Success in a post-pandemic business landscape requires that we truly shed the shackles of our traditional siloed thinking and embrace a holistic, customer-centric view of our supply chains. We need to take command and control of our product flow through all supply and fulfillment channels, breaking down functional walls that impede our larger view. And, finally, we need to embrace the rapidly expanding technology ecosystem to fully leverage the benefits of an open platform for ongoing logistics innovation. Unified logistics represents an unprecedented mindset that is imperative for these unprecedented times.
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Archive for Guest Commentary
One thing is certain – there is no normal in 2020. What we have experienced so far this year is either a blip that we will look back at and wonder on, or our lives have fundamentally shifted, and 2020 is really just Year One. Either way, what we understand about this year is that Covid-19 has upended everything about the status quo. The pandemic has exposed all of our weaknesses and all of the […]
Read More →My to-do list has included one incomplete item since mid-September, one glaring blank spot where a big green checkmark belongs. That to-do item is “Start Christmas shopping.” Typically, my efforts toward buying holiday gifts for friends and family begin near the end of November, coinciding with the American Thanksgiving holiday. Rarely have I attended a Black Friday event on the day, but the commercials and promotions really get me into the holiday shopping mood. This […]
Read More →The exponential growth of e-commerce in 2020 has brought peak-like levels of order volume for many retailers since as early as March. Looking to the quickly approaching actual peak season, volumes are predicted to hit unprecedented levels, and carriers have been warning shippers for months to expect capacity crunches, increased surcharges/fees and other challenges. Shippers must overcome these challenges without sacrificing customer service, competitive pricing or margins to be successful and satisfy consumers, who still expect […]
Read More →In the last number of years, ecommerce has grown in popularity across many industries, including grocery. We saw an increase in the overall share of mobile-first ecommerce, and significant additions to hybrid approaches to purchasing, such as buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, and home delivery. In the last six months, that steady growth line has become a spike. According to a recent Adobe digital report cited in Forbes, the rate of adoption for […]
Read More →Delivery and service appointment scheduling strategies have been aggressively evolving for more than 10 years. In my conversations with customers, I continue to learn how far they have advanced and the expanding impact that logistics technology can have on the enterprise. TyresOnTheDrive.com, now Halfords Mobile Expert (HME) part of Halfords Group PLC, a UK provider of automotive and cycling products and services, is a great example of taking delivery and service appointment scheduling to another […]
Read More →While retailers welcome the surge of online orders, the increased sales of big and bulky items pose unique final mile delivery changes. As the name implies, final mile (also known as last mile) logistics is a specialized mode focused squarely on the final leg of a shipment’s journey to its destination. Final mile arose as a standalone mode due to the complexities in delivering to locations that lack loading docks and other receiving and storage infrastructure.
Read More →Supply chain is in the spotlight. It is the business function that is front and center – on top of the minds of consumers and executives. The global pandemic has ripped the rug out from under supply chains, but also highlighted its importance. Agility, resiliency, and sustainability are keys to supply chain survival, so you can’t afford to wait to invest in building these capabilities, which are entwined with each other. We can’t know what path the current disruption will take, only that there is [,,,]
Read More →COVID-19 catalyzed rapidly shifting commerce models that were reshaping how goods and services were procured and delivered. In a matter of weeks, entire countries came to a near standstill as governments issued mandatory stay-at-home orders to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Highways and roads became desolate, and e-commerce became vital as the consumer’s appetite, both literally and figuratively, could now, in most cases, only be satisfied via online shopping with home deliveries. […]
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Supply Chain Brief
Pharma at the Forefront: How Vaccine Distribution Challenges Are Accelerating ‘The Cognitive Supply Chain’
As researchers around the world race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, pharma companies also face another daunting challenge: how to distribute hundreds of millions of highly sensitive vaccine doses, quickly and accurately, across the country and the world. Normal vaccine distribution was already inherently complex with a myriad of issues – including security, temperature control, political/trade challenges, multiple geographies and transportation modes, transit times, and carrier capacity – that have to be […]
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