Logistics

Truckload Linehaul Rates Dip Recently, But Are Up Over a Year Ago

April 12, 2013

Truckload linehaul rates fell 1.3 percent from February to March, compared to an average month-to-month decrease of about 0.6 percent. Year-over-year, rates are up 3.9 percent.

Corporate Social Responsibility at the Grass-Roots Level

April 12, 2013

Procurement Leaders

Most procurement functions are covering the basics of incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) processes, but this effort is more tactical than strategic. According to a recent Procurement Leaders study, 82 percent of procurement functions have managed to include CSR in their supplier selection and evaluation criteria.

Accessing Hidden Costs in Broken Supply Chains

April 12, 2013

Bain & Company

For decades, governments and companies around the world have focused almost exclusively on tariffs as the biggest impediment to global trade. Despite tariffs dropping to a 30-year low, reform efforts have stalled in recent years and international trade remains seriously constrained.

Four Experts Sound Off on the Control Tower Approach to Supply Chain Management

April 12, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Breaking down functional silos to create transparent and responsive end-to-end supply chains has long been an intractable supply chain challenge, but many companies are finding success using a control tower concept that gets everyone working off the same plan and focused on the same outcome.

Losses Mount as Returns Fraud Stings Online Merchants, Report Says

April 12, 2013

MultiChannel Merchant

The National Retail Federation estimates that nearly $9bn was lost by merchants in returns fraud in 2012. And according to a report from ThreatMetrix, online fraud resulted in about $3.5bn in lost revenue in North America last year.

How Multi-Channel Retailing Impacts Distribution Networks

April 12, 2013

Kris Bjorson, International Director, Jones Lang LaSalle

An Insider's View of Panama's Colon Free Trade Zone

April 12, 2013

Nelson Cabrera, Director, Business Development, Lilly and Associates

UHC Hospitals Reach Record Supply Chain Savings

April 11, 2013

Healthcare Finance News

UHC announced that its member academic medical centers achieved record supply chain savings and value of $400m in 2012. The saving amount represents five percent of UHC members' record aggregated spend of $8.1bn and includes cash returns as well as operational savings.

Widespread Adoption of Web-based TMS 'Only a Matter of Time'

April 11, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

While it can't be said that every company has tapped into web-based transportation management systems, such applications have been around long enough to no longer qualify as new - and their presence in the enterprise is growing. Is it fair to say that traditional TMS software has been overtaken by web TMS? Perhaps not, but such online, hosted or on-demand systems are proliferating. They are quick to deploy in most cases, they are highly scalable and the faster-time-to-ROI argument hasn't hurt web-based TMS adoption either.

Brown-Forman Embraces Visibility to Cope With Rapid Growth

April 11, 2013

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

The giant producer of alcoholic beverages lacked visibility of its prepaid ocean shipments and carrier performance levels. It sought a single platform for managing the flow of goods from the factory all the way to destination.

Logistics

The latest news, analysis, services and systems regarding logistics and freight and their impact on global supply chains. Today’s companies are transporting and delivering perishables and manufactured goods in a more timely and efficient manner than ever before through logistics solutions. New technologies that provide information during local and global shipments are transforming the way companies do business - and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As transportation and distribution services continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies are using logistics and cargo solutions to power their supply chains.