Over the last few months, I’ve heard the term greenwashing over and over again. Greenwashing is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly. A notable example of greenwashing is when McDonald’s […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Descartes and looks at how EDI can streamline supply chain operations. For those unsure of what EDI is, it stands for electronic data interchange, is […]

At its annual event, Apple unveiled the new iPhone 15 lineup. And while the company touted upgrades such as better cameras, better processors, and smaller borders around the screen, the big news was the charging port. The new version of the iPhone will drop the company’s proprietary Lightning port in favor of European-mandated USB-C ports. […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Greca Manuzzi, Senior Expert Product Marketing at Kinaxis, and explores breaking down silos in material and transportation planning. In the fast-paced VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity […]

Last week I attended FourKites Visibility 2023 in Chicago, IL. The conference as a whole was fantastic, from the location and networking events to the conversations I had and sessions I attended. This was the largest conference that FourKites has put on to date, with nearly 800 customers, partners, prospects, and thought leaders descending on the […]

As Labor Day approaches, I can only think about kids going back to school. And when I think of going back to school, I think of a rite of passage that most kids enjoyed: watching the Price is Right on a sick day. Earlier this week, longtime host of the Price is Right, Bob Barker, […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Kyle Franklin, Senior Solutions Consultant, Lucas Systems, and looks at warehouse distribution errors. Being a veteran of the warehouse industry throughout my career has given […]

A transportation management system (TMS) helps companies move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively. The primary reason companies buy a TMS is for freight savings. These freight savings can be attributed to simulation and network design, load consolidation and lower cost mode selections, and multi-stop route optimization. As freight costs have continued […]

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” This quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but apparently, he never actually said it. However, for one man in Maryland, none of that matters. The 65-year-old Accekeek, Maryland man bought 15 identical tickets for the same lottery drawing. Normally, this would […]

Day in and day out, my newsfeed is full of headlines about companies that are looking to make sustainability an integral part of their business. It’s good to see these companies recognizing the impact of climate change, and changing their policies, sourcing, and manufacturing practices to reduce emissions. According to the United Nations, climate change […]

Long live rock! At the beginning of this week, I took a “boy’s trip” with my son and my dad to Ohio to check out the Football Hall of Fame and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Both venues were incredible, and it was an amazing bonding experience for the three of us. The […]

Happy birthday hip-hop! Hip-hop is a genre of music that originated in the Bronx in the early 1970s by African Americans, having existed for several years prior to mainstream discovery. Hip hop originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre, while consisting of stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of […]

When looking at over the road transportation, there are first mile, middle mile, and last mile deliveries. First mile is a trip to a local or regional transportation or distribution hub. The middle mile connects a distribution hub on one side of the country to a hub on the other side. And last mile involves […]

Twitter is now X? I’m sure a lot of us were confused by this announcement over the last couple of days. First and foremost, Twitter has an iconic logo (which also fits the verb of posting on the platform) that is up there with the Nike Swoosh, Channel’s interlocking C’s, McDonald’s golden arches, and Apple’s […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Open Sky Group and helps to decipher some myths around buying a WMS. Buying a warehouse management system (WMS) is a big decision. Many people […]

Seven years ago, I wrote that Cyberdyne Systems’ Skynet division was working on teleportation capabilities that will eliminate the need to wait for products to ship entirely. While still in the early stages of development, the emerging technology will instantly transport an item once it is picked at a warehouse or store to your living […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Matt Elenjickal, Founder and CEO at FourKites, and looks at redefining real-time visibility. When you look at the real-time supply chain visibility market of several […]

Supply chain sustainability can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. As I have written about before, supply chain sustainability, or the notion of going green, is a hot topic as companies and countries look at their overall carbon footprint and look for ways to be more environmentally friendly. A few ways companies […]

The marijuana supply chain is an interesting market to follow. Like any agricultural product, there are ebbs and flows to its supply and demand. However, there is one caveat in the marijuana supply chain that makes things a bit trickier: in most states, cannabis products can only be sold and consumed within the state that […]

I have yet to jump on the metaverse bandwagon, but I see more and more companies offering “virtual experiences” to the masses. For those unfamiliar with the metaverse, it is the emerging 3-D-enabled digital space that uses virtual reality, augmented reality, and other advanced internet and semiconductor technology to allow people to have lifelike personal […]

Not surprisingly, many CEOs have their share of secrets. For Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of those secrets might be a driving mode that enables hands-free driving in Tesla vehicles. The hidden feature, aptly named “Elon Mode,” was discovered by a Tesla software hacker known online as @greentheonly. The anonymous hacker has dug deep into […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Matt Boland at Koerber Supply Chain, and examines how technology can help improve on time in (OTIF) performance. In the supply chain, OTIF stands for […]

Two months ago, I assumed this was going to be championship week for the city of Boston. The Bruins were coming off a historic season with an NHL all-time best 65 wins and 135 points. The team was so dominant that the Carolina Hurricanes, who finished with the league’s second-best record, were a full 13 […]

Last week, I sat down to speak with Chris Jones, Executive Vice President, Industry and Services at Descartes Systems Group about sustainable home delivery.  Home delivery and sustainability are two topics that I have written about quite a bit in the last few years, and Descartes just released its home delivery sustainability consumer sentiment study, […]

All week in the Boston area, and really the greater Northeast, there has been a smoky haze blanketing the sky. The cause: dense smoke from wildfires burning in Quebec. Around 75 million people in the United States are experiencing dangerous air conditions because of the smoke, with officials urging them to limit time outdoors and […]

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Kushal Nahata, Co-Founder and CEO at FarEye. In this conversation, Kushal and I talked about the complexities of last mile delivery. I asked Kushal to give some deeper insights on a few key points. First, what are some things companies can do to reduce […]

Ever since I was a kid, cartoons showed me that dogs like to bite the mail carrier. I always assumed this was just a joke. And for the most part, it is just that – an ongoing joke. But, more than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering mail last year. Aggressive […]

Last night, I took my 13-year-old son to see the movie Air, which tells the story of how Nike pursued basketball rookie Michael Jordan in 1984 to sign with the company. That move, and Michael Jordan’s incredible talent and business acumen, has turned the Jordan brand into a multi-billion-dollar business. For my son, he loved […]

I have written about drones a lot here in the past, and all the practical (and often times impractical) applications they have been used for. I saw an interesting story earlier this week about how a police department in a small Maryland city is using drones in its effort to thwart illegal dirt bike riding […]

I’ve often wondered what happens to clothes that can’t be sold. And I’ve covered this before when thinking about the “Championship” clothing of a team that lost. But it turns out, unfortunately, that there is so much more material waste in this world that we never think about. A mountain of discarded clothing, including Christmas […]

I spent the better part of last week in Las Vegas, NV attending the Blue Yonder ICON customer conference. This was the first time I have attended a Blue Yonder conference in person since 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago. The conference certainly did not disappoint, as there were hundreds of sessions, interesting keynotes, […]

At the ARC Industry Leadership Forum in February, I had the opportunity to sit down with John Delligatti, Director of Digital Supply Chain Transformation at SDI, to discuss the pandemic, Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO), and the future of supply chain management. I asked John to give some deeper insights on a few key points. […]

I’m back after a quick family vacation to New Orleans. The trip was amazing, as we experienced a zipline swamp tour, a second line parade on our street, the opportunity to see the greatest clarinet player in the world (Doreen Ketchens), as well as a full culinary tour of the city. While it was a […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Eric Mcpherson at Open Sky Group and looks at a WMS budget and preparing for implementation. When you begin researching Warehouse Management System (WMS) software, […]

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Asena Yosun Denizeri, Vice President, Retail Solutions at Solvoyo. In this conversation, Asena and I talked about autonomous planning in supply chain. I asked Asena to give some deeper insights on a few key points. First, give me a little background on Solvoyo for […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from the team at Coupa and explores an agile and resilient supply chain. When it comes to supply chains, the last few years have exposed real […]

Interest in autonomous vehicles continues to grow, but so do safety and practicality concerns. There have been stories of autonomous vehicles crashing which seems to set the industry back every time. But this week, there was an unlikely culprit to slow down autonomous vehicles: Karl. To clarify, Karl is the name given to San Francisco’s […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from the team at KNAPP and explores the use of warehouse robotics. Does this sound familiar to you? Customers want their goods ASAP as competition and […]

According to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers plan to spend a collective $24 billion on Easter this year, up from $20.8 billion in 2022 and the previous record high of $21.7 billion in 2020. The survey indicates that 81 percent of Americans will celebrate […]

Digital transformation is a term that is thrown around a lot, and people have different ways to interpret what it means. Essentially, digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business. ARC Advisory Group, where I work, publishes an analysis of the 25 manufacturers with the most mature digital transformations. The […]

We have seen companies look at different ways to deliver orders to customers, and bikes have become more commonplace in busy cities for this reason. But Walmart is looking at bikes in a different way. In the spring of 2022, Walmart created a new position among the roughly 15,000 employees who work at its headquarters […]

A transportation management system (TMS) helps companies move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively. The primary reason companies buy a TMS is for freight savings. These freight savings can be attributed to simulation and network design, load consolidation and lower cost mode selections, and multi-stop route optimization. As freight costs have continued […]

A few weeks ago I wrote that Little Brown Bakers, the manufacturer behind Girl Scout Cookies, is warning of unforeseen supply issues that will be impacting both manufacturing and distribution of its treats. The company said that digital orders could take longer than normal to fulfill due to unforeseen supply chain shortages, but in-person distribution […]

Happy St Patrick’s Day! It’s a day to wear green, and apparently, spend some green as well. Every year, the National Retail Federation conducts a survey on St. Patrick’s Day spending. This year, 61 percent of consumers plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, up from 54 percent in 2022 and the highest in the history […]

Harriet Tubman Day is an American holiday in honor of the anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman, observed on March 10, and in the U.S. state of New York. Observances also occur locally around the U.S. state of Maryland. After Juneteenth became a federal holiday, there are growing calls for this day to also be observed at […]

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, nearly three years after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, supply chains are back to normal. Actually, when looking a bit closer at the numbers, supply pressures actually fell below normal. Zero marks the historical average, and changes in either direction mark standard deviations from that trend. […]

Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women’s Day on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Natalie Walkley, Director of Product Marketing OMS at Koerber. Despite becoming commonplace in commerce in recent years, companies have yet to unlock the full competitive advantage […]

For Amazon employees, it’s time to get back on the train. At least at Amazon corporate, that is. In October 2021, Amazon adopted a flexible approach to let managers of individual teams decide how many days corporate employees would work in the office. But the times are changing. Last week, the company announced that three […]

One of the most difficult and expensive aspects of the supply chain is last mile delivery. However, from a customer experience standpoint, it is also the most memorable and possibly important. Last mile delivery has become an increasingly hot topic, as companies look at ways to optimize final mile deliveries. There are a variety of […]

A big story earlier this month was the reported Chinese spy balloon. From January 28 to February 4, a Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon was seen in North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States. On February 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters off the coast […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Descartes and it discusses the pitfalls to avoid when choosing a Transportation Management System (TMS). The logistic environment is demanding and new challenges keep on […]

Last month I wrote about my return to the NRF Big Show. As a quick recap, a crowd of nearly 37,000 people flocked to the Javits Center in New York City to see what new solutions and innovations software suppliers had in store for 2023 and beyond. This year, the recurring theme was all about […]

For the second straight year between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, Tom Brady has announced his retirement from the NFL. This time, however, he says it is for good. As a Boston fan, Tom Brady forever changed my sports landscape. He brought the region its first championship since 1986, against a team that […]

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has mandatory drug tests that any safety-sensitive employee must complete. Truck drivers are routinely tested during their employment for a variety of drugs, ranging from marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine to oxycodone, morphine and ecstasy. One drug that seems to be missing from the DOT’s list is fentanyl. Fentanyl is […]

Last week I returned to the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show for the first time in 3 years. A crowd of nearly 37,000 people flocked to the Javits Center in New York City to see what new solutions and innovations software suppliers had in store for 2023 and beyond. The usual themes were still […]

Survey Says: 86% of Consumers Willing to Delay E-commerce Delivery in Favor of Sustainability Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Logistyx looks at the findings from a recent survey on sustainability. […]

For the first time since 2020, I was back in New York City for the NRF Big Show. And a big show it was, with over 35,000 people on hand to see the latest innovations in retail technology. One of the more interesting things about NRF is the large-scale displays on the exhibitor floor. There […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Open Sky Group and offers tips for removing wasted time in your operations. “Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin…” That’s an opening line from a […]

World records are such an interesting thing. My kids, for example, are always interested in getting their hands on the newest Guinness Book of World Records, and seeing what kind of crazy things are in there. I feel like I can remember sifting through the first world record book I got my hands on with […]

In early November, my colleague Steve Banker wrote an article looking at the top supply chain trends for 2023 and beyond. Unlike some of the other trends articles we have covered at Logistics Viewpoints, which take a deeper dive into technology and application specific trends, this article looked at the top trends executives need to […]

As the saying goes, new year new you. And for many people that means making significant changes on January 1. An emerging trend over the last few years has been “dry January” where people abstain from alcohol for the first month of the year. For the makers of non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits, this is […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is written by Atakan Kantar & Doğa Kurt from Solvoyo, and examines the ongoing trend CPG companies going direct-to-consumer (D2C). The trend of CPG companies going direct-to-consumer […]

