Archive for August, 2009
Target, Best Buy, and SmartWay Port Trucks
· CommentsLast week, The Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT) announced a partnership with the U.S. EPA SmartWay Transport Program to develop a national SmartWay certification program and rating system for port drayage trucks. According to the press release, the goal of the partnership is to develop “a certification and rating system for green port drayage trucks that will build upon the immensely successful SmartWay Transport model that the U.S… Continue reading
Private vs. Dedicated Fleets
· CommentsI recently had a discussion with Gary Petty, President of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), and Gary Girotti, Vice President of Chainalytics’ transportation practice, about private and dedicated fleets.
Why do companies have a private fleet? According to a survey by NPTC, eighty nine percent of the respondents cited “to achieve better customer service to key customers” as the primary reason. Cost reduction and improved flexibility… Continue reading
Preparing for Resurgence of H1N1 Flu
· CommentsOn Monday, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released its report on H1N1 flu (aka “swine flu”). According to the press release, “The report concludes that the 2009-H1N1 flu is unlikely to resemble the deadly flu pandemic of 1918-19. But in contrast to the benign version of swine flu that emerged in 1976, the report says the current strain ‘poses a serious health threat’… Continue reading
A Front-End Approach to SKU Rationalization
· CommentsLast month, I wrote a posting on how Walmart is reducing its SKU selection to improve merchandising and reduce complexity. In response, Kate Vitasek, founder of Supply Chain Visions, sent me an article she wrote with Eric Tinker and Shawn Bhimani called “Rationalizing SKU Introductions.”
In her email to me, Kate commented that we should “step back and think of [an] alternative approach. What if companies… Continue reading
IBM’s Solution for Global Trade Management
· CommentsIBM’s global trade operations are massive in scale and scope. The company conducts business in 170 countries and moves about $25 billion worth of goods across borders. It ships about 2 billion pounds of goods per year globally (78,000 products with 2 million configurations) which translates into 500,000 customs declarations annually. IBM also conducts cross border consulting which can be subject to export regulations, including denied party screening, regulations… Continue reading
During my days at the beach last week, I read an interesting article (“The Rating Game”) by Kevin Maney in the July/August issue of The Atlantic. Maney met with Rich Barton, the founder of Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor.com (where employees can rate their employers), and Barton shared his investment philosophy with him: “If it can be rated, it will be rated.”
Maney goes on to… Continue reading
Logistics Viewpoints Is Heading to the Beach
· CommentsLogistics Viewpoints is going on vacation next week. After six months of daily blog postings, together with my colleague Steve Banker, it’s time for me to unplug for a few days and head to the beach.
Don’t think you’ll survive without your daily fix of Logistics Viewpoints? Then maybe you need a vacation too.
Or you could catch some reruns. Here are the top ten most read postings this quarter:
I had been thinking of writing a piece linking healthcare reform with logistics, but I couldn’t think of the right angle. Then President Obama opened the door for me with comments he made at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Tuesday (where the crowd was sedate compared to other town hall meetings).
In response to Ben Hershenson, a Republican from Maine, who expressed concern that… Continue reading
