Food & Beverage

Rising Van Sales Suggest that U.S. Businesses Feeling More Confident About Growth

August 14, 2012

How can we tell how small businesses are feeling? Find out how many vans they're buying. Van sales were up 32 percent in July over last year, a greater increase than nearly every other vehicle type, except for sports cars, according to data from Bloomberg Industries.

Why Southeast Michigan's Economy Is Bouncing Back

August 14, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

What Rust Belt? Timothy Butler, associate professor at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration, details how Southeast Michigan's economy - of which the automotive industry is a major piece - is recovering.

Criteria for Make-vs.-Buy Decisions

August 10, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

MeadWestvaco, a global packaging solutions provider, has identified a number of new markets in which it sees the potential for profitable growth, says Brian McClure, director of global procurement and supply chain. As the company moves into these new markets, it is faced with a lot of decisions about whether to make or buy goods and services.

Ensuring Customer Satisfaction With the Right Insurance

August 9, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

For an online retailer of collectibles from Disney World and other Florida theme parks, damage in shipment is just a fact of business life. That's why the insurance carrier it has is so vital to the e-tailer's continued success.

In a Complex Retail World, Kellogg Company Turns to Demand Sensing

August 6, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

The big name in cereal and snacks seeks to improve forecast accuracy through the adoption of a new tool that supplements traditional supply-chain planning processes with a broader range of information about actual customer demand.

Kmart Australia's Supply Chain Goes Direct to the Source

August 6, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

As part of a program to cut costs and guarantee the lowest prices on the market, the big retailer seeks to boost its reliance on direct sourcing. But the change will require a major overhaul of its IT supply-chain infrastructure for dealing with key suppliers.

The Evolution of Voice Applications

August 6, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Advances in voice technology have made the productivity and accuracy benefits of voice-directed applications much more widely available, without extensive and expensive software implementation, says Mark Engemann, Southeast regional account manager at Wavelink.

You Know Governance/Risk Management/Compliance Is Important, But Can You Define It?

August 3, 2012

CFO

Financial executives may wonder about all the fuss surrounding "GRC," or governance, risk management, and compliance. Is it just a repackaging by consultants and software vendors that brings together risk and compliance management? Why does everyone have a different definition of GRC, and if it is actually important, how do we know our GRC processes are effective?

Shipper/Transportation Provider Coalition Files Brief Attacking Trucking Hours of Service Rule

August 3, 2012

National Retail Federation

Fifteen industry groups representing most sectors of the domestic economy have filed a joint amici curiae brief challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Hours of Service Final Rules for commercial truck drivers. They allege that portions of the rule will slow productivity, hurt jobs and have a negative impact on agriculture, manufacturers, retail supply chains and distribution operations.

Capitalizing on the Power of the Smarter Consumer

August 2, 2012

IBM

Smarter consumers want retailers to listen to them, know them and empower them - at the same time that these consumers are becoming more difficult to know.

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.