As hard as it is to believe, another year is coming to an end. This was certainly another strange year, but the in-person conferences I usually look forward to were a mixed bag this year. I attended my first in-person conferences and attended a number of virtual ones as well. And the jury is still […]

The chip shortage has been one of the hottest topics in 2022. I read an article earlier this week that broke it down pretty succinctly. At the beginning of the year, the global chip shortage had become so dire that large industrial companies were taking scarce chips out of washing machines to plug them into […]

When it comes to executing mode-specific freight moves from origin to destination efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively, transportation execution and visibility solutions play a critical role. Transportation execution solutions allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system.  Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network.  This […]

As we continue to move towards a sense of normalcy following nearly three years Covid-related disruptions, another yearly tradition is moving back to the old way. That’s right, when you visit Santa at certain malls or stores, there will no longer be plastic partitions or chairs set up six feet away from the jolly guy. […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Emerge and offers tips for trucking companies to decrease their insurance premiums. The number of accidents in the trucking industry is up, and so are […]

This is our last weekly news roundup before for the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s hard to believe that we are getting ready for stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. So, what does the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday look like? In a recent NielsenIQ survey, 91 percent of consumers indicated they are planning on celebrating US Thanksgiving […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Chetan Chaudhari at GEP and examines the ongoing aluminum can shortage. This shortage is the culmination of various ongoing issues – geopolitical tensions related to […]

Halloween is in the rearview mirror and Black Friday is on the horizon. As such, retailers and logistics providers are gearing up for the annual holiday logistics crunch. The National Retail Federation (NRF) has stated that holiday spending is expected to be healthy even with recent inflationary challenges, and it forecasts that holiday retail sales […]

The countdown is officially on for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In 9 days, the host country will take on Ecuador in the first match of the group stage. This marks the first time that the World Cup will not be played in its traditional timeframe of June and July. Instead, due to the […]

There are certain movies that are simply iconic. These are the movies that everyone has seen, everybody can quote, and if it is on TV and you’re flipping through the channels, you will always watch it. Office Space fits this category for me. And now, Walmart is reviving the 1999 cult classic with a new […]

At the end of September, I attended FourKites Visibility 2022 in Chicago, IL. As the tagline said, I was there to learn, connect, and be inspired. Those were certainly three things that happened. I was also fortunate to moderate a panel that explored a partnership approach to supply chain optimization. In that panel, I spoke […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Can Buyuk at Solvoyo and examines the benefits of vendor collaboration. When it comes to business, companies aim to maximize their own objectives, such as sales and […]

Happy Friday, and happy October 28th. This is my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing colors, with vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows popping off the trees. The mornings are cool and crisp, and the afternoons warm up, which makes spending time out side that much more enjoyable. Fall sports are in in full […]

Artificial intelligence has been applied to just about every supply chain application imaginable, including transportation management and execution, demand planning, supply chain planning, warehouse management, and order management. It has also been embedded in autonomous trucks, robots, and drones for navigation. There are myriad applications outside of the supply chain world as well. A few […]

The network effect is at the heart of supply chain transformation. Essentially, the network effect exists when all components of the supply chain technology ecosystem work together to improve the performance of the end-to-end supply chain. A yard management system (YMS) is an integral component of this technology ecosystem.

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is the second installment from Ben Smeland, Senior Software Engineer, at Lucas Systems, and continues to explore gamification in the warehouse. In our first post on the use of […]

While the Halloween season is just getting started, retailers are clearly looking ahead. This past weekend, I decorated my house with my kids with our usual Halloween flare: skeletons, spiders, skulls, gravestones, and the ever-present flying bat. But for retailers, Halloween is mostly in the rearview mirror (except for the candy sales and last-minute costumes), […]

Earlier this week, I read a sobering report from the national Retail Federation (NRF) regarding shrink. For those unaware of the term, shrink is an accounting term used to describe when a store has fewer items in stock than in its recorded book inventory. Factors contributing to shrinkage include employee theft, shoplifting, administrative errors, vendor […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from FarEye and examines the challenges around last mile delivery. With the continued growth of e-commerce, last mile delivery has become more important than ever for […]

Last week I attended FourKites Visibility 2022 in Chicago, IL. It was nice to be back at an in-person event, networking with peers, learning from subject matter experts, and taking in the sights and sounds of Chicago. As the tagline said, I was there to learn, connect, and be inspired. I’d say that the conference […]

It’s hard to believe that Halloween is just five weeks away. And as consumers are beginning to think about their Halloween plans, retailers and manufacturers are looking much farther ahead to the holiday season. One key part of this is to determine holiday hiring (see below). Another is getting a product strategy in place. And […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Ahmad Jiwani at Coupa and looks at supply chain design. How often do you revisit and update your supply chain designs? Once a year? Once […]

At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption became a common phrase in the media. In truth, it went well beyond what was being reported in the newspapers and on TV. Supply chain disruption became a key talking point for just about everyone. As a supply chain analyst, I know that I instantly […]

Earlier this week, I was listening to Morning Addition on WBUR Boston. One of the guests was discussing the new words that were added to the Merriam Webster dictionary in September. In all, 370 new words were added. When many people use a word in the same way, over a long enough period of time, […]

Supply chain disruptions have brought about an age of innovation. From a transportation standpoint, this has included major technological advancements. Last week, I gave the keynote presentation at the Dangerous Goods Symposium, sponsored by LabelMaster and the DG Exchange. In my presentation, I highlighted five key transportation trends that are changing supply chains from a […]

Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell. These are the opening lines from one of my favorite songs, especially this time of year. And while it is not officially fall yet, summer vacation is over, and my kids are back to school and starting fall sports. That means a quiet […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article comes from Ben Smeland, Senior Software Engineer, at Lucas Systems, and looks at gamification in the warehouse. While labor woes are spurring many organizations to accelerate their […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Logistyx Technologies and looks at cloud multi-carrier parcel management systems. Not too long ago, if you were implementing a multi-carrier parcel management system, you had to […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote that Hershey would fall short of meeting demand for the Halloween and Christmas holiday seasons this year, blaming a scarcity of raw ingredients and difficulties in securing suppliers. Well, it’s not the only chocolate producer facing a shortfall. Mars Wrigley has confirmed that it is facing a temporary shortage […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from KNAPP and looks at innovations in e-grocery. Food retailers are predominantly depending on central fulfillment centers (CFC) and micro fulfillment centers (MFS) to process their […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from GEP and look at the impact of EV boom on the oil & gas market. The rising popularity of electric vehicles (EV) is not only […]

In May, I attended the Kinaxis Kinexions event in San Diego, CA. At the conference, I was fortunate to see a presentation from Brent Wilson, Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Qualcomm. I was also able to interview Brent after his session to get a little more insight on how Qualcomm dealt with […]

Some spices are meant to be grown and used year-round. Personally, I’m a fan of a few that I grow in my garden, such as mint, basil, and chives. Then there are the store-bought standbys, such as oregano, onion granules, garlic granules, and the basis of almost all recipes (along with salt), pepper. Using salt […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Emerge, and looks at how to create full truckload budgets in a volatile market. One of the more difficult activities that logistics executives have to […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Kirk Carlsen, Director of PLM Product Marketing at Oracle, and looks at the importance of IoT. During my time as a professional cyclist, I learned […]

I read earlier this week that pressure on the supply of critical materials will continue to mount as road transport electrification expands to meet net-zero ambitions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries will increase from around 340 GWh today to over 3500 GWh by 2030. In a recent […]

One of the most difficult and expensive aspects of the supply chain is last mile and home delivery. However, from a customer experience standpoint, it is also the most memorable and possibly important. Autonomous last mile deliveries are part of the answer to the e-commerce boom that we are experiencing. I have already written about […]

Supply chain disruptions continue to lead to product shortages around the world. Somehow, Halloween is (sort of) right around the corner, and a lack of raw ingredients for candy are making things more scary than a haunted house. I read earlier this week that Hershey said it would fall short of meeting demand for the […]

Toy companies are always looking for the next big thing. And for Mattel, that next big thing might be Space X. Mattel inked a multiyear deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to create a line of toys inspired by the space venture, the companies announced Wednesday. “As space exploration advances more quickly than ever before, we […]

Chameleon carriers have been around for decades, and while the FMCSA is trying to crack down on the practice, it is not an easy task. In 2021 alone, the FMCSA granted 109,340 new carrier authority applications. But with advanced technology, the FMCSA can now use automated risk-based assessments to help identify chameleon carriers.

The future is here. Literally. And I’m not talking about the future of home delivery with drones or robots (more on that later). Today, July 22, 2022, is George Jetson’s birthday. As in the actual day he was born. The futuristic cartoon is set in the year 2062, where 40-year-old George Jetson lives with his […]

Supply chain disruptions are continuing to occur for a variety of reasons. Weather delays can affect shipping lanes, manufacturers face product shortages, demand continues to spike for certain products, containers are difficult to acquire, and the trucking industry faces a driver and capacity shortage, just to name a few. One issue that does not get […]

School is out for the summer and kids are playing outside. Part of that could be due to a shortage in video game consoles. Nintendo is struggling to break out of a frustrating sales slowdown, selling 33 percent fewer units of Switch game systems in the April-June quarter than a year ago in Japan due […]

This weekend marks the 246th anniversary of Independence Day, which celebrates when the thirteen colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were united, free, and independent states. During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on […]

Supply chain sustainability is incredibly important to the future of our planet. And while it can be a money-saving opportunity from a transportation standpoint, there are more important issues at hand. Ideally, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Science Based Targets will co-exist with a clear vision to reduce greenhouse emissions and make a better future for us all. Thankfully there are thousands of companies that are investing in the future and making supply chain sustainability a priority.

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Alfred Hille at Descartes, and looks at supply chain resilience during waves of disruption. In today’s world where major global trade disruptions are more the […]

And just like that, once again, the Gronk spike is on its way out. Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end, Rob Gronkowski announced his second retirement this week. However, Gronkowski’s agent told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he wouldn’t be surprised if his client could be coaxed out of retirement for a second time by Buccaneers quarterback […]

This Sunday is Father’s Day, and consumers across the country are apparently ready to celebrate. According to the annual consumer survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, approximately 76 percent of US adults are expected to celebrate Father’s Day. And to celebrate, they will spend. Consumer spending this Father’s […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Wayne Snyder at Blue Yonder, and looks at the intricacies of the ever-growing same-day delivery market. The same-day delivery market is forecast to double over […]

Over the last couple of years, as the Covid pandemic has changed the way consumers interact and shop with retailers, brands, and consumer goods companies, last mile delivery has become increasingly important. Customer expectations for expedited delivery are becoming more commonplace, in both the B2B and B2C world. And as the lines continue to blur […]

Supply chain shortages have caused prices to rise globally on just about every consumer good imaginable. And mangoes are no exception. Apparently, this is the time of year when south Asians living in Calgary get excited for a treat that is partly about nostalgia, partly about re-connecting with their homeland, and partly about the sweet, […]

One of the issues with electric cars thus far has been the life of the battery. And this doesn’t just apply to how long can a vehicle go on a single charge; it also applies to the actual life of a battery, as a new battery can cost upwards of $25,000. Researchers at Tesla have […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Manhattan Associates and looks at the changing nature of retail. Making predictions about the future of retail – or anything – can be a fool’s […]

As my colleague Clint Reiser wrote about a few months back, warehouse labor has been in the news quite a bit lately. Of course, virtually everyone relied upon direct-to-consumer fulfillment at some point during the COVID-19 lockdowns, placing widespread reliance on warehousing capabilities. In the longer term, warehouse labor has been increasingly in high demand […]

We’ve all been talking about the looming supply chain talent shortage for quite some time. We are seeing it now in terms of truck drivers and warehouse workers, and Walmart is an example of a company that has been trying to get ahead of these shortages by offering higher wages and on-the-job perks. But I […]

Last week I attended Kinaxis Kinexions ’22 in San Diego, CA. This was my first in-person event in over two years, and it did not disappoint. You could feel the energy in the air as 450+ people seemed to really enjoy being back at an in-person event. We were also joined by over 1,500 people […]

After more than two years, I finally traveled for a conference again. I was in San Diego for Kinaxis Kinexions, and it was a great trip (I will have a full recap of the conference next week). And I have to say, that while it was weird to be in a room with 400 other […]

At some point, it seems we all have the need for speed. That being said, would you go over 280 MPH in a car? Better yet, would go over 280 MPH in a 3-D printed car? Well, according to Czinger, a Los Angeles-based boutique hypercar manufacturer, that is about to be a possibility. According to […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Longbow and looks at the ongoing labor shortage and supply chain visibility. Over the past 20-22 months, we have experienced worldwide disruptions that have altered […]

E-commerce continues to grow, and as a result, customer expectations are changing. The customer does not expect a similar experience across channels. Instead, they are seeking out a brand experience that allows them to interact through multiple channels during the shopping journey. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not they can […]

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you’re a little groggy and you accidentally pour orange juice into your cereal instead of milk? Cereal ruined, right? Well, maybe not. Even the orange juice specialists at Tropicana admit that OJ might not be the ideal choice for mixing with cereal, but in honor of […]

