Archive for Guest Commentary
There is a growing consensus about the need to spend more on highway repair and construction and the reality of needing additional funding (tax collections) to pay for the improvements. James Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure says, “… we need to begin the transition from the gasoline and diesel user fees to a vehicle miles travelled (VMT) fee system that charges users for each mile… Continue reading
‘Green’ is all the rage. I see Green stickers on cars and homes, and eco-friendly logos on t-shirts and clothing. You can’t walk into a store these days without getting bombarded by Green messaging.
Fundamentally, the concept of Green has significant merit. We, as stewards of this planet, have an obligation to the generations to come to leave this planet the way we found it. When I was a… Continue reading
A certain comedian from the South has achieved great fame with an act based entirely on a series of “You might be this, if that” jokes. He enjoys poking fun at those who don’t take stock of the obvious to solve their problems. Minus the chastising and the humor, however, it’s the same practice of self awareness that is critical for those logistics professionals who are uncertain about whether their… Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, SAP held one of its periodic executive advisory councils for customers in the logistics industries. The dinner and hallway conversations focused a lot on economy, and how it is changing the buying patterns of shippers. Everyone agreed that in these economic times upper management is getting more involved in expenditures and scrutinizing every dollar spent. Point departments, like operations and warehousing, usually have to follow more strident… Continue reading
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model has been widely embraced thanks to the numerous advantages that on-demand solutions deliver to multiple industries. Logistics-intensive organizations, however, were among the first to turn to SaaS to reduce costs, increase operational performance and improve customer satisfaction. As the need for connectivity, collaboration and compliance grows, many members of the global supply chain now realize that SaaS in the logistics market can offer far more than… Continue reading
In the past, entering and competing in the Third Party Logistics (3PL) marketplace required sales savvy, options for inexpensive warehouse space and good operational management skills. With these things in hand, a 3PL could acquire clients, lease space, hire workers and launch operations in very short order. Price was always king and the 3PL with the lowest price usually won. Contracts were renewed provided the 3PL met its service levels… Continue reading
The Bullwhip Effect is a 50 year old problem first described by Jay Forrester at MIT in 1958. Forrester demonstrated it could take up to 6 months for a 10 percent increase in store demand to cascade across the extended retail supply chain and it could result in as much as a 40 percent increase in demand on the factory.
Fast forward to today. Suffice it to say that industry initiatives… Continue reading
A Missed Opportunity: Linking Demand with Transportation Planning and Execution
Posted on Mar 02 2010 | By Greg Brady · Comments (0)Supply chain best practices preach the benefits of end-to-end, integrated business processes. We regularly hear analysts and industry experts tell companies, “Your supply chain is fragmented and you must connect it.” And while some traditionally silo-based groups are doing better at sharing information and connecting their supply chain, most organizations are not planning and executing across functional domains to create a truly interconnected and collaborative supply chain.
Demand planning… Continue reading