Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 19, 2018

Land O’Lakes Chief Supply Chain Officer, Yone Dewberry, told an audience at eft’s 3PL and Supply Chain Summit in Atlanta in on June 6th, “We’ve created it” (the truck driver shortage). “As As an industry” (shippers), “we’ve done this to ourselves.” Land O’ Lakes is a member owned cooperative with revenues of $15 billion. The company is best known for dairy products, particularly butter, but the company also has divisions devoted to animal nutrition and seeds/crop […].

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Atlanta 3PL Company Beverage 146

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 5, 2018

Technical issues with blockchain for supply chain applications have been largely eliminated. The technology is being widely tested in pilots and proof of concepts but is not yet in every day usage. Experts predict that 2018 will be the year this changes. The post The Growing Maturity of Blockchain for Supply Chain Management appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Logistics Trends Track and Trace blockchain supply chain

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Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 8, 2018

This article describes the five most common fallacies surrounding supply chain management. Some of these are fallacies that have been around a long time and never seem to go away. Others are more recent in origin. The post The Most Common Supply Chain Fallacies appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Learning & Leadership fallacies supply chain

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Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 10, 2018

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk dodged questions from financial analysts about the electric car maker’s condition last week on its earnings conference call. Musk refused to answer questions on Tesla’s capital requirements, saying “boring questions are not cool.” ” The Business Insider reports that Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne dubbed Wednesday’s call, in which Musk talked of “barnacles, flufferbots, and bonehead bears,” surreal.

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Conference Report Supply Chain Logistics 158

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How do you move from “what happened” to “what would happen if”? Most supply chains struggle with the first, and the latter is wishful thinking. What stage are you in? Find out where your supply chain is on the maturity curve.

Analytics

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 15, 2018

Additive manufacturing has certainly gotten a lot of press over the years. In the supply chain space, the idea that inventory costs could be slashed by committing to additive manufacturing has been touted. In manufacturing, a common idea is that additive manufacturing can create more sustainable products by not lathing away materials that are wasted. But reality is beginning to catch up with rhetoric.

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Manufacturing Sustainability Software Inventory 140

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 14, 2018

The United States has been lagging behind other parts of the world when it comes to the testing and adoption of drones for last mile deliveries. This is not due to a lack of interest or research and development efforts from some of the largest drone manufacturers. In fact, companies such as Amazon, Google, and UPS have invested incredible amounts of money into how they can deploy drones to make deliveries. These companies have also […].

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United States Research Manufacturing Company 165

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 26, 2018

Supply chain analysts are far more caustious concerning the maturity of blockchain for business applications that the broader tech community. Perhaps too cautious. One day after analysts appeared on a HighJump panel on this topic, an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal that claimed that 1.1 million items from Walmart are being tracked by blockchain, helping the massive retailer trace these products journey from supplier to store.

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Journal Retail Supply Chain Logistics 155

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 15, 2018

Just how collaborative are your internal departments? If you’re running into issues when one department makes a decision that unintentionally affects one or more aspects of your supply chain, your answer is probably along the lines of “not very.” And it may be holding back your transportation team’s effectiveness due to a lack of supply chain collaboration. In many organizations, transportation is simply the recipient of collaboration that happens in other supply chain functions.

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Transportation Supply Chain Logistics 158

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ShipBob isn’t a traditional 3PL. They offer 2-day shipping using integrated technology and by splitting inventory across fulfillment centers in the largest US cities to ship orders from locations closer to customers, reducing costs and time in transit.

Shipping

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 7, 2018

Historically, we talked about warehouses as being manual or highly automated. Manual warehouses are more flexible. Highly automated warehouses have much higher throughput, but their lack of flexibility adds risk. Parts Town has an automation solution called AutoStore that increased throughput but will also flex up to support Parts Town's strong growth. The post AutoStore and the Rise of Flexible Automation: The Parts Town Case Study appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

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Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 7, 2018

High demand for flatbed shipping is rolling mightily into the peak periods of summer, continuing to drive historic supply issues across North America. While it’s difficult to predict how long it will last, what is predictable is that unprecedented demand of flatbed shipping will disrupt the typical cycles and seasonal trends we’ve come to expect, and make securing supply even more difficult as the market and carrier demographics remain fragmented.