This past Monday marked the first normal Boston Marathon since 2019, as the 2020 marathon was canceled due to the Covid pandemic, and the 2021 marathon was shifted to October with a smaller field. And what a race it was. In the professional women’s division, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya and Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia dropped […]

Robots continue to be a larger part of global supply chains. When it comes to deploying robots, warehouse technology is more established, as the use of robots within warehouses is set to grow significantly. Warehouse labor shortages will continue to be the main growth driver for autonomous mobile robots. But there are other use cases […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from GEP and look at the impact of the SEC’s climate disclosure proposal. With so much current focus on sustainability and climate change, it should not […]

A couple of years ago, I mentioned that the robot uprising had reached the retail store. Well, now the uprising has reached your local coffee shop, and baristas everywhere should take notice. This week, Panera Bread announced that it would pilot Miso Robotics’ new automated coffee brewing system. Since its founding in 2016, Miso has […]

Anyone that has seen the movie Forrest Gump remembers the music montage of Forrest running across the country. At one point, a truck splashes mud all over him, and a t-shirt salesman hands Forrest a yellow shirt to clean his face. Forrest wipes his face, returns the shirt, and says “have a nice day.” It […]

A couple of weeks ago, I attended Körber Supply Chain’s Elevate User conference. While it was originally scheduled for San Diego, the ongoing Covid pandemic pushed it online once again this year. My colleague, Clint Reiser, wrote about Körber’s ongoing supply chain transformation, highlighting the company’s three main focus areas for 2022: 1) investments in […]

For the last decade or so, my wife and I have had a running joke about how she loves the Foo Fighters but doesn’t know any of their songs. The truth is, there are a lot songs that, when she hears them, she always asks “who sings this?” In the end, it is the Foo […]

Last Friday marked the 32nd anniversary of the largest art heist in the world. In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, two men, disguised as police officers, talked their way into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where they blindfolded and tied up the two security guards, and made off with thirteen […]

I am continuing to work on my latest Transportation Execution and Visibility Systems study, which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2026, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, customer size, and mode. One thing that has become abundantly clear over the last few […]

It is always interesting to see emerging technologies tackling new issues. At this year’s South by Southwest in Austin, TX, 3D printing is being shown in a whole new light. Icon, an Austin-based construction startup focused on 3D-printing technology, is showcasing one of its newest 3D-printed homes, dubbed “House Zero,” in East Austin. The project […]

When the Covid lockdown first hit, retail stores closed their doors, and consumers went online to order essential supplies. As the lockdown continued, and parents were running out of ideas of things to do with their kids, many turned to an old favorite that the kids could do independently or with their parents: Legos. The […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on the benefits of time slot management. In that article, I highlighted the importance of the network effect on time slot management and related technologies, as well as the main benefits of a time slot management application. Time slot management helps to organize warehouse resources to prepare […]

The name Lillie Elizabeth McGee Drennan probably doesn’t ring a bell, but as we enter March, which is Women’s History Month, it is a name worth knowing. Lillie Elizabeth McGee Drennan was the first licensed female truck driver and trucking firm owner. As a young woman, she started the Drennan Truck Line with her husband […]

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Eddie Capel, CEO of Manhattan Associates. During our conversation, Eddie and I spoke about the changing nature of global supply chains in the face of the ongoing Covid pandemic as well as the continuing surge of e-commerce. I asked Eddie to give his insights on a […]

When the final whistle blows, and the new Super Bowl champions are crowned, the players are immediately wearing “Super Bow Champion” t-shirts and hats. While printing operations have been greatly improved, clearly there is no way that these items are printed on-demand. Instead, they are printed ahead of time, for both teams. But what happens […]

Super Bowl weekend is finally here. And while I have no vested interest in the game, I am certainly looking forward it. And from the sounds of it, more people are looking forward to it this year than last year. Maybe it’s because Tom Brady isn’t playing. Maybe it’s because people want to see an […]

When it comes to keeping trucks on-time at a warehouse or distribution center, technology plays an essential role. Transportation management systems and real-time visibility solutions have generated the majority of attention for streamlining the process of getting a truck to the dock, loading or unloading it, and getting it back on the road. However, an […]

It’s hard to believe that after so many years, a legend of Boston has officially called it quits. A post earlier this week on Facebook read “After decades of brotherhood, touring the world and making great records together, we have decided to no longer continue on as a band. Above all, we want to express […]

Earlier this week, David Ortiz got the call from the Baseball Writers Association of America that he was the lone candidate elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I could not be happier for him. Ortiz was a larger-than-life figure in the Boston sports scene for 14 years, with more memorable moments than anyone other […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Manhattan Associates and looks at the growth of quick commerce. Quick commerce, rapid delivery, serving the ‘instant needs’ market. Call it what you’d like, but […]

Transportation execution solutions allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system.  Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network.  This enables improved estimated arrival times of goods. The transportation execution and visibility systems (TES) market has seen significant growth over the last few years […]

There has been a lot of buzz around facial recognition software lately. And this buzz has come down on both side of the issue, from the benefits off facial recognition software to the dangers and privacy concerns. I just read about a different take on facial recognition software that uses artificial intelligence in a little […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from FarEye and examines the challenges around big and bulky deliveries in 2022. As online retail continues its impressive growth, consumers and retailers alike are realizing […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Asena Denizeri & Anil Gurbuz at Solvoyo and examines the challenges around supply chain planning for 2022 and beyond. Since the start of the Covid-19 […]

Robots are everywhere these days, from warehouses to stores to even restaurants. And while there are some concerns about whether robots will take the place of their human counterparts in a number of industries, the owners of a restaurant employing four robot servers said it is a resounding “no.” Amy, Ella, Will, and Josh are […]

Last week, Clint Reiser published an article highlighting our 2022 supply chain predictions. While we have published predictions about supply chain technology trends at the beginning of the year in past years. This year we have decided to lead with our predictions about the broader supply chain function. While we look ahead to the future, […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Audrey Dong, from KNAPP, and looks at e-commerce in China and the impact of Singles Day. E-commerce in China has developed rapidly in the past […]

Welcome back! And while a new year has donned, the same supply chain issues and trends continue to unfold as we enter 2022. One of the biggest trends and areas of interest is around autonomous vehicles (see the TuSimple news below). The technology that is driving autonomous vehicles continues to improve, and as my colleague […]

It is really feeling like the holiday season, as we got our first dusting of snow in the Boston area this week. And the holiday season means that once again another year is coming to an end. This was certainly another strange year, as the in-person conferences I usually look forward to were once again […]

Cargo theft continues to be a problem, especially around the holidays. And I don’t just mean the winter holidays; cargo theft typically spikes during any holiday season where businesses may be closed for an extra day or two. But what exactly is cargo theft? I found a very detailed definition on the Texas Department of […]

Black Friday is in the books, and unsurprisingly, it was a big one. According to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, nearly 180 million Americans shopped during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. This exceeded initial estimates by more than 21 million […]

Halloween is in the rearview mirror and Black Friday is on the horizon. As such, retailers and logistics providers are gearing up for the annual holiday logistics crunch. The National Retail Federation (NRF) has forecast that holiday sales during November and December will grow between 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent over 2020 to between $843.4 […]

There was a lot of anticipation around electric vehicle start-up Rivian going public. On the second day of trading, the company’s shares spiked, surpassing both Ford and General Motors by market cap. While it is still well below the market cap of Tesla, Rivian’s valuation topped $100 billion. The valuation means Amazon’s 20 percent stake […]

The wine industry has been hit hard in the US over the last couple of years. Pre-pandemic, this was mostly due to droughts and wildfires, which ravaged the West Coast, and destroyed millions of acres of vineyards. For 2021, there has been another hiccup, which the wine industry may refer to as the great supply […]

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Pervinder Johar, CEO of Blume Global. During our conversation, Pervinder and I spoke about the changing nature of supply chain management, especially in the face of the ongoing Covid pandemic. I asked Pervinder to give his insights on a few key points. First, what […]

Who doesn’t remember their first phone? For my parents, it was a rotary phone at a stand-alone point in the hallway. For my wife, it was a see-through 80’s phone that gave her the freedom to talk to her friends every night. For me, it was a clunky cellphone that would cause me to butt-dial […]

We’ve all heard the news that storage containers are increasingly more difficult to come by, and as a result, this could impact the upcoming holiday season. But just how scarce are they? The spot rate of booking a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles hit $10,229 the first week of August, up 238 percent […]

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Fleming, President at Logistyx Technologies. In our conversation, Ken spoke about some of the findings from a recent survey Logistyx conducted on cross-border holiday spending, as well as some larger trends around the state of parcel shipping. I asked Ken to give me some deeper […]

I just read an interesting article about Chris Johnson, former top sales executive at Apple and CEO of JC Penney. It seems that Mr. Johnson is on a quest to “remake the retail world” as he takes his new company public. The company in question is Enjoy, and it runs mobile retail stores for its […]

A few week ago, I wrote an article about the transformative nature of the plant-based meat supply chain. Over the last few years, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have been creating meat substitutes that promise to eat “more like meat.” Fast food chains around the country have been introducing meatless burgers, and now Burger King […]

Tom Brady is coming back to Foxboro. Unfortunately, he is not coming back in a Patriots uniform. Sunday night will mark Brady’s first appearance as a Buccaneer against his old team, and his first visit to Gillette Stadium since leaving the club after the 2019 season. Not only that, but he only needs 68 yards […]

A big part of sustainability initiatives includes the use of ethical sourcing. Ethical sourcing is the process of ensuring that the products made are obtained through responsible and sustainable methods. While we have seen more companies promoting ethical sourcing, does the consumer really care?

Good help is hard to find. And finding good help has become increasingly difficult as the Covid pandemic has caused labor shortages across a number of industries. One industry that has been hit hard is the restaurant industry, where owners and managers are having an incredibly difficult time finding servers. One Connecticut restaurant is taking […]

Over the years, sustainability has been increasingly embraced by consumers and brands alike. For many, this has caused them to re-examine the foods that they eat. In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the plant-based meat market, with new entrants joining those that have been around for decades. The plant-based meat supply chain […]

Taco Bell continues to be innovative in its efforts to get tacos into its customers hands. A few weeks ago, I wrote about a Taco Bell franchisee that is building a new restaurant that the chain said will be the fastest way to get its food: a two-story, technology-heavy unit with four drive-thru lanes dubbed […]

It’s hard to believe it has been twenty years since the terrorist attacks on the US. In some ways it seems so long ago as so much has changed in the world. And in other ways, it feels like it was just yesterday. I can remember exactly where I was, how I heard about it, […]

When it comes to real-time visibility, the market is becoming more important and more robust than ever before. Billions of venture capital dollars of investment are being poured into companies that can integrate real-time visibility data with transportation to provide a more informed ETA for shippers and carriers. The need to know where products are, […]

This weekend is Labor Day, which is usually the final week of summer vacation. However, given the late nature of the holiday, my kids went back to school this week. It’s amazing how quickly the summer came to an end. I almost feel like we didn’t even have enough time for back-to-school shopping. But apparently, […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Lucas Systems and highlights the ways to reduce warehouse travel. Labor is the single largest operating cost in most DCs and warehouse travel often accounts […]

When it comes to managing your freight spend, there are a few options to consider. The three traditional methods are the use of a transportation management system (TMS), transportation execution system (TES), and managed transportation services (MTS). Ultimately it comes down to whether shippers want to manage their freight spend in-house or outsource it. A […]

Getting a parking ticket is always a frustrating experience. Last weekend, I took my kids to this cool skate park under the Zakim Bridge, parking at North Point Park in Cambridge. We got back to the car about 2 minutes after our meter expired, only to see the parking enforcement officer driving away and a […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from GlobalTranz and looks at the difficult decision of transitioning in-house logistics to managed services. The supply chain is evolving, and the standards used for managed […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from FourKites and examines ocean trends for 2021. 2020 was a tumultuous year for supply chains, and 2021 has certainly followed suit. With summer winding down, […]

This summer has been an interesting one weather-wise in the Boston area. In June, we experienced more than one heat wave, which is defined as three or more days in a row where the temperature reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above. As a ridiculously hot June came to an end, we experienced a prolonged period […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from FarEye and highlights the importance of last mile optimization. Online retailers need to work hard to please e-commerce customers in this advanced digital age. The […]

Grocery delivery is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it’s been around for more than 3 decades, although the ongoing pandemic has certainly lifted the market to new heights. However, I should clarify that when I say grocery delivery, I am talking about e-commerce grocery delivery. The home delivery model has been around for a […]

For the US Women’s National Soccer Team, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were supposed to be another Gold Medal event, as it entered with a 44-match unbeaten streak. That streak came to an end in its first match, a 3-0 loss to Sweden, which happened to be the last team to defeat the US. And while […]

I am working on my latest Transportation Execution and Visibility Systems study, which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2025, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, customer size, and mode. As I mentioned in an earlier post on the growth drivers for the […]

Who wouldn’t like to go to space? For billionaires, it is now a reality instead of a rhetorical question. As my colleague Steve Banker pointed out earlier this week, billionaire egotism trumps sustainability, as Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and others battle it out to get to space first. Earlier this week, Jeff Bezos […]

Much like the Olympics were pushed off for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so too was the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020. This was the 16th Euro Championship, a quadrennial international men’s football championship of Europe. And the final, which was played […]

