Articles
Checking In
Less Lip Service, More Customer Service
When times are good, everyone says they are focused on customer service, but admittedly some of that is lip service. When times are bad, are carriers and service providers truly focused on providing you good customer service, or are they cutting customer service corners? Are you as concerned about customer service these days, or is […]
Read MoreJust Say No to Slow-Mo
When the economy slows, so does the pace of shipments. To cut costs, some companies shift to less-expensive deferred delivery services. But there are cases where speed helps reduce overall costs, even when economic activity is flat. Here’s one example that bucks the slow-mo shipment trend line. Acoording to press reports, an Australian retailer, Coles […]
Read MoreA Lesson From Ghana
“Ghana will not become a middle-income status country without a coherent supply chain strategy.” So says leading African academic Dr. Douglas Boateng in an open letter to Ghana’s government (http://snipurl.com/ilghana). Dr. Boateng takes the government to task on its lack of supply chain vision, pointing out that despite the abundance of natural resources≠gold, cocoa, diamonds, […]
Read MoreDialing Into Truck Tone
You pick up the phone and get a dial tone. You move to a keyboard and you have Web tone. Many of us take these amazing enablements for granted, rarely considering how they work, just expecting that they will—all the time, every time. We only consider their absence when and if they fail. But what […]
Read MoreShades of Green
Inbound Logistics is green—as a mission and as a magazine. Matching demand to supply, our founding principle, is an evergreen strategy that eliminates waste: energy, money, and time. By embracing demand-driven practices, companies optimize transportation, reduce warehouse inventory and costs, increase transparency, and trigger countless efficiencies elsewhere in the enterprise. Executing on demand, and specifying […]
Read MoreI Love My Customer
If you think your love for a 3PL is an exclusive one-way street, think again. The feelings are mutual. Sure, you appreciate the value a logistics service provider brings to the relationship: the core intelligence, the sense and sensibility, the thoughtfulness when planning on future demand. But don’t be fooled. 3PLs have a vested business […]
Read MoreI Love My 3PL
Based on the 6,000+ responses to our annual survey of the third-party logistics market, readers really love their 3PLs. Despite the economic downturn in 2008, more companies responding to the survey—from small B-to-C startups to large multinationals, from healthy businesses weathering the maelstrom to names in the news suffering through privation detailed in today’s headlines—increased […]
Read MoreWrong Street Journal?
A recent Wall St. Journal article, “Clarity is Missing Link in Supply Chain” (May 18, 2009) wrongly defines just-in-time (a small and strictly defined subset of demand-driven logistics), then concludes that practicing JIT in a recession makes things worse. The article opens with the CEO of chip designer Zoran Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., wondering why his […]
Read MoreFrom Sow’s Ear to Silk Purse
Turning adversity into opportunity is standard practice for logistics professionals, but it seems everyone is taking that approach in today’s economic climate. Like most businesses, warehouses and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are feeling the pinch. The part of their business based on creating value for customers, and sharing in that, is doing OK. But for […]
Read MoreSaaS: A Distribution Model For Tough Times?
The lead article in our annual technology issue 15 years ago featured Barbara Barnhill, transportation supervisor for Elizabeth Arden. She excitedly shared the details of her company’s “revolutionary” inbound transportation program, which racked up million-dollar savings by using the latest technology—a fax machine. Times have changed since the fax machine and its dial tone were […]
Read More