Articles
Commentary
How Manufacturers Can Navigate Global Supply Chain Upheaval
Supply chains have been teetering on the brink of downfall for many years from issues such as labor shortages, and the pandemic has only highlighted this problem further. When lockdowns started around the world, many empty shipping containers remained where they were. However, in early summer 2021, many countries loosened restrictions around COVID, unleashing pent-up […]
Read MoreThe Manufacturing Workforce in 2022: Restraints, Predictions, and Implications
Manufacturers are not immune from the impact of the worker shortage that shows little to no sign of ceasing. Heres how to rebuild the talent pipeline.
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4 Steps to Building Cyber-Resiliency
Cyber-exploitation through contractor networks is becoming more prevalent. Cyber-insecure suppliers and contractors provide covert backdoor access to more prominent corporations.
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Early Amazon Story Explains How to Create Resiliency
Early in Amazon’s history there is a famous story about a renegotiation of its UPS contract. It is one of the first examples of Amazon realizing its scale and utilizing and leveraging it for growth.
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Sideways Ships and Missing Chips: Overcoming E-Bike Blockages
Most businesses were impacted by the pandemic and the e-bike supply chain was no exception.
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Robots Do Yardwork, Too
Efficient warehouse operations provide the levels of service that customers demand as America’s economy scales up. In many instances, yard operations impede that efficiency. Safety, driver facilities, cooperation, and consideration for truckers’ time are ongoing challenges. One driver tells us that a yard he regularly serves is "like a moonscape." The confluence of e-commerce growth […]
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How would you summarize the supply chain in 2021 in five words?
A never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
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Big Transportation Impacts Small and Mid-Size Businesses
One often overlooked budget item in growing companies is transportation and logistics. As companies focus on growth, the oversight of logistics programs frequently becomes a complimentary duty of employees whose primary focus might be in other company disciplines.
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6 Reasons You Should Control Inbound Logistics
If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s this—supply chains are brittle. If raw materials or parts don’t get to where they need to be on time, manufacturing plants grind to a halt, orders are not fulfilled, customers are unhappy, and the bottom line suffers. A pandemic—and its knock-on effects of shortages—is not something companies […]
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What’s the most challenging time-critical shipment you ever pulled off? How?
I worked for a 3PL in Holland that distributed surgical products. A Luxembourg hospital contacted us after hours, after realizing they did not have the right-size heart valve for a patient needing immediate surgery. One of our employees delivered the valve there in his car, saving the patient’s life.
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