I am wrapping up my Transportation Management Systems market study which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2025, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, and customer size. A key piece of the study is looking at the key drivers for TMS growth from […]

The kick-off to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan is just two weeks away, after being postponed last summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During a normal Olympics, millions of spectators flock to venues to watch over 300 events unfold over the course of two-plus weeks. However, this year, like most everything during Covid, […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Kinaxis and explores the TikTok Effect. Or, why you need  demand planning for going viral on social media. Overnight, millions of people are clamoring for […]

A few years ago, I took a family vacation to Copenhagen, where the autonomous train system brought joy to my whole family. One of the things we had planned to see while we were there, but never got around to, was the six forgotten giants, by recycle art activist artist Thomas Dambo. Fast forward three […]

Marisa Brown, Senior Principal Research Lead, Supply Chain Management at APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center) recently gave a presentation at ARC Advisory Group’s Supply Chain Forum. In her presentation, Ms. Brown examined supplier risk during a crisis, supply chain disruption, supply chain risk, and how organizations can shift from surviving to thriving. The following article highlights […]

States continue to push for residents to sign up for the Covid-19 vaccination. In Massachusetts, the state is rolling out the Vax Express this week, which is a partnership between the MBTA and private health startup CIC Health. The program will use an MBTA commuter rail train to create a rolling vaccination site that will […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from GlobalTranz and explores white glove services in transportation management. In logistics, not all shipments are equal. There are tiers for rates, mode, and freight class, […]

Supply chain sustainability is increasingly important for the future of business and the world as a whole. Companies are investing more money into sustainability initiatives, seeking to reduce waste and carbon emissions. As we’ve written about a number of times before, global companies are looking at various initiatives when it comes to sustainability, including energy […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Lucas Systems and highlights the benefits of machine learning in the warehouse. Real-world uses of AI in business have exploded in the past decade, but […]

Sometimes, you need to add a little color to make people happy. After World War II, Brussels was in a state of depression. Pierre Draps, founder of Godiva Chocolates, had the company’s delivery trucks painted pink, a color that soon became synonymous with spreading happiness during a dark and difficult time. As we have written […]

Often times, a shot and a beer go hand in hand. And President Biden is making sure the American public knows this; although this is not the traditional shot and a beer you are probably thinking of. The White House has partnered with Anheuser-Busch offering free beers if the country reaches its goal of getting […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Open Sky Group and highlights the need for a smarter transportation management system. Dodge ball. Mention the game and almost everyone has something to say. […]

From a historical perspective, transportation management systems are all about freight savings. However, with the ongoing pandemic, and the resulting capacity crunch, TMS is trending more towards cost mitigation rather than savings. Manhattan Associates unveiled its latest TMS, Manhattan Active Transportation Management, last week during the company’s virtual user conference. Manhattan Active TM was redesigned […]

Amazon has continued to grow its logistics network over the last few years, adding more branded trucks, airplanes, and drones. But the company is not happy with just owning logistics; it continues to expand its Prime benefits. And now, Amazon has added Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to its portfolio. On Wednesday, Amazon announced it would acquire MGM […]

Sometimes when a company has too many similar options it can cause a lot of confusion. This appears to be the case for Amazon as it has expanded its grocery options over the years. For Amazon customers, things could certainly be a bit overwhelming as they tried to decipher the difference between Amazon Go, Amazon […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Blume Global and highlights why air freight forwarders must help industry increase air cargo visibility. Adversity forces innovation, especially for those resistant to change. With […]

Two adjectives that often describe the most successful supply chains are adaptive and resilient. An adaptive supply chain is one that is able to respond quickly to changes and disruption, and the ensuing changes to demand. A resilient supply chain is able to recover quickly from these disruptions. These terms perfectly describe the Asian Paints […]

Today, May 14, marks 221 years since the 6th United States Congress recessed. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, PA and in Washington, DC from March 4, 1799, to March 4, 1801, during the last two years of John Adams’ presidency. What makes this Congressional recess importance is the fact that it was the […]

Mother’s Day is this weekend, and consumers appear ready to shower mothers with more gifts than ever before. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), which has been conducting an annual survey on Mother’s Day spending since 2003, as more people are getting vaccinated and stimulus checks are being distributed, consumers are going all out […]

Supply chain sustainability and the concept of “going green” continues to drive a lot of operational initiatives and innovations as companies and countries look at their overall carbon footprint and look for ways to be more environmentally friendly. There is of course a system of checks and balances for global corporations when looking at supply […]

The Noid is back. For those unfamiliar, let me explain. In 1986, when Domino’s Pizza was pushing its 30-minute delivery timeframes, it introduced the Noid in its advertising campaigns. The Noid, wearing a red skin-tight suit with rabbit ears, was a “physical manifestation of all the challenges inherent in getting a pizza delivered in 30 […]

Thirty-six years ago today marks either one of the greatest marketing blunders or success stories of all-time, depending on how you look at it, of course. Concerned that it was losing market share to other soft drinks, and the fact that in some blind taste tests consumers preferred the sweeter taste of Pepsi, Coca-Cola changed […]

Last month I participated in Oracle’s Perfect Delivery Virtual Summit, along with Matt Leonard from Supply Chain Dive, Marcelo de Matheus from Tramontina, and Mohamed Absar from DP World. The point of the virtual summit was to discuss how streamlining the order-to-fulfillment process achieves perfect delivery, improves customer loyalty, and reduces costs. Below are some […]

We are truly living in the smart era; we have smart phones, smart TVs, smart cars, smart appliances, and really just about any other smart item you could imagine. And now, the smart face mask is set to become a reality. In January, game hardware company Razer unveiled what was then called Project Hazel during […]

Over the last year, we have seen shortages of almost everything you can imagine. The most famous shortage, of course, was the toilet paper shortage, which was really more about a shift in usage and panic buying than production. We have also seen shortages of semiconductor chips, shipping containers, and even test monkeys (seriously). And […]

Ashok Vantipalli, Vice President of IT, recently spoke at ARC Advisory Group’s Supply Chain Forum. Mr. Vantipalli works for TireHub and discussed the company’s ongoing digital transformation efforts. They have implemented a variety of supply chain applications to build out the business model, with the mantra of “crawl, walk, run.” They are currently in the walk […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is by Jim D’Addario, Director of Product Marketing SCM at Oracle, and highlights where to get started on the journey to the perfect delivery, How do you […]

Spring brings about a plethora of annual traditions. For example, yesterday was Major League Baseball’s opening day, which turned into a rainout for my hometown Red Sox. Another yearly tradition is the emergence of annual cicadas, which are found in every US state. This year, however, the annual cicadas will be joined by periodical cicadas, […]

We have certainly seen a large number of companies looking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce their carbon footprints. A lot of this effort comes down to more sustainable sourcing, which tends to make environmental-conscious consumers happy. But for consumers, it is often difficult to measure the climate impact of what we eat. […]

Three years ago, my colleague Steve Banker wrote an article about the Amazon supply chain, asking if it was the most innovative in the world. In the article, he wrote about Amazon Relay, the acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon the carrier, and the expansion of its warehousing capabilities. As the world is in year two […]

In April of 2005, just a month after completing my first half marathon (and vowing I would never run a full marathon in my life), I went to the finish line at the Boston Marathon and saw Team Hoyt for the first time. Team Hoyt consisted of father and son duo Dick and Rick Hoyt. […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Logistyx Technologies, and highlights some of the reasons a company would want to implement a cloud multi-carrier parcel management system. Not too long ago, if […]

This past Monday was International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women. This year’s theme is “choose to challenge” and […]

As part of ARC Advisory Group’s Supply Chain Forum last month, I had the opportunity to speak with Kathleen Geraghty, Vice President of North American Sales at ToolsGroup. During our conversation, we touched on a number of topics around the supply chain planning market. You can watch also the full interview below. Specifically, I asked […]

After nearly a full year of panic, I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. With more vaccines available, and Massachusetts expanding its eligible pool of those waiting to be vaccinated, I am getting closer to breathing a sigh of relief. This week alone, both my parents and […]

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Nil Durak, Chief Operating Officer at Solvoyo as part of ARC’s Supply Chain Forum. In this conversation, Nil and I spoke about the big picture of supply chain digital transformation, as well as taking a deeper dive into the supply chain planning market as […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Omer Ucar at Solvoyo. It was mid-March when my flatmate and I burst into a panic as the first cases of COVID-19 were officially announced. […]

Earlier this week, ARC Advisory Group held its 2021 Supply Chain Forum. Titled Accelerating Digital Transformation in Supply Chain & Logistics, the virtual event brought together thought leaders and practitioners to discuss digital transformation and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on global supply chains. Of course, companies mean different things when they use the […]

ARC Advisory Group engaged in an informative discussion with Derek Gittoes, VP Supply Chain Management Product Strategy at Oracle, as part of ARC’s Digital Supply Chain Forum. Derek recently authored an article on Logistics Viewpoints describing recent advancements in logistics predictability through the application of machine learning. And we thought this to be a great […]

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. In case you are not totally familiar, here’s a quick breakdown. The Lunar New Year, which is also called Spring Festival, marks the first full moon of the lunar calendar and generally takes place between January 21 and February 20. The dates of the New […]

The Super Bowl is here, and for what seems like the yearly norm, Tom Brady is playing once again. But this time, things are different for a number of reasons. First, and most obvious, is that Brady is not playing for the Patriots. Instead, he will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into battle against the […]

Tom Brady has done it again. But like everything else in the world, it’s different this time around. For the first time in his career, Brady was not under center for the New England Patriots this season. Instead, he opted to move south this past off-season to take over the reigns for the Tampa Bay […]

One of the most expensive parts of e-commerce has taken on a whole new meaning over the last 12 months: returns. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in e-commerce sales that could not have been predicted. Starting in May, monthly e-commerce sales soared beyond a normal holiday season, with no signs of slowing down. […]

With the ongoing pandemic, all of life’s big events are different, even on the global stage. On Wednesday, Joe Biden was officially inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. The logistics around the event were difficult, but again they were different. The biggest difference this year was the size of the crowd. Normally, […]

It’s that time of year again: Girl Scout Cookie season. Although, in recent years, the season has really been extended to a year-round event as you can buy them online. But there is still the initial rush when consumers can buy them from their local troop. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic is shifting things as […]

I recently completed my latest study on the transportation execution and visibility solutions market. Transportation execution allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system.  Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network.  This enables improved estimated arrival times of goods. These solutions do not […]

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday season and was able to get some much-needed rest. I know I certainly did. And luckily, unlike a large number of people out there, all of my Christmas packages arrived on time (although there were a few close calls). According to new data, while UPS, FedEx, […]

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. And while it has been one of the most challenging and difficult years in recent memory, it has also been a great year of bringing you the all the biggest supply chain and logistics news. Like in years past, I have learned a lot […]

It’s the last few weeks of the year which means it is time to look back at the year in logistics. And 2020 was certainly quite the year in logistics. As always, it was a busy year covering the latest supply chain and logistics trends, emerging technologies, mergers and acquisitions, major news announcements, and more. […]

Four months ago I mentioned that after 30-plus years of golfing, my mom recorded her very first hole-in-one. As excited as my mom was, I know my dad was equally excited for her. They have been golfing together for the last 30-plus years, playing in tournaments and leagues together. My dad actually has another 30 […]

Even though this year will be very different than other years, the Thanksgiving logistics headaches will continue. The turkey supply chain remains a complex balancing act between supply and demand, especially at the fresh turkey level. Smaller gatherings could have an impact on demand for smaller birds, which can throw an added complexity into the mix. For those that enjoy a Black Friday deal after a day of turkey, this will be a different year as well. A pivot to more online-centric deals looms; and for those that do go to stores, the experience will be vastly different. But then again, everything has been different in 2020.

On Sunday, Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop announced that it had completed the world’s first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system. For those not familiar with the hyperloop, I’ll explain. A hyperloop system uses magnetic levitation to allow near-silent travel at high speeds; it is the same technology used in high-speed bullet trains. […]

As I wrote earlier this week, the election is behind us – well, maybe not. With record numbers of mail-in votes still being counted, a winner has yet to be declared. As of the writing of this, swing states including Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina were still counting ballots, and the races are too […]

Regardless of whether consumers and retailers are ready, holiday shopping – and shipping – season is here! With carriers announcing capacity shortages and major headlines advertising “Shipageddon,” consumers have been encouraged to start shopping for the holidays NOW.  While this elongated holiday shopping season can certainly create new revenue opportunities for retailers, retailers can only capitalize on the opportunity if their parcel shipping operations are prepared to execute.

