3 quarters down, 1 to go in 2023.
The fourth quarter is typically a busy one for retail and logistics service providers, but as Paul Berger reported on August 29 in the Wall Street Journal, “this year’s peak shipping season is arriving with a whimper as merchants and consumer-goods suppliers continue to burn off excess inventories built up during the Covid-19 pandemic and logistics companies cope with tepid volume and freight rates far below year-ago levels.”
And Liz Young reported last week in the Wall Street Journal that “Logistics companies and fulfillment specialists generally are keeping their hiring flat this year compared with last year, moving cautiously with their traditional seasonal staffing in an uncertain retail economy that has seen tepid growth in sales of goods.”
That said, you also have the automotive labor strikes here in the U.S., the threat (again) of a government shutdown come November 17th, rising oil and diesel prices, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the ever-present threat of cyber attacks.
So, don’t give up on 2023 yet. It might still end with a bang instead of a whimper.
The Quarter in Review
In case you missed them the first time around or want to read/view them again, check out the top posts and new episodes from the third quarter of 2023. After reading/watching them, share this post with your colleagues and social media followers, then post a comment and share your perspective on these topics!
Top Posts
- Barbie’s Creator Was Supply Chain Innovator Too
- Revisiting Three Mega Trends Transforming Supply Chain Management
- Proving the Absence of Forced Labor in Supply Chains
- Time to Rethink Supply Chain Practices?
- Editor’s Pick: Are Current Trucking Spot Rates Sustainable?
- The Tipping Point and Business Case for Warehouse Robots
- TikToK Launches Logistics Service: Makes Sense?
- Law, Trend, and Impact: Sustainability and Global Supply Chains
- The State of Supply Chain Control Towers: Insights from Indago Supply Chain Research Community
- The Disconnect Between Planning and Execution: The Journey to Achieving Cohesive Supply Chain Management
New Episodes
- How Are Companies Engaging With Customers Around Deliveries In 2023?
- Disconnect Between Planning and Execution: The Journey to Achieving Cohesive Supply Chain Management
- The State of Supply Chain Control Towers: Insights from Indago Supply Chain Research Community
- Riviana Foods: Using Optimized Load Building to Reduce Transportation Costs and Improve Sustainability
- Insights On The Temperature-Controlled Shipping Market
- What Dominates the Transportation Management Agenda in 2023?
Indago Research Reports
This quarter we completed seven research surveys and year-to-date we have donated over $2,700 to JDRF, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.
- Engaging With Customers About Deliveries (July 2023): How well do you engage with customers about their deliveries?
- Factoring CO2 Emissions in Selecting Transportation Mode/Carrier (July 2023): Do you currently measure CO2 emissions per shipment? What is the primary driving force to measure the CO2 emissions of shipments? Does your transportation management system take CO2 emissions into consideration in mode, carrier, and/or equipment selection?
- Supply Chain Adjustments in 2nd Half of 2023 (July 2023): What adjustments do you need to make to finish the year strong?
- Continuing Education for Supply Chain Professionals (August 2023): If you were to go back to school (or have already) to improve your skills/knowledge in areas you view as important for continuing your growth as a supply chain leader, what classes would you take?
- Supply Chain Software In The Cloud (August 2023): How receptive is your company to using cloud-based supply chain software? Which applications have you deployed on premise vs. in the cloud?
- Presidential Debates on Supply Chain Issues (September 2023): If a debate were held to solely discuss supply chain related topics, what topics would you include on the agenda?
- Collaboration vs. Cooperation in Supply Chain Management (September 2023): Do you agree or disagree that many people mistake being cooperative with being collaborative? When it comes to your supply chain organization working with other internal functional groups and external trading partners (and those groups and partners working with you), would you characterize your current relationships as being mostly collaborative or mostly cooperative?
If you’re a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a manufacturing, retail, or distribution company, and you want to learn from your peers, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes that need our help today more than ever.
Reminder: There are many ways to stay connected with Talking Logistics and Indago throughout the year — choose all the options that you prefer:
Taking Logistics email Newsletter
Indago LinkedIn Newsletter
LinkedIn Group (Talking Logistics)
LinkedIn Group (Indago)
Twitter (Talking Logistics)
Twitter (Indago)
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