Logistics

A Well-Designed Inventory Planning & Optimization Strategy Must Be Maintained

March 13, 2012

Analyst Insight: It can be a struggle for organizations to obtain the right balance between keeping enough inventory on hand to meet customer demand and minimizing costs related to carrying inventory. APQC's research indicates that best-practice organizations achieve this balance through the creation of inventory optimization programs with well-designed strategies, effective processes, appropriate technology, and regular assessment. - Becky Partida, knowledge specialist, APQC

Inttra Debuts Multi-Party Electronic Bill of Lading for Ocean Freight

March 13, 2012

Inttra

Inttra, provider of an independent platform for booking and managing ocean freight, has created what it says is the industry's first standardized electronic bill of lading.

The Open Group Previews First Standard for Supply-Chain Security

March 13, 2012

The Open Group

The Open Group has issued a "preview" of its new standard for promoting best practices in the area of supply-chain security. The Open Trusted Technology Provider Standard (O-TTPS) Snapshot, developed by The Open Group Trusted Technology Forum (OTTF), was designed for use by global providers and users of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products for information and communication technology (ICT).

Who's to Blame for Ocean Carriers' Losses?

March 12, 2012

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Back in the early 1980s, when I was new to the world of transportation, logistics and the supply chain, I recall ocean carriers complaining that their freight rates weren't high enough to meet operating costs, let alone generate a profit. They were begging shippers to accept higher rates, in exchange for greater service reliability. Yet every time they would achieve some traction on the rate front, they would flood the market with new capacity, and offer deep discounts in order to fill the new ships. Then they would appeal to shippers for higher rates ...

You Need to Create Lean Value Streams

March 12, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: 2011 marked a watershed year in the way supply chain managers conceived of global practice. Natural disasters that shook up traditional global sourcing coupled with a growing willingness to rethink the value of lowest piece-part pricing led companies to reassess what it means to operate efficient, effective supply chains. Companies are rethinking and reconfiguring supply chains to be more rational, regional, practical, low in total cost and risk, and high in fostering quality and customer value - moving toward rational, lean value streams. - John Shook, chairman and CEO, Lean Enterprise Institute

Single Border Portal Tops Importers' Wish List

March 9, 2012

JOC Sailings

With dozens of federal agencies having some degree of involvement in the cargo clearance process, importers are crying out for a single government portal at the border.

Saudi Airlines Cargo Readies Three Weekly Freighters From Benelux to Dubai

March 9, 2012

Saudi Airlines Cargo

Saudi Airlines Cargo will begin operating three weekly 747 freighters from the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) region to Dubai, United Arab Emirates in March.

IMO Adopts Guidelines for Mandatory Energy Efficiency Measures in International Shipping

March 8, 2012

Maritime Executive

An important series of guidelines to support the uniform implementation of mandatory measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from international shipping was adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), when it met for its 63rd session from Feb. 27 to March 2, 2012, at IMO Headquarters in London, paving the way for the regulations to be smoothly and uniformly implemented by Administrations and industry.

As Keystone XL Stalls in Congress, Rail is 'Pipeline' for North Dakota Oil Fields

March 8, 2012

The Financial Post

On any given week, three to seven CP Rail trains laden with crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken field whisk across North America, bypassing the pipeline bottlenecks in mid-continent that are depressing oil prices and unaffected by the noise in Washington, D.C., that is holding back the Keystone XL pipeline.