The election is behind us (well, maybe not), and during the campaign COVID-19 was a key talking point for both President Trump and former Vice President Biden. One of the biggest questions that still does not have an answer is when a coronavirus vaccine will be ready. Beyond that, there are all the logistical hurdles […]

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is Halloween. And like everything else over the last six-plus months, Halloween will be different this year. Cities and towns across the country have released trick or treating guidelines that have either canceled the practice or changed it to ensure proper social distancing and mask wearing. In my town, […]

I may be in the minority here, but I’m just going to come out and say it. I do not like glitter. I dislike glitter so much that some of my friends have (jokingly) threatened to send me a glitter bomb package. I’m the only one in my family that feels so strongly about it. […]

Last week’s Amazon Prime Day kicked off what will surely be a wild 2020 holiday season. While the numbers are not official yet, most estimates have Prime Day raking in nearly $10.5 billion in worldwide sales. Not to be outdone, Walmart and Target launched their own online deals to coincide with Prime Day. Black Friday […]

As Boston sports fans, we have become accustomed to duck boat parades. Since 2000, the city has hosted 12 rolling rallies for major sports championships, including 6 for the Patriots, 4 for the Red Sox, and 1 each for the Celtics and Bruins. And if not for a few heartbreaks along the way, that number […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Kinaxis. Outdated software isn’t just a headache to manage. It’s a business blocker. In a moment when unpredictable shifts in the flow of goods to […]

Earlier this week, guitar legend Eddie Van Halen died after a decade-long battle with cancer. He was often referred to as a guitar god, playing with blistering speed and bringing the tapping technique to the mainstream. One of the coolest stories I have heard about him this week was how he came to play the […]

Omni-channel retailing is one of the hottest trend in supply chain management right now. With e-commerce continuing to grow, there is more focus on Web commerce than brick and mortar. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has pushed e-commerce to levels that would not have been believed just six months ago. For example, in the US, May […]

In a normal year, Amazon launches its Prime Day sales extravaganza in the middle of summer. Well, as we all know, this is not a normal year. So, Amazon had to postpone its annual sale due to the impact coronavirus had on demand and shipping capabilities, with a promise of Prime Day at a later […]

Forty-six years ago today, Dr. Frank Jobe performed the first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery on baseball player Tommy John. At the time, this was an experimental surgery, and Jobe put the chances for success of the operation at 1 in 100. The procedure is certainly a complex one. A 3 to 4-inch surgical incision […]

As I’ve mentioned a few times here, COVID-19 has changed the nature of my job. Two weeks ago, instead of traveling to an in-person event, I joined the FourKites Visibility 2020 conference from the confines of my home office. The conference was an excellent event, with a clear message of how the company is moving forward during the current pandemic, a vision of what is to come, and a number of customer success stories.

Over the last six-plus months, the coronavirus pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of our lives. We have dealt with the health implications of COVID as well as economic hardships, the closing of schools and businesses, delays and changes to our daily schedules, and a pivot in how many of us work, just to name […]

On June 1, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revised the hours of service (HOS) regulations for motor carriers. The HOS final rule will go into effect on September 29th, 2020.
The FMCSA HOS final rule is intended to provide drivers flexibility while promoting safety for drivers on the road. As shippers contend with rising freight rates and managing heightened shipment volumes, while at the same time preparing for retail peak season, understanding the potential impact of the new ruling on truckload capacity is critical to success now and through the end of 2020.

Over the last few months, I’ve seen stories about people receiving random, unidentified seeds in the mail. Usually, the package came from China and had something else listed as the contents on the outside. However, once it was opened, there were just seeds with no description. The USDA in July said the packages were most […]

When it comes to managing your freight spend, there are a few options to consider. The three traditional methods are the use of a transportation management system (TMS), transportation execution system (TES), and managed transportation services (MTS). Ultimately it comes down to whether shippers want to manage their freight spend in-house or outsource it. We […]

As the COVID pandemic continues, we have written a number of articles about the supply chain impact and the shortages of products and supplies that has ensued. Recently, there was a concern that there would be a shortage of glass vials for a vaccine that could hinder production. And I just read about another shortage […]

One of the most difficult and expensive aspects of the supply chain is last mile and home delivery. However, from a customer experience standpoint, it is also the most memorable and possibly important. Home delivery has become an increasingly hot topic as a result, and last week, I spoke on a panel about last mile […]

About a month and a half ago, I wrote about a trend sweeping Facebook nation: “Top 10 Albums that Influence Your Taste in Music.” And as I wrote, there are certain bands that define specific eras of my life. One of the biggest bands in my life over the last 40 years has been Metallica. […]

It is back to school shopping season again, but things sure have changed. With the future uncertain, coronavirus could push back-to-school shopping to record levels as families make contingency plans for remote learning. The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics released their annual survey on back-to-school spending, and consumers tentatively plan to […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the nature of my job quite a bit. The pandemic hit just as we were heading into our busy conference season. So instead of traveling across the country attending conferences, networking with peers, and in most cases, enjoying a bit of sunshine either by the pool or on the beach, […]

According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of the average golfer making a hole-in-one are 12,000 to 1. I was actually a little surprised by the odds, as I would have assumed that they were much lower. Last Friday afternoon I received a text message from my mom letting me know that she had […]

As my colleague Clint Reiser pointed out in last week’s news round-up, baseball is back. And while the season will look a lot different than in years past, it is back. At least until it isn’t. Unlike the NHL and NBA which chose to use bubble cities to contain the teams, baseball teams are still […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article comes from Vivek Vaid, CTO at FourKites, and examines how to predict accurate shipments ETAs. Predictive intelligence is a big deal these days. In talking to one […]

I recently wrapped up my Transportation Management Systems market study which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2024, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, and customer size. The study includes a holistic view of the TMS outlook. I was recently interviewed by ARC Advisory Group’s Allen Avery to take a deeper look into the TMS outlook for the foreseeable future and identify some of the larger trends in the TMS market.

It is always interesting to me to see the creative ways that companies try to collect data about their customers. Over the last few years I have seen an increasing number of “challenges” being shared on Facebook that in reality are simply ways to gather more information about its users. These include picture challenges, such […]

I have recently completed a market study and supplier selection guide on the Transportation Management Systems (TMS) market. A TMS helps companies move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively. Transportation management systems include 2 types of solutions. Planning and execution is focused on freight moves involving a carrier. The complete process would […]

A little over a year and a half ago I saw Hamilton in Boston. The show was incredible, but I always wondered if I missed out by not seeing the original cast on Broadway. When I initially heard that Hamilton was set to hit the big screen in 2021 with a filmed performance by the […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week’s blog comes from Oracle, and examines how the global supply chain responds to turmoil. Disruptions can come in many sizes. From those smaller, everyday disruptions of machines […]

When it comes to TMS and digital freight, there is a lot of interest. More and more TMS suppliers are integrating digital marketplaces into their core TMS offering. As the supply chain world continues down its digital transformation path, digital brokers can play an integral role in easing capacity constraints, opening up new lanes, and providing a benchmarking tool for shippers. It is certainly an exciting time for the TMS market.

Baseball is back! Well, sort of. After a long series of negotiations, Major League Baseball and its players have finally agreed on a format to begin the 2020 season. The season is set to begin in late July and will be condensed to a 60-game schedule with a number of changes from a normal season. […]

If this was a normal year, I would be writing that today is the last day of school for my kids (and my song of the week would clearly be School’s Out by Alice Cooper). However, this is not a normal year. In fact, I would refer to these days as strange days. Massachusetts schools […]

Artificial intelligence has been applied to just about every supply chain application imaginable, including transportation management and execution, demand planning, supply chain planning, warehouse management, and order management. It has also been embedded in autonomous trucks, robots, and drones for navigation. There are myriad applications outside of the supply chain world as well, but I […]

Transportation and coronavirus have been getting a lot of attention lately. The global supply chain is becoming more complex due to increased regulations, trade wars, cross-border commerce, and most recently, the impact of coronavirus. FourKites founder and CEO Matt Elenjickal shares his thoughts on transportation and coronavirus.

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week’s blog comes from HighJump – now Körber, and examines various warehouse picking technologies and how they compare to voice picking. Warehouse order picking describes the process of […]

UPS has dubbed January 2 as National Returns Day, where the company ships close to 2 million unwanted items back to retailers. While retailers plan for the holiday buying surge for months, they take equal care in preparing for the influx of returns when the holiday season ends. But as we know, 2020 is a […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week’s post comes from Logitsyx Technologies. Now is the right time for retailers to review their transportation strategy and consider the lessons they’re learning during the coronavirus pandemic.  For example, is the transportation strategy flexible? Is it scalable?  Has it met the demands of this unusual environment? Or are changes necessary? Here are six opportunities for retailers to optimize their transportation strategy to meet 2020’s peak season challenges.

Is the future of drones here? There have been plenty of trials that would indicate that home delivery drones are right around the corner. The FAA has loosened restrictions and selected eight companies to help establish technical requirements for home delivery. However, there are still a number of obstacles to overcome. But, for other uses, drones are getting the job done. This includes inventory management within warehouses and yards, monitoring equipment at ports, farms, and job sites, and re-stocking ships at sea. With these use cases in mind, the present and future of drones both look bright when it comes to drones.

On Wednesday, SpaceX was set to become the first piloted launch to orbit of a privately owned and operated spaceship. The launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft also would have been the first piloted flight to orbit from US soil in nearly nine years. However, bad weather rolled through Florida and the launch was scrubbed. […]

This Monday is an important day. It is Memorial Day, a US federal holiday to honor and mourn the military personnel who have died while serving in the Armed Forces. But that is not the only important thing happening on Monday. It is also my birthday. And while this is exciting, there is still one […]

The post COVID world will likely look a lot different than what we experienced just a few short months ago. As economies begin to open, restrictions abound and are likely to remain in place until a vaccine is created and administered across the country. In this post COVID world, the supply chain will continue to be a key cog in ensuring that the economy can function, and home deliveries will be the new normal for more and more of our retail needs. To that end, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS have put changes in place to deal with the changing nature of customer demands and interactions.

As the world continues to turn during the coronavirus pandemic, we are all adjusting to the new normal. However, what that new normal will ultimately look like is still an unknown. But for now, there are certain things that we are getting used to, such as social distancing and wearing face covers. But how will […]

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. But it will certainly be different than Mother’s Days of years past. Instead of getting together and enjoying brunch and hug, more people will be looking at socially distanced or virtual celebrations. Even so, people are ready to spend this Mother’s Day. According to an annual survey from the national […]

As an analyst at ARC Advisory Group, this is normally my busy travel time of the year. Along with my colleagues Steve Banker and Clint Reiser, I am usually attending a number of industry and customer events across the country. However, this year things are very different; coronavirus is pushing these events to online virtual […]

Sustainability has been a hot topic in supply chain and manufacturing circles lately. Earlier this week I saw an article about Taylor Guitars, one of the world’s most well-known makers of acoustic guitars, and how it has been looking at alternatives to using exotic wood for its instruments as regulations around the use of exotic […]

A few months ago, I attended the ARC Advisory Group’s Industry Forum in Orlando. While I was there, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview a few ARC analysts including Craig Resnick, Harry Forbes, Inderpreet Shoker, and Jim Frazier. I also had the opportunity to sit down with Ed O’Brien and discuss digital […]

This past Monday was Patriots Day, which in Boston is one of the best sports days of the year. But, due to coronavirus, the Boston Marathon has been pushed off until September (hopefully) and the Red Sox season is on hold. Usually, millions of spectators flock to the historic marathon route to cheer on the […]

The future remains uncertain as the country continues to combat COVID-19. A big question facing the nation is when and how to re-open the economy. While some states are pushing to re-open their economy (or beaches, in the case of Florida), others are cautioning that doing so too early would be socially irresponsible and bad […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week, we look at BluJay Solutions’ Freight Market Index. As we all find ourselves in uncharted territory with the COVID-19 pandemic, data is as critical as ever to […]

It’s a wild world right now. As people everywhere look to flatten the curve, we have tentatively moved beyond the “panic-buying” stage of COVID-19. However, things are rapidly evolving when it comes to grocery shopping. Many stores are limiting the number of people in stores at one time, leading to long lines outside of stores […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article is from Kinaxis. Digital transformation. It sounds oh-so-glamorous at first. But digitization is not a panacea for the world’s (or even just one company’s) supply chain problems. […]

As sports around the world continue their imposed hibernation, the companies that supply athletes and teams with sports equipment are shifting their focus. Rather than producing uniforms, equipment, and apparel, many companies are now producing masks for healthcare professionals as supplies continue to run low. Nike is re-purposing sneakers to make face masks and shields […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. The concern over COVID-19 remains a hot topic for supply chains, let alone the general public. Yesterday I read a blog from FourKites about how supply chains have remained resilient […]

A couple of months ago I wrote an article about 3D printing and the supply chain, looking at how additive manufacturing can and will impact the end to end global supply chain. Specifically, I looked at how companies are beginning to explore on-demand manufacturing rather than traditional manufacturing models, meaning they can keep less physical […]

The coronavirus pandemic has moved non-essentials employees to their home offices for the last few weeks and for the foreseeable future. This has dramatically increased the popularity of virtual conferencing app Zoom, as employees, students, and friends look to remain connected in this time of isolation. Just how popular has the app become? Currently, it […]

Across the country stay-at-home orders have been extended for another month as we grapple with the ongoing reality of COVID-19. This means that schools, libraries, daycare centers, and other non-essential businesses are closed for the foreseeable future. As a father of young children, this certainly poses a unique set of challenges as my wife and […]

Autonomous technology continues to make an impact on the supply chain. The autonomous supply chain, as I am writing about it here, applies to moving goods without human intervention (to some degree at least). One of the more interesting examples I have seen is from the Belgian brewery De Halve Maan, which in an effort […]

