Eyefortransport

In this whitepaper, you will find key insights on how to manage delivery costs while ensuring a heightened delivery experience for your customer.

At last week's eyefortransport 3PL Summit in Chicago, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman caught up with Echo Global Logistics Chairman and CEO Doug Waggoner. The pair covered a wide range of subjects, including market conditions, capacity, and Echo's recent $420 million acquisition of Command Transportation.

New research indicates that there’s considerable concern about the value of long-term, strategic relationships - Industry analysts explain how innovation and a deeper commitment to collaboration will become the key differentiators in the 2015 marketplace.

So how will 3D Printing impact the supply chain and logistics? It will accelerate a shift from “push supply chains” to “pull supply chains.” Some recent findings indicate that nearly 20% of those transport, logistics and supply chain executives surveyed were currently using 3D printing to some degree. Just under 40% believed 3D printing would have the most impact on increased customization.

At this time of year, every publication comes out with a top 10 list, Eyefortransport (EFT) compiled a list last year for the first time and it made for interesting reading.

eyefortransport has just put together a map of the location density of all of the major North American 3PLs. The map gives you a macro view of 3PL headquarters throughout the US and Canada, allowing you to understand the industry’s distribution across the region.

Walgreen, the largest drug retailing chain in the US, Alliance Boots and AmerisourceBergen signed a $400bn 10-year agreement that will create what Forbes magazine coined the “Earth’s Drugstore”. Not only will the agreement create “Earth’s Drugstore” but it appears it is set to create one of the largest and most influential global supply chains.

My predictions may be right, or they may be wrong, but one thing I think all will agree on is that 3D printing will make the supply chain more complex and more difficult to manage. The companies that succeed through this transition will be the ones that adapt early and leverage the tools they need in order to manage this more complex supply chain.

The shortlist for this year's eyefortransport Customer Choice 3PL awards has been announced, based on the nominations by the members of the esteemed judging panel. 5-10 companies in each of ten categories have been announced as finalists.

The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 is about leadership. However, Lora Cecere, the Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Insights, voices some concerns about the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 research.

Why 3PL contract renewals tend to have a shorter contract length and thoughts from Robert Vallender, the Head of Logistics for Nestle.

Last mile delivery location options, the ability to manage global fulfillment via the cloud, the possibility of 24/7 delivery services and perhaps the end of the middleman as businesses gain more control over transportation and the sale of equipment are all included in a new mindset as more and more logistics startups are formed in order to meet needs that are not being met by traditional providers.

It’s not often that supply chain issues capture the wider public’s imagination. However, there is one innovation in recent years, 3D printing, which appears to make Star Trek science a stunning reality and for this reason has broken into the public’s consciousness.

Big Data or Real Time Data, business process management, running your supply chain - think marketing, consumers, vendor consolidation, social remains an enigma, what about mobile, eCommerce, risk management, and public perception.

For 18 years this study has documented the significant transformation of the 3PL industry. In that time 3PLs have evolved from tactical service providers to become, in the most evolved relationships, collaborative partners delivering in many instances a comprehensive suite of integrated logistics services.