Consumer behaviors are evolving in an increasingly digitalized marketplace with substantial impacts taking hold in the warehouse, including accelerating service levels, shifting order profiles, and increased personalization and value-added services. The need to respond to these challenges is provoking heightened interest in warehouse management system (WMS) platforms with a focus on preparing for market challenges that lie ahead. Vendors are preparing for the next level of customer expectations in a digital supply chain landscape by […]
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Archive for Guest Commentary
While shippers face the difficult market conditions of tight capacity and increased consumer demands, they are also being challenged to find transportation cost savings and improve customer satisfaction. As shippers compete for capacity, many are asking what they could be doing to secure the best truckload performance and rates. Why do some shippers receive better service, and which best practices can others learn from them? These are questions we posed to MIT graduate students for […]
Read More →Transportation execution solutions and, in particular, visibility solutions, are hot. There are a number of macroeconomic factors driving the adoption of transportation execution systems. Technological innovations such as cloud computing, logistics networks and real-time GPS are increasing the importance of transportation execution solutions and redefining how transportation is managed. With all these new capabilities, how can transportation execution solutions help? Here are 6 points to consider. 1. Think “TMS+”. Most transportation management systems (TMS) provide limited execution capabilities (e.g., rating, booking, tracking, document management and settlement) in breadth or depth.
Read More →When we think about visibility and tracking in our daily lives, our consumer mindset probably turns on and we think of online ordering. We’re concerned with questions like, “Where’s my stuff?” or “What time can I expect my order to be delivered?” In a B2C environment, visibility is about tracking. But in B2B, it’s so much more. Visibility covers the technology and tools you use for supply chain management. It’s about amassing data from all […]
Read More →On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City caught fire, trapping nearly all of the 600 workers inside. Most of the workers were teenaged girls, working 12-hour days for a mere $15 a week. Within 18 minutes, it was all over. Forty-nine workers had burned to death or been suffocated by smoke, 36 were dead in the elevator shaft and 58 died from jumping to the sidewalks. With two more […]
Read More →From distribution to doorstep, a mobile supply chain application provides visibility and many other advantages. We live in a mobile, connected world. Why should your supply chain be any different? A mobility solution can support business plans to optimize workflow capabilities, improve communications, cut unnecessary expense, maximize visibility, and provide a world-class customer experience. It provides organizations the freedom to employ tried-and-true workflows, along with the flexibility to apply unique processes to suit customers. The […]
Read More →If your job is to develop a connector from your business systems to a multi-carrier API, there are some important considerations you should keep in mind. It’s a multi-carrier world. The days of picking a carrier or two to handle all your transportation needs are long gone. Customers are demanding more delivery options. The driver shortage and carrier capacity crunch are creating reliability issues. As a result, costs are only going up with no […]
Read More →Control towers emerged in the 1990s as the logistics industry—specifically 3PLs—needed a mechanism to provide visibility to their clients. Successfully addressing the challenge of accounting for inventory in motion/at rest was a differentiator for all players (3PLs, distributors, retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers). Thus, the foundation was laid for what is known today as digital control towers (DCTs). While the last three decades of supply chain innovation were transformative in many ways, progress has been slow […]
Read More →It’s the era of the new consumer. We must adapt supply chains rapidly to meet customer expectations. Trends like reverse logistics, same-day-delivery and mobility result in new business models, stressed logistics systems and deconsolidating networks. We’re also in the midst of a shrinking talent pool. Competing with rising wages and attractive employment alternatives for this generation is pivotal in landing the top talent. How do we handle this? By evolving our operations with the tools […]
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Supply Chain Brief
Steps for Manufacturing Shippers to Adjust to Market Growth
October 5th was National Manufacturing Day. This yearly celebration of modern manufacturing strives to address common misperceptions about the industry and give manufacturers a day to showcase what they do and examine some of the most important aspects of their world. But taking time to focus on what’s going on in the world of manufacturing is more than just a fun celebration. It’s important to effectively adapting to changing market conditions in order to maintain […]
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