by Dr. Madhav Durbha Supply chain risks in the spotlight: Effects of Hanjin Shipping filing bankruptcy protection. A few days ago, the world’s seventh largest container shipping company by volume, Hanjin Shipping, filed for bankruptcy protection. A lot of the products being shipped by Hanjin are headed to US and European retailers getting ready for the holiday season (toys, electronics, clothing, furniture, etc). MORE

A behemoth in the logistics industry, UPS has operations in shipping, air freight, trucking, last-mile delivery and drone delivery. Revenue: $69.217 billion (12 months ending May 31, 2020), $69.693 billion (2019) Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee, USA CEO: Frederick W. MORE

Many off-shore manufacturers have returned to the U.S., Those changes, along with high costs of transporting materials and finished goods to and from overseas locations, make the value of reshoring likely to become a compelling financial reality for many manufacturers. manufacturers hurried to produce off-shore, believing significant cost reductions and huge profits would follow. 70% of manufacturers indicate that volatile energy costs are a major concern. MORE

She spent her childhood and much of her professional life managing people, originally on processing ships in the Bering Sea, then later in manufacturing. Crystal Creek is a direct-to-consumer fulfillment business that provides shipping for ecommerce retailers across the U.S. MORE

Whether you''re a manufacturing company in China, a sourcing agent in London or a world''s leading company in Silicon Valley, we''re all in a global supply chain networks. Paul Dittmann , Executive Director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee Improving operational efficiency in the global supply chain is a complex undertaking, and requires a documented, multi-year strategy instead of knee jerk reactions, and programs of the month. MORE

Rupy Sawhney is the Heath Fellow in Business and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, combining both fields through his knowledge of lean manufacturing, the optimization of production without a drop off in quality or worker health. Warehousing effectiveness depends upon the accuracy of the physical inventory in the warehouse with the respect to the inventory indicated in the computer system. MORE

In addition to cutting the need for outsourced manufacturing, this move could give the company a leg up on the competition by making it possible to get products in the hands of consumers faster. In higher-traffic markets, Advance Auto Parts has “hub” stores that keep more inventory in-stock to give customers what they need when they need it. The new facility will allow the company to offer two-day shipping to most (about 90%) of the U.S. MORE

Only 29% of manufacturers easily manage total cost trade-offs. Total cost analysis is more difficult than it sounds and most technology implementations automated functional measurement systems (manufacturing or procurement), but leave the organization blind on the management of total costs. MORE

At the center of Atlas’ product line is Atlas Exchange, a secure document exchange providing a “connect-once, access-all” network, securely linking retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and logistics service providers. Moving on to 3PL news, FedEx was indicted by the Justice Department for shipping packages from illegal online pharmacies despite being warned from U.S. 36 healthcare-capable FSL sites will provide medical device manufacturers access to over 80 percent of U.S. MORE

In today’s global economy, supply chains include all the people, systems, vendors, suppliers and processes involved in designing, making, selling, inventorying, shipping and delivering a product. The lack of visibility — the ability to track parts or products from the manufacturer to their final destination — is a supply chain weakness with massive consequences. Forbes, April 8, 2019. On their face, supply chains sound straightforward. MORE

“There’s a chance that your technology is limiting your ability to manage key elements of your shipping, supply chain and infrastructure. Audit Your Shipping Rates. “You should audit your shipping rates a few times per year. For many manufacturers, the coronavirus pandemic proved to be an excessive stress test. 5] In most cases, manufacturers that have pivoted to crisis production will pivot back to normal operations. MORE

If you’re not able to clearly see, examine, impact and manage every aspect of your supply chain and inventory processes – order status, shipments, in-transit goods, trade documents, costs, exceptions and more – you might as well be operating with blinders on. Or how about if you need capacity for a shipment – broadcast it across the social media outlets and you are likely to find space for your products to ship. MORE

I am buying a sheep and goat farm alongside a larger space for a garment factory so that I can control where the cashmere and wool is coming from, how it is processed and how it is manufactured before it is sent to my customers. It is absolutely imperative to be in a position to do as much quality control as possible in house, so that all that is required thereafter is shipping from the manufacturer straight to the customer. MORE

When it is not in motion, it is classified as inventory. But this took time – we had to “defrag” our supply chain, and eventually I learned we had 59 days of inventory. You can either ship it by boat from China (30 days) or by plane (FedEx). A simple chart was used to depict inventory, with the size of the indicative of the amount of cash tied up in that inventory. MORE