We all knew this day would come eventually. I just don’t think any of us saw it shaking out quite like this. After 20 years, 18 post-seasons, 14 Pro Bowls, 6 Super Bowl championships, 4 Super Bowl MVP awards, 3 regular season MVP awards, and the most dramatic comeback in Super Bowl history, Tom Brady […]

Coronavirus continues to impact the world, stunting supply chains and the global economy. The impact has been far reaching, and at Logistics Viewpoints, we have documented many areas of concern, including the impact on manufacturing supply chains in Southeast Asia, the automotive and pharmaceutical supply chains, the high-tech supply chain, and the impact on retail. […]

Coronavirus is certainly making an impact on the world, and more cases continue to pop up in the US every day. Over the past few days, the NBA, NHL, and MLS have suspended their seasons, MLB is postponing spring training and the start of the season, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been […]

It’s an interesting and unsettling time to be a Boston sports fan. As I’ve noted on here a number of times, we are living in an era of winning that is unprecedented. Every Big 4 team has won at least 1 championship over the last 20 years and the cumulative sits 12. And that number […]

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. The Konami Code. For any kid that grew up in the 80’s this code should resonate. It was the guarantee (or at least your best chance) that you could beat Contra, a multi-player, run-and-gun video game developed by Konami in 1988. However, the code […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Coronavirus, and the supply chain impact are being felt worldwide. As my colleague Steve Banker and I wrote about last week, coronavirus is leaving its mark on the global […]

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has been around in one shape or form for a while. The process essentially entails building a three-dimensional object from computer-aided design (CAD) to add material layer by layer until a final product is complete. The use cases for 3D printing cover most anything you can imagine. In fact, recently, […]

As technology continues to make incredible advances, there are also annoyances that are commonplace these days. One annoyance is constant privacy concerns over whether or not our devices are listening to us. My wife and I are constantly amazed by the ads that come up in our Facebook feed after a conversation about a TV […]

Sustainability continues to be a hot topic within supply chain management. One area that has proven to be an uphill battle is the reduction of packaging waste for home deliveries. I actually wrote about this topic as one of my very first Logistics Viewpoints articles nearly six years ago. To this day, when I receive […]

Earlier this week, the death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus rose to over 1,000 people, invoking memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak. While the human aspect of this outbreak is clearly the biggest story, the virus is causing major disruptions in global supply chains as well. As my colleague Steve Banker pointed out yesterday, the global high-tech supply chain has been hit particularly hard. But other industries are feeling the impact as well.

I read an interesting article this week about food deserts. For those that don’t know, a food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. On the other end of the spectrum is a food oasis, which has higher access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh foods. In 2010, […]

The long wait is over, and we are almost ready for kick-off in the Redemption Bowl. I mean Super Bowl. On Sunday night in Miami, FL, the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will battle it out for football’s ultimate prize. This Super Bowl is a chance at redemption for the coaches, as […]

Indoor vertical farming has been around for quite some time but is starting to garner a lot more attention these days. As the world population continues to expand, so too does the amount of fruits and vegetables needed to feed the world. Generally speaking, we are not creating new farmland to accommodate the increase in fresh food required. Vertical farming can be part of the solution to this problem.

Thirty-six years ago, today, on January 24, 1984, Apple Computer placed the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States. This was the first mass-market personal computer that featured a graphical user interface, built-in screen and mouse. Upon its launch, it was bundled with two applications designed to show off its interface: MacWrite and […]

Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week’s post is from Manhattan Associates. The explosion of e-commerce has impacted every part of the supply chain, from distribution centers to inventory and transportation. Manhattan’s podcast, Transportation Disruption, […]

One hundred and one years ago Wednesday, a bizarre disaster struck the city of Boston: the Great Molasses Flood. The disaster has also been known as Boston Molasses Disaster, the Great Boston Molasses Flood, or, in a clever play on words, the Boston Molassacre. In the North End, a storage tank filled with 2.3 million […]

A record crowd of 40,000 people attended the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show in New York City this week to see what new solutions and innovations software suppliers had in store for 2020 and beyond. The usual themes were still very present as solution providers and retailers alike were more than happy to talk […]

Welcome back to the Logistics Viewpoints weekly news round-up. I certainly had a busy, but refreshing, break over the holidays. But somehow the beginning of the new year seems different this time around. I suppose that is because for the first time in a decade my beloved New England Patriots are not in the divisional […]

It’s the last few weeks of the year which means it is time to look back at the year in logistics. As always, it was a busy year covering the latest supply chain and logistics trends, emerging technologies, mergers and acquisitions, major news announcements, and more. We want to take this opportunity to reflect on […]

It’s hard to believe that we have reached the end again. And by that, I mean the last Logistics Viewpoints news round-up of the year. It’s been another great year bringing you the news. It’s also been another great year of learning. I’ve learned so much from reading and researching so many supply chain news […]

And like that, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday are in the books. This means we have hit peak holiday shopping and shipping season. This year, however, there is an added wrinkle for retailers. Namely, with Thanksgiving being so late this year, retailers are left with six less days of holiday shopping after Black […]

It was such a surprising victory, that my wife and I were actually giddy. Now, neither one of us are what I would call “dog people.” However, we put on the replay of the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving night mostly to crack jokes about how much the movie Best in Show rings true. Additionally, […]

Sustainability continues to be big news in the global supply chain, and many global brands have put timeframes on sustainability efforts. One notable example is McDonald’s USA, which pledged to make its coffee supply chain 100 percent sustainable by the end of 2020. I saw late last week that the company had achieved its goal […]

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, which as I pointed out last year, is a time for FFFTT –  family, friends, football, thankfulness, and turkey. Thanksgiving is also a time for logistics headaches. The holiday is centered around the big family meal, and the food supply chain tied to that meal is complex. But there are a […]

We are still 35 days away from winter, but more than 230 million people in the US feel like they are in the depths of the cold season already. Earlier this week, an arctic blast swept the eastern two-thirds of the country, plunging temperatures below freezing, breaking hundreds of cold temperature records. On Wednesday morning […]

Over the years, rats have shown an ability to navigate a maze in search of food. Well, it turns out that rats are becoming a bit more sophisticated. Recently, a group of rats at the University of Richmond in Virginia have mastered the ability to drive miniature cars to collect food. For the experiment, the […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article that gave a snapshot of the transportation execution and visibility systems market. In that article, I highlighted the evolving nature of technology and how machine learning, IoT, and blockchain are helping to fuel market growth. I also highlighted the that are contributing to rapid growth, such as […]

It looked like the Houston Astros were finally going to end the bizarre pattern of World Series games this fall. And by that, I mean the home team would finally win a game. But the visiting Washington Nationals had other ideas, and for the first time ever, the visiting team won every game of a […]

As the old adage goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But what happens when that imitation comes from the person they are imitating? And what happens when that form of imitation is seen as copyright infringement on a band’s song? Well, in 1988, John Fogerty faced a very rare court case in which […]

I am finishing up my latest market study on global transportation execution and visibility systems. Transportation Execution Solutions (TE) allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system. Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network. This enables improved estimated arrival times of goods. Visibility […]

Stranger Things has been one of the better shows around in recent years. And now, an iconic piece of the show is up for sale. Most of the Georgia mall heavily featured in the third season of the show is going up for sale. Moonbeam Capital Partners is ready to sell its portion of the […]

Sustainability has been a really hot topic around here lately. We’ve touched upon ways that companies are reducing their carbon footprint, re-engineering products to include recyclable materials, and using sustainable energy at their factories. But one area that often times goes under the radar is how to re-use consumer goods products that are already out […]

The global food supply chain is complex, vast, and vital to human existence. For that reason, when there are disruptions to the food supply chain, it makes major headlines. These headlines come in all shapes and sizes, including disruptions due to food recalls, natural disasters, disease, and political unrest, among others. Perhaps the biggest threat […]

We have written extensively about the future of self-driving vehicles on this platform. And while we usually stick to autonomous trucks and mobile robots, we occasionally look at the current and future state of autonomous cars. As Elon Musk continues to build his empire, with a nod to the autonomous trucking world, one has to […]

Wednesday September 25, marked the 39th anniversary of John Bonham’s death. Also known as Bonzo or the Beast, Bonham was arguably the greatest drummer in rock n’ roll history. While I may personally be partial to Keith Moon’s overall body of work, Bonzo was immensely talented and a larger than life figure. Bonham was ranked […]

Omni-channel continues to be one of the hottest trends in supply chain management today, basically touching every software application you can imagine. In order to truly be omni-channel, retailers and brand manufacturers must provide a unified brand experience for their customers. This is true for all three major phases of the customer journey – before, […]

Last week, I wrote about the robot uprising that is going on in the store, where retailers are using robots for a variety of tasks, including stock checks, damage control, and customer service. So, what happens when a robot cannot fulfill its responsibilities and makes too many mistakes. Well, it turns out that after getting […]

Ah yes, it is officially palindrome week. This year, however, palindrome week takes on a whole new significance. After next Thursday (9/19/19), there will not be an official palindrome week until 2021 (we don’t count putting a 0 in front of the month around here). This is the end of a wonderful run of years, […]

The robot uprising is coming to a store near you. And no, I’m not talking about Skynet building T-1000 Terminators to take over the world (or store in this case). I am talking about how the retail store is drastically changing to become more automated, using artificial intelligence, and relying on non-human assistance for check-outs, […]

It’s that time of year again. And no, I don’t mean back to school or the home stretch of the baseball season. I mean football season is kicking off. And once again, my hometown Patriots are set to raise another Super Bowl banner on opening night. In a step away from the norm, the NFL […]

For the last few months, Patriots fans have been wondering what Rob Gronkowski’s “next chapter” will be. As a fan, my obvious hope was that after some down time and the chance to heal his body, he would decide to rejoin the team. Earlier this week, Gronkowski held a press conference to finally announce his […]

Sustainability is an initiative that thankfully more companies are taking on. One area of concern for a lot of people is around single-use coffee pods. These pods are one of the best (or worst) examples of unnecessary single-use plastics that are polluting our planet. Coffee pods can wind up in rivers where they wash into […]

I recently wrapped up my Transportation Management Systems market study which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2023, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, and customer size. The study includes a holistic view of the TMS outlook. A TMS helps companies move freight […]

It’s nice to be back bringing you the logistics news round-up again. My colleagues took over for me the last two Fridays as I was on vacation exploring Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was such an amazing trip on so many levels. First there was the family aspect. I saw family I hadn’t seen in […]

It used to be that if you wanted marijuana, you got the flower bud and smoked it in either a joint or pipe of some sort. Today, however, the options are expanding. Aside from the traditional bud, marijuana dispensaries offer various forms of marijuana concentrates, including shatter, wax, crumble, sugar, honeycomb, sap, and oil (apparently […]

Sometimes things go as planned and sometimes they don’t. However, even when they don’t go as planned, this create a huge business opportunity. In an effort to promote sustainability, many towns and cities, mine included, have begun to crack down on plastic bags in stores. And when I say crack down, I mean they banned […]

The Transportation Management System market continues to grow at an impressive rate. I’ll get to the main factors that are driving this growth in another article, but the main reason is the robust ROI attributed to a TMS. Companies buy a TMS to achieve freight savings which can be attributed to simulation and network design, […]

They’ve done it again! The US Women’s National Soccer Team has won a fourth World Cup championship in Lyon, France last Sunday. This victory also marked back-to-back World Cup championships, which is the first time a women’s team has accomplished the feat, joining only men’s winners Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962). To say […]

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, a holiday celebrating American independence, fireworks, and backyard BBQs. And like any good American holiday, consumers are ready to spend some money. The National Retail Federation (NRF) has been conducting its annual Independence Day survey with Prosper Insights & Analytics since 2003. The survey looks at the spending habits […]

The spotted lanternfly is becoming a problem and states are beginning to lean on truckers to help them in their fight to control the pest. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive, plant-hopping pest that hitches rides on trucks and other vehicles. It is currently spreading along busy transportation corridors in the mid-Atlantic region, threatening billions […]

I saw an article earlier this week that detailed how Amazon has gone about testing its delivery robots. The robot revolution is gaining a lot of traction and lots of companies are looking at how they can use robots to make last mile deliveries (see Dominos Pizza article below). Many companies have done initial testing […]

I recently wrapped up my Managed Transportation Services market study which looks at the total size of the market, the forecasted growth through 2023, and the leading suppliers across a number of categories including industry, region, and customer size. In an MTS arrangement, a shipper contracts with a third party to plan and execute their […]

So close, yet so far away. I actually can’t believe that I am not writing an intro to the news round-up about Boston sports and our monopoly on titles. Unfortunately, after a valiant run, and a decisive game 6 victory to force a game 7, the Bruins were unable to bring the Stanley Cup home. […]

After 32 victories and $2,462,216 in earnings, the run is finally over. Of course, I am talking about James Holzhauer’s Jeopardy win streak, which ended earlier this week, about $60,000 shy of Ken Jennings’s record of $2,522,700 in a 74-game winning streak in 2004. And while the big loss was not much of a surprise […]

A few weeks ago, I spoke with Keli Sanford, Logistics Manager at Ocean Spray. In that role, Keli is responsible for inbound raw materials going into the plant and finished goods leaving the plant, as well as overseeing Canadian warehousing and transportation. In her years at Ocean Spray, Keli has had a lot of first-hand […]

