Managing logistics can’t happen in a vacuum; you need visibility and awareness of internal and external partners, systems and resources. The problem is that integration and visibility are a big hurdle for most transportation management systems (TMS). According to the Transportation Planning and Execution Benchmark Study by American Shipper, for example, 61 percent of respondents […]

The logistics world is full of jargon and sometimes we only have a vague understanding of what certain terms mean, especially when it comes to software. Some of the most confusing ones pop up in conversations about transportation management system (TMS) deployment model options: SaaS, private cloud, or on-premise are common ones. These terms are […]

I’ve just returned from attending and participating in several supply chain conferences around the country. There’s a palpable excitement in our industry about the sweeping changes fundamentally altering supply chain operations. The drivers of these changes, such as e-commerce and omni-channel markets, are resulting in new and greater investments in the supply chain technology. Indeed, […]

Do you have a March Madness bracket filled out for the NCAA basketball finals? Whether you do lots of research on each team or pick randomly, it’s a fun time of year to watch the highs, lows and upsets during the culmination of the college basketball season. As I filled out my bracket and prepared […]

The need for track and trace capabilities in industries such as food and beverage, manufacturing or automotive industries is obvious: the threat of contamination or recalls impacts public safety, and the responses to those events are highly regulated. Organizations need to know what goes into their products and their location at all times. But increasingly, […]

The growth of online shopping, direct-to-consumer shipping, and multi-channel distribution demands have led to big changes in the 3PL industry – to the point where many industry observers, such as Robert Bowman in a recent article for Forbes, noted that the number of 3PLs overall is shrinking due to a rising trend of mergers and […]

You’re trying to do everything right to lure in online shoppers: You offer free shipping. Customers can return merchandise to a retail location. You even offer free returns through the mail. But this freedom for the customer can mean a lot of headaches and cost for you. The demands of the omni-channel marketplace are not […]

Did you buy something with a credit card today? Are you working from a location other than your company’s headquarters? Did you check your bank account online this morning or download a file housed in an online data storage service? These are all examples of how we live our daily personal and professional lives in […]

There are a lot of hot topics swirling around the supply chain industry right now, but one that seems to be permeating almost every discussion is “big data.” And big data is big: Put simply, it’s the collection and integration of massive amounts of information that can’t be processed using traditional data processing applications. This […]

In the supply chain software industry, uncertainty is certain and anticipating what’s next is what makes our days interesting. The innovations we develop must meet constantly shifting market demands and customer priorities, and it’s important to not only understand that the changes are happening, but also the drivers behind those changes. Here are a few […]

The Presidential election is looming, and even though the topic of infrastructure occasionally gets a brief mention, specifics are usually absent. Here are the three top challenges facing the logistics industry that the next president needs to understand in order to keep America competitive. Supply disruptions: The cost of oil, raw materials and many household […]

A 21st century supply chain cannot be static. The pressures from changing regulations, supplier needs, world economic instability and natural disasters have led to a volatile and uncertain industry. While we are not able to predict every interruption and challenge, we must embrace a new business climate in which adaptability is not only a source […]

Turning a profit in a cost-conscious industry like third-party logistics (3PL) is a challenging feat. Businesses are increasingly turning to logistics services providers to run their manufacturing, warehousing and transportation operations more efficiently and cheaply than they can run it themselves. So 3PLs need to run as lean an operation as possible, while at the […]

I think one of the toughest tests for a WMS implementation team is supporting a high growth retail customer through its busy season, which is what we did with Overstock.com during the December busy season in 2002 and 2003. In 2002 Overstock.com had annual revenues of $92 million. By 2010 the company had grown to […]