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Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 30, 2018

BASF uses real-time visibility to improve their service capabilities. They implemented a solution from MacroPoint, a Descartes company, to improve their delivery reliability as well as improve the productivity of the transportation providers they use to service the North American market. But implementing great technology is not enough. Getting the most out of software also requires dealing with both internal and partner cultural issues and improving processes.

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Chemicals Software Supply Chain Supply Chain Visibility 133

Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 11, 2018

The traditional assembly line moves products from station to station on conveyor lines or overhead cranes.Automatic Guided Vehicles are being used to create a fully flexible factory line. AGVs can be used as a "flexible fabrication platform.". The post Moving to the Fully Flexible Assembly Line appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Automotive Industry Material Handling AGV supply chain

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Logistics Automotive Industrial Industry 106

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Common problems like data access and quality are preventing you from taking the first step towards transformation. Modern visibility providers are putting band-aids on bad data, giving you the ability to make misinformed decisions. Solve the data first.

Data

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Last Thursday, UPS announced its plans to deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks supplied by the Workhorse Group. What increased UPS’s willingness to invest in these vans is innovative “smart charging” software that has implications for last mile routing. There are other interesting developments in last mile routing as well. The post What’s New in Last Mile Routing? appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

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Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 6, 2018

Towards the end of last year, Steve Banker and I met with Greg Lehmkuhl, President & CEO, Sudarsan Thattai, CIO, and Chris Timmer, SVP Sales and Value-Added Services from Lineage Logistics. The name Lineage Logistics may not be a household name, but that is something the leadership team is used to. However, Lineage, a mid-cap company based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the world’s largest and most innovative temperature-controlled supply chain providers.

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Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 7, 2018

Omni-channel order management is essential for today's changing business environment. While integration issues abound, the market for OMS is poised to grow. This is due to a combination of factors including cloud deployments, increased use of ship from store, and artificial intelligence. The post Omni-Channel Order Management Growth Drivers appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Omni-channel logistics omni-channel order management supply chain

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Shipping Logistics Supply Chain 154

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 21, 2018

Many companies send their employees to leading supply chain conferences. Yet outside the Logistics Service Provider industry, widespread internal training within a supply chain organization remains rare. But that is what Campbell Soup has done, they have put in place an innovative supply chain training program. The Campbell Soup Company is a global food company with a range of products, including soups, simple meals, snacks and healthy beverages. With annual sales of more than $8 […].

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Training Innovation Conference Logistics 111

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People think end-to-end visibility is simply aggregating data from multiple sources, storing it in one place, and serving it up. That task, though hard, is relatively simple; but more importantly, doesn't solve the fundamental challenge - The Data.

Data

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

The CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of Vecna Robotics, Dan Patt and Daniel Theobold, came in to see us at the ARC Advisory Group. We were already very bullish on the autonomous mobile robotics (AMR) industry’s potential to improve warehousing and order fulfillment, but Vecna has some differentiators that make them a very interesting supplier. Warehouse robotics is coming of age. While Vecna has been around since 1998, Vecna’s warehouse robots have only been generally […].

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Groups Innovation Warehousing Logistics 148

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 12, 2018

Most companies invest in transportation management solutions to cut costs. Home Depot has proven that investing in this can improve service and grow revenues. This article describes the path they took to put this business case together. The post Home Depot Grows Revenues by Investing in Time Definite Deliveries appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Retail Transportation Management Systems Home Depot logistics supply chain TMS

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Company System Transportation Management Retail 130

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 24, 2018

Balancing Green is a must-read business book on sustainability. is a well-researched book that cuts through many of the fallacies and wishful thinking that surrounds this topic. The post A Must-Read Business Book on Sustainability appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Supply Chain Risk Management Sustainability risk management supply chain Yossi Sheffi

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Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 16, 2018

Supply chain software companies have been garnering some major investments. Some quiet investments from patient investors are reshaping the industry, These supply chain software companies are benefiting from patient investors. The investors, in turn, are keen on software companies with network solutions. These "digital" companies are seen as having the opportunity to create new types of value for their clients.

