Quality & Metrics

Volatility Squeezing Global Private Label Supply Chain, Study Finds

June 28, 2013

Rising and increasingly volatile costs dominate retailers' top challenges sourcing private label goods, while changes in consumer behavior fueled by mobility and online shopping are driving the strategic importance of private label sourcing, according to Deloitte's study entitled Private Label Sourcing: Strategies to Differentiate and Defend.

Successful Technology Integration with 3PL Providers

June 27, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

As head of IT for Global Supply Chain Solutions at Ryder, a major third-party logistics provider, Gregory Knott well understands the issues surrounding technology integration between third parties and customers. Here he offers useful advice to outsourcing partners on both sides of a contract.

Four Experts on How Mobility Solutions Boost Supply Chain Efficiency

June 26, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Mobility solutions are boosting employee and asset efficiency, increasing safety and reducing risk, especially for trucking companies. These and other mobility-driven changes are discussed by John Favors, specialist in field technical services at CBeyond; Michael Nischan, risk control and safety consultant, The McCart Group; Ryan Barnett, director-market development, XRS Corp; and Chad Oginz, enterprise account executive, Ortec. The conversation is facilitated by SupplyChainBrain Editor Emeritus Jean Murphy.

How Can a Merged-Channel Retailer Beat Pure-Play E-tailer Like Amazon at E-commerce?

June 26, 2013

Storefront Backtalk

After some 19 years of struggling with e-commerce, Walmart is once again learning that managing a merged channel retail strategy is almost never going to beat a well-run pure play e-tailer like Amazon when it comes to online sales.

How Distributors Are Meeting Today's Biggest Challenges

June 25, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Ever-increasing customer expectations are forcing distributors to take a more intelligent approach to putaway, picking and labor management, says Allan Kohl, president and chief executive officer of KOM International.

Report: CPG Companies, Retailers Shift Focus to 'New Rules of Consumer Engagement'

June 24, 2013

Grocery Manufacturers Association, PwC

Retailers and consumer packaged goods companies are dealing with new rules of consumer engagement as they seize opportunities from advanced technology and the digitally connected consumer, according to the 2013 Financial Performance Report by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and PwC US, titled Growth Strategies: Unlocking the Power of the Consumer.

How Supply Chain Became the 'Truth-Teller' at Johnson & Johnson

June 24, 2013

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Eight p.m. in the "war room" of Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems: 150 people from all over the world are on a conference call. The topic is a supply outage of trocars, a medical device used in microscopic surgery. Someone on the line, clearly untroubled by the crisis, speaks up. "It's just a trocar," he says.

GE Capital Allies With Mobileye; Teams With Element Financial

June 21, 2013

GE Capital

GE Capital Fleet Services has entered into an agreement with Mobileye, giving its truck-fleet customers access to the latter's collision-avoidance system.

Omni-Channel Customers Drive Supply Chain Agility

June 21, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Today's multichannel consumers are driving manufacturers and retailers to find new ways to sustain service levels while containing costs. This, in turn, requires transportation and logistics providers to be more innovative and agile than ever.

Manufacturing, Logistics Industries Ranked in All 50 States

June 21, 2013

Ball State University

New York's manufacturing sector receives an 'F' and its logistics gets a 'C'. The situation isn't much better for several nearby states, according to the 2013 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card, an in-depth analysis from Ball State University's Center for Business and Economic Research. The report grades all 50 states, ranking several areas of the economy.