Companies typically spread supply chain costs evenly across customers and products, but that results in some products and services subsidizing others, says Stan Aronow, director of supply chain research at Gartner. Aronow explains how cost-to-serve modeling can provide insights that lead to smarter and more profitable operating decisions.
Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to grow 4.8 percent in January over the same month last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. Estimates show 2013 up 2.8 percent over 2012.
Figures from the International Air Transport Association show a 6.1-percent growth in demand measured in freight tonne kilometers for airfreight in November 2013 over the same month in the previous year. November's performance is an improvement on the 4.4-percent year-on-year demand expansion recorded in October. This continues an improvement trend in the weak air cargo markets which has been developing over 2013.
Widespread delays to Christmas deliveries made headlines over the holiday season. But while carriers like UPS and even FedEx were quick to apologize, a new study suggests they may be shouldering a disproportionate amount of the blame. Kurt Salmon found that the majority of delays experienced in their analysis of holiday shipping and delivery dates were the fault of retailers, not carriers.
Recognized by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals as an emerging supply chain leader, Keiko Arai talks about the supply chain leadership development program she recently completed at Bell Helicopter Textron and why she chose SCM as a career.
Supply chain and logistics play key roles in responding to both acute and chronic humanitarian crises. Whether the cause is a natural disaster, armed conflict or simply undeveloped infrastructure, Jarrod Goentzel says the MIT Humanitarian Response Lab is working to improve supply chain response.
U.S. rail traffic for 2013 saw record intermodal growth with a slight full year decrease in carloadings, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Advanced emissions monitoring of large ships calling at EU ports could help save owners and operators of large ships up to 9m Euro ($12.2m) a year, according to a new study published by sustainable transport group T&E.
While 2013 was a complicated year from a purely economic point of view, the major events contributing to this had very little impact on freight, according to Rosalyn Wilson, senior business analyst for Delcan Corporation. Her overview of the freight industry in 2013 follows.
Before attempting to enter a long-term relationship with a 3PL, shippers first need to be clear internally about the goals and objectives they hope to achieve and about cultural guard rails that might thwart necessary information sharing, says Sean Coakley, senior vice president at Kenco Logistics Group.