I was on the young side to fully understand how devastating the 1986 World Series loss to the Mets was for Red Sox fans, but I certainly couldn’t escape it growing up. And unfortunately, for one of baseball’s better players over the last 40 years, he couldn’t escape it either. Obviously, I am talking about […]

I was listening to the BBC Newshour earlier this week and heard an interesting story about the rise of a new class of race cars: Forumla E. This class, which uses only electric-powered cars, was conceived in 2011, and had its first championship in Beijing in 2014. Since the beginning of the series, the cars […]

It’s been a busy few weeks around these parts as the conference season winds down. Over the last few weeks I, along with my colleagues Steve Banker and Clint Reiser, have made the rounds on the conference scene. Our trips included HighJump Elevate, Oracle Modern Business Experience, Descartes Evolution, Promat, BluJay Soar, MercuryGate Velocity, Transplace […]

It has been almost two years since Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in cash. And over these two years, changes have been made to Whole Foods, at the corporate level and down to the individual store as well. Some of these changes have been for the good, while others have left people questioning […]

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate moms everywhere. According the NRF’s annual look into Mother’s Day spending, an estimated 84 percent of consumers are planning gift purchases for their mothers (or wives). And like most holiday spending trends, Mother’s Day spending has consistently grown over the last decade. And in 2019, consumers […]

I spent the last three days in Las Vegas attending the MercuryGate Velocity user conference. This was my third time attending a MercuryGate conference and with over 450 attendees, this was the largest one yet. The theme of the conference this year was Innovate Today, Own Tomorrow. This was an extremely fitting theme for both […]

As history tells us, following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, John Wilkes Booth fled to southern Maryland and then Virginia. There, Union soldiers surrounded the barn where Booth and his co-conspirator were hiding out, set the barn on fire, and in the ensuing chaos, shot and killed Booth on April 26, 1865. Or did they? The Philadelphia […]

Two of my all-time favorite musicians are Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend. Aside from being musical masterminds, these two had something else in common – smashing their guitars on stage. During the 60’s, Hendrix would often light his guitar on fire before smashing it to pieces; Townshend would often smash his guitar and amps before […]

A while back, I wrote about the managed transportation services (MTS) market. According to ARC’s definition, in an MTS arrangement, a shipper contracts with a third party to plan and execute their moves for them. In other words, instead of having internal planners plan and execute moves, those planners are employed by the MTS supplier, […]

He’s back! Eleven years after his last major win, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods won the Masters for the fifth time, while notching his 15th total major victory. In doing so, Woods moved closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major wins. To put that in perspective, of all active golfers, Phil Mickelson is second in career […]

A few weeks ago, I spoke with Kim Harper-Gage, Senior Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain at Iconex. Iconex is the world’s largest maker of paper receipt rolls for the retail, banking, and restaurant industry. Additionally, the company makes custom labels for various industries such as logistics and retail. Iconex is a global company with […]

We are heading into what I can only call one of the single greatest days of the year in Boston: Patriots’ Day. The holiday officially commemorates the “shot heard round the world,” or the first shots fired at the battles of Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The region marks […]

On April 1, I saw a very interesting piece of news that I just couldn’t believe. Passel, a sharing economy company that has shoppers (dubbed Passers) deliver goods to other shoppers, made a major announcement on how items would be delivered. The company’s R&D division announced that Passers would have the option of engaging drones […]

There’s an old proverb “that all good things must come to an end.” As a New England Patriots fan, that ending came a lot sooner than I would have liked. Earlier this week, Rob Gronkowski announced that he is retiring from the NFL. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player quite like Gronk. When […]

I’m coming to you live from Naples, FL at the 2019 Descartes Evolution Conference. This was my third time attending the event and as always, it did not disappoint. This year marked the largest conference yet, with more than 650 attendees; in fact, it has outgrown its old location in West Palm Beach and from […]

I spent the majority of this week in Las Vegas attending the Oracle Modern Business Experience conference at the Mandalay Bay. From a supply chain perspective, the conference looked into how disruptive technologies like IoT and blockchain are impacting supply chain management and the benefits and efficiencies they can add. The sessions were both informative […]

St Patrick’s Day is this weekend, where everyone is a little bit Irish. And it wouldn’t be a holiday without Americans spending a lot of money. So just how much money will be spent this year? According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey on St Patrick’s Day, about 55 percent of Americans plan […]

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I spent the first week of February in Orlando attending ARC Advisory Group’s Industry Forum. The event had a heavy focus on how digitizing factories, cities, and infrastructure will benefit technology end users and suppliers alike. While I was there, I had the opportunity to sit down […]

One of the things I like best about the user conference season, other than seeing new innovative technologies and learning from my peers, is the fact that I actually get to watch movies on my flights. I recently watched Bohemian Rhapsody, the based-on-reality movie about the life and times of Queen and its front man […]

I spent the better of the last week in the sunny, warm confines of Southern Florida. It was a harsh dose of reality coming back to Boston and a snow storm. On our trip we saw iguanas, sea turtles, vultures, (wild) alligators, and a host of other animals. When it comes to animals, one of […]

Last summer, I wrote an article about the future of electric trucks. Notably, I outlined that the industry was ready to transition to zero-emission trucks and that a number of major manufacturers including Tesla, Daimler, Thor, and Toyota had unveiled electric class-8 trucks while UPS, FedEx and DHL had unveiled electric class-6 parcel trucks. But […]

Last year, I wrote about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which upon further review, may be significantly larger than previously thought. The plastic floating waste contains at least 79,000 tons of material spread over 1.6 million square kilometers. While a lot of the materials come from humans’ ocean activities, such as abandoned fishing nets and […]

According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual Valentine’s Day survey with Prosper Insights & Analytics, Americans were expected to spend a record amount on Valentine’s Day this year despite a years-long decrease in the percentage of people celebrating the holiday. Those celebrating planned to spend $3.9 billion on jewelry (given by 18 percent), $3.5 […]

The key for AMRs is that they enable workers to be more productive due to constant collaboration. During Steve Banker’s panel discussion on AMRs at ARC Advisory Group’s Forum last week, the four panelists made two key points about AMRs. First, robots are not replacing human workers, but rather, are assisting them. Second, warehouse labor is becoming harder to find and more expensive to train and retain. These two reasons are why there will be an increase in AMRs in the warehouse.

The Patriots have done it again, winning their third Super Bowl in five years, and sixth since the turn of the century. This was certainly not the game most people expected; with two high-powered offenses, most football fans were excited for a shoot-out. Instead, the Patriots defense shut down the second highest scoring offense in […]

It’s that time of year again – Super Bowl weekend. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual Super Bowl survey, American adults say they will spend an average of $81.30 on the Super Bowl, for a total of $14.8 billion. The survey found that 72 percent of adults plan to watch the game, down […]

Sustainability and the concept of “going green” has been a hot topic lately, especially as companies and countries look at their overall carbon footprint and look for ways to be more environmentally friendly. Of course, there is a system of checks and balances for global corporations, as even though they may have the best intentions, […]

This past Sunday was a remarkable day for the NFL, with both conference title games going to overtime for the first time ever. Here in Boston, it was business a usual, as Tom Brady and the Patriots advanced to yet another Super Bowl. But in New Orleans, a horrible missed pass interference call has left […]

Tuesday, January 15 marked the tenth anniversary of the dramatic landing of US Airways Flight 1549. I happen to be in New York for NRF on that day, so not surprisingly I saw a lot of media coverage. Shortly after takeoff, the Airbus A320 hit a flock of geese and lost all engine power. The […]

Another year, another NRF Big Show in the books. This year marked my eleventh visit to New York City for retail’s biggest show. This appeared to be the biggest conference from any that I have attended, with some estimates suggesting 36,000 people were there. As in the past, the usual themes emerged: omni-channel, mobility, big […]

I’ve written about the threat of cargo theft on here multiple times. One of the largest categories has always been food and beverage. Well, this week, more than $500,000 worth of Patron Tequila has been stolen from a Florida rest stop. After enjoying dinner, a truck driver noticed that his trailer (and the contents) were […]

Happy new year and welcome back to the Logistics Viewpoints news round-up. The holiday season was another record breaking year, as customers flocked to the web and to the store for all their gift-giving needs. And for those living near the Dutch coast, an additional round of gifts is showing up. Or should I say […]

This is the end of the line. And by the end of the line, I mean this is our last news round-up for the year. And what a year it is has been. In my article earlier this week, I highlighted the top articles of the year, which included our takes on Amazon and Tesla’s […]

We have entered the final weeks of the Logistics Viewpoints year. As always, it was a busy year covering the latest supply chain and logistics trends, emerging technologies, mergers and acquisitions, major news announcements, and more. Like in years past, we wanted to look back at the Top 10 most popular articles written this year […]

Amazon is used to making headlines, especially as it continues its technology evolution within its warehouses. One area that Amazon has focused on is the use of robots in the warehouse. In fact, Amazon holds an annual contest, dubbed the Amazon Picking Challenge, where teams compete to build robots capable of efficiently picking and packing […]

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday are in the books, and we are in the full swing of the holiday shopping, and shipping, season. Over the years, as e-commerce has grown and retailers are shipping more packages than ever before, holiday logistics has become a make or break area for these companies. The nightmare […]

After traveling through space for six months, the Mars InSight officially touched down on the red planet earlier this week. InSight is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, and according to NASA, will give the planet its “first thorough check-up since it formed 4.5 billion years ago.” The mission is […]

Last week, I read an interesting report from LLamasoft (a Logistics Viewpoints sponsor) that looked into the impact of economic nationalism on global manufacturers. The study found that more than half of global manufacturers would make changes to their supply chain due to economic nationalism. The study also looked at the impact of technology on […]

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a time for FFFTT –  family, friends, football, thankfulness, and turkey. Lots of turkey. According to some reports I have seen, Americans will spend more than $1 billion on the 50+ million turkeys they will consume. Some of the biggest news that I have seen, however, is the technology upgrade that is […]

On Monday, November 12, Stan Lee, writer, editor, and publisher of Marvel Comics died. Working closely with Jack Kirby at Marvel, Lee created some of the most iconic superheroes, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, Thor, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and more. Over the course of his career, he would […]

Amazon has finally decided upon its second headquarters. Or has it? According to multiple reports, Amazon will build out two smaller “headquarters” as supplements to the main headquarters in Seattle, WA. The location of the two outposts, Long Island City, NY and Arlington, VA, are not overly surprising, considering the interest from the Washington, DC […]

One of the major trends driving TMS implementations is the technology’s proven ROI. Primarily, a TMS can save companies money by lowering their freight spend. An ARC survey on the ROI of TMS found that respondents indicated freight savings of approximately 8 percent with the use of a TMS application, a 2 percent improvement from […]

For the 4th time in the last 15 years, the Red Sox are the World Series champs! The funny thing is I made a very specific bet a long time ago. To be exact, the year the was 2001, at the beginning of the baseball season and the end of my senior year of college. […]

Last week I mentioned that the Panama Canal expansion has resulted in record breaking tonnage moving through the waterway. The expansion was surely an engineering feat, using the latest technology to improve the global supply chain. However, engineering feats such as building a massive canal did not always have access to this level of technology. […]

The stock market has been in the news a lot lately over the past few weeks. This is due to the volatility of the market as it has experienced huge swings just this week alone. On Wednesday, the DOW was down over 300 points, with losses picking up right after the release of the Federal […]

Halloween is a mere two weeks away, and the shopping season is in full swing. And by “in full swing,” I mean that consumers are spending big bucks on all the Halloween essentials. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Halloween spending is expected to exceed $9 […]

Going, going, gone. Those words were posted on Instagram, along with a picture of his “Girl with Balloon” canvas print, by the renowned and mysterious street artist Banksy shortly after the piece of art had sold for nearly $1.4 million at auction. Why going, going, gone? Well, Banksy, who has a history of pranking the […]

We have officially entered one of my favorite parts of the year – October. The days are getting cooler, the football season is in full swing, hockey season is starting, and it’s the beginning of the baseball playoffs. For the first time since 2004, the Red Sox and Yankees will face off in the playoffs, […]

As I mentioned in my news round-up last week, Hurricane Florence has brought an estimated $40+ billion in damages to North Carolina. So far, I have written about the 60 percent drop in freight activity coming out of the state, as well as the closures and slow re-openings of both ports and I-95. Some truck […]

Today marks the 237th anniversary of the beginning of the Siege of Yorktown, the last major land battle in the American Revolutionary War. The timing seems appropriate as last weekend I finally saw Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece about the life and death of founding father Alexander Hamilton. It was an incredibly special night as I […]

The wait is over, and the show is finally here. I’ve mentioned on here a few times how my kids (and my wife and I) have become obsessed with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece that is Hamilton. Well, this weekend, we finally get to see it live. And while the touring cast does not feature Miranda, or […]

When it comes to retail and supply chain, omni-channel continues to be one of the most talked about topics wherever you look. Omni-channel extends through all phases of the customer journey – before, during, and after the sale – and has an impact on nearly every software application you can think of. Historically, the brick […]

Every acquisition has its growing pains, right? Well, Amazon is seeing that now with its acquisition of Whole Foods as a group of Whole Foods employees are seeking to establish a union for the company’s 85,000+ workers. The group recently wrote a letter to Whole Foods employees citing that they are concerned about the “direction […]

