Food & Beverage

Four-Year Low in Container Shipping Rates Hits Intra-Asian Trades

February 23, 2015

Container shipping rates on intra-Asia trades have fallen to their lowest level in four years, according to the Container Freight Rate Insight which is updated weekly and published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

In Retail Demand Planning, The Numbers Can Lie

February 23, 2015

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Retail demand planning is, to a great extent, a game of numbers. But the store that relies entirely on hard statistics is likely to be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Alignment Is Not Just for Cars

February 20, 2015

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Alignment is the positioning of parts so they are in their proper position to run correctly – as in car parts. Alignment is also the ability to optimize the business results by aligning people, programs and business processes. According to Supply Chain Insights, Alignment continues to be one of the top three supply chain business initiatives in 2015. – Mickey North Rizza, VP Strategic Services, BravoSolution

Kintetsu World Express Looks to Gobble Up APL Logistics

February 20, 2015

Maritime Executive

Japanese freight carrier Kintetsu World Express Inc. is buying Singapore's APL Logistics for $1.2bn, paying a higher than anticipated price for an overseas deal at a time of slow domestic growth.

Internal and External Misalignment

February 19, 2015

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: A major reason the majority of start-ups and mergers are destined to fail is that companies are not aligned when it comes to determining the nature of their business, what they want to achieve and how they will achieve it. Misalignment can happen both internally and externally and almost always translates into frustration and failure. – Kate Vitasek, Faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Graduate Executive Education programs.

Mobile Commerce More Likely to Help Than Harm In-store Sales - if Harnessed Properly

February 18, 2015

Forbes

The buzz about the threat of mobile/e-commerce to physical stores has at times echoed "All About Eve," with "thumb shopping" playing the role of the ingénue poised to outshine those brick-and-mortar has-beens. But mobile shopping will actually have the opposite effect, according to Matt Moog, CEO of PowerReviews, which bills itself as a "Consumer Engagement Engine" that helps companies connect shoppers at the moment of purchase to drive sales.

Manufacturing in Africa Is on the Upswing

February 18, 2015

MAPI

The evidence of strengthening in African manufacturing is increasingly persuasive. Between 2000 and 2010, the share of the African population living on less than $1.25 per day fell from 58 percent to 48 percent. In no small part, the falling rate of extreme poverty is driven by much-improved output performance.

CytoSport Muscles Up ROI

February 17, 2015

MercuryGate

Eyefreight SaaS TMS Improves Freight Management Efficiency

February 17, 2015

Challenge: One of the world's largest steel manufacturers seeks to improve the efficiency of its logistics function. The manufacturer faces two key challenges: 1.) An overall lack of efficiency of all outbound freight flows to worldwide destinations. 2.) A manual, resource-heavy process for managing all shipments, associated costs and billing activity from end to end.

Improved Invoice Processing and Increased Vendor Count

February 17, 2015

Challenge: In an effort to better communicate with external partners and suppliers, a national gas and convenience store chain was looking to improve order management, invoicing and overall visibility into the supply chain.

Food & Beverage

The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the food and beverage industries. Learn how food and beverage companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.