What's the best design for your dedicated fleet?
When weighing the cost and service benefits of a dedicated truck fleet, consider alternative designs. In many cases, a design with the potential to bring drivers back home on a regular basis will be the best option.
Time for a checkup?
If you haven't improved your logistics network for a while, it might be time for an examination. Here's a five-step method that can cut logistics costs by 10 to 20 percent.
Danger on the high seas
Piracy continues to threaten some of the world's most important shipping lanes. Two defense logistics experts explain the current situation and look at how some governments and private industry are thwarting attacks.
On the road to a smaller carbon footprint
Yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm's initiative to shrink its carbon footprint offers a possible model for other companies that are concerned about their supply chains' greenhouse gas emissions.
What do we really mean by supply chain management?
In this brief excerpt from his book, Future Logistics Challenges, Leif Enarsson of Sweden's Gothenburg University wonders why after all these years we still haven't arrived at a common definition of supply chain management.
A model of independence
After Carestream Health was sold to a new owner, the medical imaging company had to design its own, stand-alone distribution network. Modeling software helped supply chain managers make the right decisions.
Infrastructure investment: The supply chain connection
Government decision makers rarely consider the impact of infrastructure investments on supply chains. But they should: Failing to do so will stifle a nation's economic competitiveness.
Why LSPs don't leverage innovations
Logistics service providers (LSPs) often struggle to extend customized solutions created for specific customers to a broader customer base. What they need is a new model for managing the innovation process.
Desert Reform
To combat a growing insurgency in Iraq, the U.S. military adopted a nontraditional tactic: rebuilding the country's supply chains.
Supply Chain Executive Insight E-Newsletter
Each month the Supply Chain Executive Insight e-newsletter will include brief articles about developments that are often overlooked by other supply chain publications. We will present you with summaries of the latest research as well as new ideas on how to make your supply chain operations more effective. And we'll offer commentary that sheds light on what's happening in supply chains today.Sign up now!
Free Articles From The Current Issue
ASICS keeps pace with growing demandASICS America's single distribution center couldn't keep up with surging demand for its athletic shoes and apparel. Changing its distribution pattern and adding another warehouse helped the company manage both current sales and future growth.
Supply chain versus the volcano
The disruption to air traffic caused by Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a reminder of why we should prepare for both expected and unexpected supply chain risks.
Dealing with our oil addiction
Will the Deepwater Horizon disaster spur us to develop new sources of energy?
There's more to performance management than metrics
Getting people to consistently perform at a high level requires more than implementing an incentive program.
Keeping it personal in a digital world
While electronic communication has become a permanent part of our daily lives, face-to-face communication is still important for supply chain success.
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Perspective
Commentary: Do-it-yourself diesel
Although diesel-powered trucks are our best option right now, it makes sense to develop other fuel sources—even if it means manufacturing it ourselves.
Forward ThinkingCommentary: Do-it-yourself diesel
Although diesel-powered trucks are our best option right now, it makes sense to develop other fuel sources—even if it means manufacturing it ourselves.
Higher oil prices call for flexible supply chains
As companies wrestle with rising energy costs, says MIT Professor David Simchi-Levi, they need to need to know their "tipping point"—the level at which higher prices will necessitate changes in their supply chain strategy.
Forward Thinking
Look to lean in bad times
Bad economic times should require more companies to incorporate lean principles into their supply chains to gain additional flexibility, says Gartner Research Vice President Dan Miklovic.
Forward Thinking
Should the CIO "own" the supply chain?
Merck CIO J. Chris Scalet says he knows of at least 25 CIOs of major companies who have taken on expanded roles in process management in their companies.
Forward Thinking
Manufacturing practices differ widely in North America
A recent survey by the Manufacturing Performance Institute and Industry Week found that when it comes to supply chain integration, Mexican plants are ahead of their counterparts in the United States and Canada.
Forward Thinking
Four with the power to transform
These four IT trends identified by Gartner could have important implications for supply chain information management.
Forward Thinking
Survival of the leanest
Companies need to speed up their adoption of "lean" practices in order to survive the global economic downturn, said one of the founders of the lean movement, Daniel T. Jones.
Forward Thinking
Wood or plastic? That is the pallet question
For years debate has raged in the pallet industry about which type of platform is better for the environment—wood or plastic.
Forward Thinking
Job hunters rely on referrals
Most job hunters, including those in the supply chain field, use personal connections or referrals to find work, according to a recent survey by executive recruiters TopGrading Solutions Inc.
Forward Thinking
Efficiency gains offset by rising fuel prices
The total cost of logistics remained about the same this year as last, as gains made from reduced inventory, costs savings, and greater efficiencies in the warehouse were negated by increases in fuel costs, according to supply chain consulting firm Establish Inc.
Departments
Dialogue: A Conversation With a CSCMP MemberLean leadership
NutriSystem is experiencing phenomenal growth. Customer-focused, "lean" supply chain management is fundamental to the company's success, says Chief Supply Chain Officer Lou Arace.
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