October 2012

The big-box retailer’s flexible logistics model has enabled an innovative store remodel strategy—and helped cut price per shipment by just over 30 percent in its first year in service.

PART I: Three industry thought-leaders discuss the mounting challenges facing today’s global transportation managers.

Part II: Intermodal network agility makes a play to improve supply chain resiliency

Buoyed by emerging market growth, demand for add-on functionalities, and its certain move to the cloud, the warehouse management systems market is posting double-digit growth. But is this just a post-recession bounce?

As the nation’s export manufacturing sector becomes more viable, U.S. shippers are quickly finding themselves more reliant on freight intermediaries as they aim to take advantage of new global opportunities.

Fleet management software is evolving from a tool to track truck maintenance to a platform to drive deeper process improvements.

Renewed market discipline has helped the world’s leading ocean carriers to restore rates while delivering on enhanced service. Could this be the “turnaround year” on the high seas?

We examine how warehouse and distribution center design and operations have evolved to play a critical role in meeting overall business objectives in today’s multi-channel world.

Multi-channel selling has revolutionized the retail industry—and I’m not sure if you can find anyone in the market who would argue that statement.

The U.S. railroad industry, consisting of over 600 large and small service providers, has successfully engineered itself into a viable and largely profitable segment of the nation’s logistics marketplace.

Effective use of business analytics—using quantitative methods to derive forward-looking insights from data—is essential for companies that are serious about supply chain excellence. Why? Because with analytics, supply chain managers gain a deeper understanding of what is happening upstream and downstream. As a result, they’re better able to assess the operational impacts of prospective supply chain decisions.

A senior vice president of a major national carrier recently asked me if I thought that tomorrow’s shippers have the commitment to maintain the depth of talent necessary to manage one of the value-added programs that I allude to in my columns. I have always maintained that committed process and performance excellence bring exceptional benefits to both the company and its carrier partners, but they require a combination of developmental and seasoned talent.