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Software Company Industrial Industry 116

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What collaboration between supply chain and ?nance can achieve.

Supply Chain Planning

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 14, 2018

In 2015, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world, got terrible publicity when a spy drone flew over farms operated by one of their subsidiaries and took pictures of lagoons filled with pig feces and urine. Sustainability initiatives provide a way for global brands to improve their brand reputation and reduce risks of further damage to the brand. Smithfield has certainly upped their sustainability game. Last week, on May 8th, the company released […].

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Food Sustainability Global Logistics 106

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 19, 2018

The transportation industry is currently facing a number of daunting challenges. New government policies and regulations and a worsening driver shortage are forcing transportation specialists to reevaluate and change their business practices. Thankfully, there are a number of new technologies available to help the industry get back on the right track. Driver Scarcity Over the past year, the U.S. has experienced moderate economic growth, which has resulted in more products being shipped.

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Transportation Policies Government Shipping 116

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

The air freight landscape has experienced some dramatic shifts in recent years. In fact, those events seem likely to produce some headwinds for air freight shippers in 2018 in locating available air capacity, especially during peak seasons. Over the last few years, digitization has become more prominent in the air industry. As in most industries, big data obtained in real time, from real events, combined with flexible management, is helping air carriers take a more […].

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Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 9, 2018

I am writing this post from Orlando, FL, where I am attending JDA Focus 2018. The theme of the conference was “Expectations. Fulfilled.” and based on some of the new product strategies that were announced, it seems to be an appropriate theme. The big news from the conference was the launch of the JDA Luminate Platform, a connected platform that combines next generation digital technologies with product enhancements to JDA’s core solutions. I talked with […].

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Conference Strategy Inventory Management Inventory 106

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Machine Learning and AI are not magic bullets to solve all supply chain problems. Despite many software companies slapping AI on everything the reality is that there are a lot of hurdles to overcome before AI can be effective. Learn how to leap them.

How To

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 6, 2018

As technology evolves and demand increases, supply chain managers are facing new challenges particularly as they attempt to compete on a global level. Traditional supply chain operations utilizing an optimization engine based on a single network can no longer provide the service that businesses and consumers require. Complacent companies struggling to meet customer demands with the systems of yesterday will be left behind as forward-thinking companies grab market share.

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Meeting Supply Chain Global System 120

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Omni-channel continues to push the bounds of commerce, with companies scrambling to meet customer expectations without sacrificing the bottom line. The rise of e-commerce has been an incredible journey, and one that has opened up new opportunities for retailers and consumer brands alike. But, with the rise of these opportunities comes the growing pains associated with them. One of the biggest concerns is what exactly is the brick and mortar store’s role in the ever-changing […].

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Meeting Retail Company Logistics 125

Logistics Viewpoints

OCTOBER 3, 2016

As consumers’ preferences shifted toward more nutritious foods, PepsiCo purchased companies in this food segment. But this segment has a much more complex supply chain. PepsiCo had to take a new approach to supply chain resilience. Food & Beverage Industry Supply Chain Risk Management APICS PepsiCo resilience supply chain

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Case Study Study Supply Chain Supply Chain Risk Management 201

Logistics Viewpoints

JANUARY 30, 2018

Books have been written, tools like Six Sigma have been embraced, and most people seem to agree that companies retain customers by providing good service and poor customer service results in lost business. Further, the cost of acquiring new customers is much higher than maintaining positive relationships with existing customers. Data consistently supports these theories. A Business Insider Intelligence Report about customer service states that 66 percent of U.S.

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Securing the supply chain starts with having visibility into the status of your assets, but this requires more than GPS coordinates on a map, because security isn’t just about preventing theft. Your assets don’t just need to arrive at their destination. They need to get there on time and untainted by heat, moisture, or physical shock.

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