For a number of years, companies were focusing on keeping just-in-time (JIT) inventory to avoid having substantial overstocks. And for a while, this did seem to result in a more positive bottom line. Then COVID hit and we all remember the shortages of toilet paper, food products, and PPE items, […]
Logistics
A global supply chain. A pandemic that disrupts production. A demanding customer base (both B2C and B2B) expecting on-time delivery and not interested in why they can’t get what they want when they want it. These are the challenges facing businesses today. There’s no question that COVID-19 has been the […]
There was both anticipation and dread when the ELD mandate was first proposed and then enacted. So what are the results? Data is still being gathered on the effects ELDs have had on the trucking industry and on road safety issues. The ELD mandate was first proposed in 2012 and […]
Logistics now plays an even more integral role in actually satisfying customer demand. Businesses that minimize the importance of logistics do so at their peril. The world of buyers and sellers is constantly transforming itself. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), there was a 3,000 percent increase in […]
If Siri or Alexa are part of your life, then you are already experiencing the wonder of AI. AI (or artificial intelligence) at one time was the stuff of sci-fi fantasy (think Westworld or Terminator), but the concept of machine learning or deep learning is already a part of many […]
There is no disputing the fact that e-commerce has completely upended the retail industry; but it’s also affected every aspect of their supply chain … including shipping and delivery. If you had searched for the term “final mile” as it pertains to shipping a decade ago, you would have had […]
In 1944, the heads of seventeen independent truck leasing companies from all over the US met in Chicago and formed the National Truck Leasing System, which became NationaLease. Although the overarching goal was to promote the truck leasing industry, members soon realized that each of them was also benefitting from […]
I recently wrote two IdeaXchange blogs on disaster recovery: one on company preparedness and one on setting up a crisis management team. But what is the actual cost in dollars? 2018 has been horrifying in the number and intensity of natural disasters. And costs are still being assessed. The numbers […]
Getting from “here” to “there” has never been more challenging for those tasked with delivering freight. Logistics is key to optimizing those deliveries. It should come as no surprise to anyone within the trucking industry that, between traffic bottlenecks, a lack of parking spaces, overcrowded distribution centers, and regulations, it […]