And like that, summer is over and the kids are back to school. But this year is a little different, as my daughter has joined her big brother at the elementary school and started kindergarten. For some reason when my son started kindergarten, it didn’t seem like it was as big of a deal to […]

The on-demand supply chain market is experiencing significant interest and growth right now. Within the on-demand supply chain, I am specifically talking about the transportation and warehousing segments, where investment money is pouring in to digital freight matching apps, crowdsourced last miles deliveries, and on-demand warehousing. While these businesses are still in the early stages […]

In October 2015, Asteroid 2015 TB145, dubbed the Halloween Asteroid, passed within 302,000 miles (just over 1 lunar distance) of the Earth. The asteroid is an estimated 2,297 feet in width, making it the largest object to pass that close to the Earth since 2006. The asteroid is expected to pass by the earth again […]

Electric trucks have been in the news a lot lately, especially as Tesla has made multiple announcements regarding the highly anticipated release of its Class 8 semi-truck. However, the state of Tesla’s supply chain, along with the skepticism regarding the design of the truck, had the public wondering if it would actually come to fruition. […]

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total spending for K-12 schools and college combined is projected to reach $82.8 billion, nearly as high as last year’s $83.6 billion. The top four categories for back to schoolers (not back to college) are clothing ($236 million), electronics ($187 million), shoes ($138 million), and supplies ($122 million). […]

Food waste and its impact on supply chains and the environment has been a hot topic lately. Tesco has scrapped “best by” dates on packaging to reduce waste, and Circular Systems is pioneering new tech to convert food crop waste – like banana peels and hemp stalks – into wearable fibers. Two more companies are […]

I’m kicking off a new study on Managed Transportation Services (MTS). In an MTS arrangement, a shipper contracts with a third party to plan and execute their moves for them. In other words, instead of having internal planners plan and execute moves, those planners are employed by the MTS supplier, but work on the shipper’s […]

Growing up in the 80’s, malls were a pretty big deal. They were the social hotspots for teenagers, the place where you could buy anything (so the original Amazon), and even spawned a full-on tour for Tiffany, aptly named “The Beautiful You: Celebrating the Good Life Shopping Mall Tour ’87.” One of the best things […]

I’m back at it, after a two-week vacation to Copenhagen, Denmark. I have to say that Copenhagen was one of the cleanest and family-friendliest cities I have ever been to. In all, it was an amazing trip. As an analyst that covers logistics, I feel as though there are two points I have to make […]

President Trump has been quite vocal when discussing US trade deals, often lamenting how the US has been getting the short end of the stick on almost every trade deal. One of his first moves as President was to pull the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) citing it as a bad deal. Since then, […]

I just finished my latest research on the global market for Transportation Execution and Visibility Systems. Transportation Execution Solutions (TE) allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system. Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network. This enables improved estimated arrival times of goods. Visibility […]

The group play stage of the 2018 World Cup is over and the tournament has moved on to the knockout stage, where the remaining 16 teams will play a single elimination tournament. Notice I said remaining 16 teams and not the best 16 teams. This is due to the somewhat unfair nature of the random […]

After nearly 10 months (including 5 snow days), today marks the last day of school for my kids. I’m sure they will come pouring out the front door with screams of excitement, knowing that vacation has officially begun. This vacation will consist of camps, the pool, a few trips, no homework, and most importantly, the […]

I am currently finishing up my latest market study on global transportation execution and visibility systems solutions. Transportation Execution Solutions (TE) allow shippers to connect to multiple carriers and then tender, track, and pay in the system. Visibility solutions allow real-time asset tracking across the entire distribution network. This enables improved estimated arrival times of […]

Last weekend, at the Belmont Stakes, Justify made history. The American thoroughbred racehorse became just the thirteenth American Triple Crown winner. For those of you unfamiliar with the Triple Crown, it means winning the three biggest races in the US – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. While the last Triple Crown […]

My kids have officially become obsessed with Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Every time we get in the car, the first thing they ask for is to listen to Hamilton. They sing the songs constantly, day and night, taking turns between who gets to be Alexander […]

Towards the end of last year, Steve Banker and I met with Greg Lehmkuhl, President & CEO, Sudarsan Thattai, CIO, and Chris Timmer, SVP Sales and Value-Added Services from Lineage Logistics. The name Lineage Logistics may not be a household name, but that is something the leadership team is used to. However, Lineage, a mid-cap […]

As hard as it is to believe, today is already June 1, the 152nd day in the Gregorian calendar (153rd day in a leap year). There have been some pretty big moments in history that took place on June 1. Examples include Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England in 1533(for a short period of […]

And like that, my spring conference season is over. For three straight weeks I traveled to Florida attending user conferences, learning from peers, exploring innovative solutions, racking up JetBlue points, and spending lots of time in an Uber. Each of the three conferences, JDA, Pitney Bowes, and Manhattan Associates, offered dynamic content and a glimpse […]

I am coming to you live from Manhattan Momentum 2018, in Hollywood, FL at the Diplomat Beach Resort. This year’s theme is “Push Possible” which is very fitting. CEO Eddie Capel explained that push possible is all about pushing the envelope with actionable, measurable solutions. It means bringing in bigger and brighter ideas, to push […]

I spent the beginning of the week (for the second straight week) in Orlando. This time, I was speaking at the Pitney Bowes Retail (R)Evolution conference. The conference as a whole was a great event, with the two days splitting up the complete customer shopping journey and overall experience. One of the highlights (aside from […]

I spent the beginning of this week in Orlando, attending the JDA Focus conference. This is one of the busy times in the life of an analyst, as we head into conference season. And for me, conference season means lots of trips to Florida. In fact, my travel earlier this week was the first of […]

I am writing this post from Orlando, FL, where I am attending JDA Focus 2018. The theme of the conference was “Expectations. Fulfilled.” and based on some of the new product strategies that were announced, it seems to be an appropriate theme. The big news from the conference was the launch of the JDA Luminate […]

This past weekend, I had what I would call an 80’s throwback weekend. On Friday, I went to see a Guns n’ Roses “cover band” in Cambridge. Now this band is made up of musicians that my wife went to college with, so there was a strong college contingent. They also all have real jobs, […]

Last month, I mentioned in my news roundup intro that the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” may be significantly larger than previously thought. It turns out that the plastic waste floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii contains at least 79,000 tons of material spread over 1.6 million square kilometers. That’s the equivalent mass […]

I recently wrote an article about the factors contributing to the growth of the omni-channel order management system (OMS) market. Some of these factors include changing customer expectations, the rise of B2B use cases, the store’s changing role in the retail landscape, and the use of artificial intelligence. However, adoption rates of an omni-channel OMS […]

April 17 was Tax Day in the United States. And it appears that many Americans (myself included) were giant procrastinators this year. While I didn’t wait until the very last minute to file, many millions of Americans did. And when they did, they discovered they were in a nightmare scenario – they couldn’t file their […]

In the Boston area, this is one of the best weekends of the year – Patriot’s Day weekend. And the biggest tradition of Patriot’s Day weekend is the running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, where 30,000+ runners will trek the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. Every runner has a story, whether they are […]

A few months ago, I wrote an article about using crowdsourced deliveries for last mile success. In the article, I touched upon a few key points regarding crowdsourced deliveries. First was the rapidly expanding market for crowdsourced deliveries. Major retailers such as Target, BestBuy, Macy’s, Staples, and Walgreens, to name a few, are currently offering […]

It’s Masters Weekend – one of the most glorious weekends of the year for golf fans. This year’s tournament marks the return of Tiger Woods, who will be competing in his first Masters since 2015, when he finished tied for 17th. While Tiger will clearly be a dominant storyline, one of the feel-good stories has […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about drone deliveries, and whether or not they were actually close to a reality. In that article, I outlined a few practical applications for drones, as well as some of the more hypothetical uses. Well, this week has shown us that aside form practical uses, companies are […]

I am kicking off some new research on the Transportation Execution and Visibility Systems market in the next week or so. This will be an update on a study Steve Banker did a few years ago, which looked mostly at the execution space, and how the Uber for Freight model was disrupting the market. According […]

According to recent research, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” may be significantly larger than previously thought? Just how big is it? Well, the plastic waste floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii contains at least 79,000 tons of material spread over 1.6 million square kilometers. That’s the equivalent mass of 6500 school buses, […]

Sásta Lá Fhéile Pádraig! Or, for those of you that don’t speak or read Gaelic, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! While the holiday originated as a celebration of the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland, it has certainly morphed into something else. It is now a day […]

The United States has been lagging behind other parts of the world when it comes to the testing and adoption of drones for last mile deliveries. This is not due to a lack of interest or research and development efforts from some of the largest drone manufacturers. In fact, companies such as Amazon, Google, and […]

Three years ago, Hamilton, the critically acclaimed rap musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton was in its first run Off-Broadway. After a couple of extensions, the show moved to Broadway, and has recently begun touring the US. In case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard of it, the play was written by […]

The 2018 Winter Olympics are officially in the books. Last week, I wrote about the US women’s hockey team’s incredible victory over Canada to claim gold. Well, they weren’t the only US ice team to claim victory. The men’s curling team, which had finished last and second-to-last in the last two Olympics, brought home the […]

Omni-channel continues to push the bounds of commerce, with companies scrambling to meet customer expectations without sacrificing the bottom line. The rise of e-commerce has been an incredible journey, and one that has opened up new opportunities for retailers and consumer brands alike. But, with the rise of these opportunities comes the growing pains associated […]

This Sunday marks the end of the 2018 Winter Olympics. It has certainly been and exciting couple of weeks, with hundreds of medals awarded, and some incredible performances by the world’s greatest athletes. Yesterday marked the 38th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, when the USA men’s hockey team defeated the heavily favored team from […]

On Wednesday of this week, millions of people celebrated Valentine’s Day. And how better to show your love than by spending lots of money. Much like basically every holiday, Americans dug into their wallets to spend, spend, and spend some more. According to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey on Valentine’s Day, as 55 percent […]

Earlier this week, SpaceX launched a rocket into outer space. Attached to the Falcon Heavy rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, was a 2008 Tesla Roadster, with a dummy at the wheel named “Starman.” The goal was to launch the car into space and into an orbit around the sun that would bring it close […]

Omni-channel order management is essential for today’s changing business environment. While integration issues abound, the market for OMS is poised to grow. This is due to a combination of factors including cloud deployments, increased use of ship from store, and artificial intelligence.

The time has finally come for Super Bowl weekend. All the pieces are in place – the teams, the media, the fans, the halftime entertainment, the security, and all the other logistics that need to be in place for the Super Bowl to actually happen. While I am clearly hoping for a Patriots victory, and […]

In yet another impressive comeback, the New England Patriots topped the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20 in the AFC title game to move on to their 10th Super Bowl, and 8th in the Belichick – Brady era. They will meet the Philadelphia Eagles, who crushed the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC title game, a week from […]

Amazon has narrowed the field down to the final 20 cities for its seconds headquarters. This is just the first step in the process, from the original 238 communities that sent proposals. Each of the proposals was evaluated based on the specific criteria set forth in the RFP, including availability of software developers and other […]

Earlier this week, I attended the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Big Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, NY. This marked the tenth straight year that I have attended the event as an analyst. Over the years, certain key themes have emerged, and many of those themes have remained in place each and […]

Earlier this week, it was reported that Jeff Bezos was the wealthiest human being of all time. Let that sink in – of all time. His reported net worth is upwards of $105 billion. Of course, that all has to be taken with a grain of salt. When factoring in inflation, Bill Gates has historically […]

The Key Last Mile Markets Last mile deliveries continue to be costly and headache-inducing for retailers. A lot of this is due to consumers constantly evolving and tough to meet demands of fast, reliable, and cheap (or free) service. Many retailers have turned to crowdsourced delivery options to alleviate the stress of last mile deliveries, […]

Happy New Year and welcome back to Logistics Viewpoints! It’s good to be back, refreshed and rested, and ready to bring you all the logistics news you’ve been missing. After a bitterly cold stretch here in the Boston area to end 2017 and start 2018, we finally got a reprieve from the cold yesterday. And […]

The Logistics Viewpoints year has come to an end. It was certainly a very busy year for us covering all the top supply chain and logistics news stories. Like in years past, we wanted to look back at the top 10 most popular articles written this year and see what our readers found to be […]

This news roundup marks the final edition of “This Week in Logistics News” for 2017. It has been a pretty incredible year for me covering logistics news and trends. My recent article highlighted some of the top news stories of the year, including the advancement of drone technology, the ongoing rivalry between Amazon and Walmart, […]

2017 is just about in the books, and it has been a busy year for the supply chain industry. Let’s look back at ten of the top logistics stories of the year. Drones 2017 has been the year of the drone. There’s been a lot of interest in using drones for last mile deliveries. In […]

Earlier this week, a camera on board the Mars Curiosity captured a photo of a round, stone-like object. Now, just what that object was, remains to be seen. It all depends on who you ask. NASA deems these strange spheres to be Martian “blueberries,” which applies to many of these round objects. According to NASA, […]

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are once again in the books. And not surprisingly, more and more shoppers are heading to the internet rather than the mall. Plenty of brick and mortar retailers offered deep in-store discounts to drive consumer traffic, but the web reigned supreme. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), from Thanksgiving […]

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