logistics. As companies focus on growth, the oversight of logistics programs frequently becomes a complimentary duty of employees whose primary focus might be in other company disciplines.
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6 Reasons You Should Control Inbound Logistics
If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s this—supply chains are brittle. If raw materials or parts don’t get to where they need to be on time, manufacturing plants grind to a halt, orders are not fulfilled, customers are unhappy, and the bottom line suffers. A pandemic—and its knock-on effects of shortages—is not something companies […]
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What’s the most challenging time-critical shipment you ever pulled off? How?
I worked for a 3PL in Holland that distributed surgical products. A Luxembourg hospital contacted us after hours, after realizing they did not have the right-size heart valve for a patient needing immediate surgery. One of our employees delivered the valve there in his car, saving the patient’s life.
Read MoreThe Role of IoT in Keeping Vaccines Safe
The pandemic made clear the need for equity in access to vaccines. In fact, G7 leaders met earlier this year to discuss just that. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “leaders recognized that no country can be safe until every country committed to develop and distribute effective tests, treatments, and vaccines around the world.” […]
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Pulling Levers and Finding Value in Transportation
Value is not always easy to measure. It’s the same when discussing transportation costs. Lowest cost is not always the best, as poor quality can cost you much more. Corporate supply chain managers need to understand which levers to pull so they can get the best value for every transportation dollar spent.
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Is the Healthcare Supply Chain Ready for the Netflix Effect?
Have you ever marveled at how Netflix seems to know what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, and sets expectations with a high percentage of likelihood that you’ll enjoy their recommendation? What if we could apply that same degree of accuracy to the healthcare supply chain? Armed with the right information, we could know who needs which supplies and when, down to the patient level. The result would be a more resilient supply chain and better patient outcomes.
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Unleash Short Sea?
The ports around the Great Lakes would love to help offset some of the pain of the horror show called the "shipping crisis." Guess what. They can’t by law. Thank the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF), a well-intended policy perfect for the 1980s, along with related regulations, for sidelining port capacity around the Great Lakes. The […]
Read MoreSurvival of Companies Depends Entirely on Managing Supply Chain’s 5 V’s
They include: visibility, volatility, velocity, vulnerability, and viability.
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Best Practices to Protect Supply Chains
With the rapid adoption of cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), the supply chain has many new entry points and attack surfaces for cybercriminals to infiltrate. Implementing these best practices help manufacturers continue to innovate, create new products and services, and increase profitability, while maintaining a competitive edge.
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Unlock Potential With Buy Anywhere, Deliver Anywhere
E-commerce sales have surged as a result of the pandemic, forever changing the way consumers shop and receive orders. As a result, shoppers demand faster and more convenient delivery options that get their orders in their hands, when and where they want them.
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