It’s a time-honored tradition in the world of logistics: after the holiday decorations are all taken down and the last of the cookies are eaten, the season of returns begins. Brick and mortar retailers are used to post-holiday returns, but for online retailers, this season increasingly lasts all year. Reverse logistics–the complicated science of feeding […]
There’s no denying that Amazon (and e-commerce more generally) has irrevocably changed the science of warehouse management. Warehouses, which were once seen as a necessary but uninspiring cost center, are now the lynchpin in many companies’ distribution strategies. Order turnaround has been cut from days to hours, so highly-organized warehouse processes are a must to […]
By practically any metric, 2018 was a roller-coaster of a year for anyone in the world of logistics or supply chain management. The economy boomed, but the rumblings of nationalism and isolationism threatened to bring the expansion to a screeching halt. Technological developments promised huge leaps in efficiency, but the bottleneck of the driver shortage […]
It seems like just yesterday Millennials were the new generation disrupting old paradigms and forcing businesses to adapt to their preferences. But these days, there’s a fresh crop of young people joining the workforce and the marketplace: Generation Z. Gen Z–generally considered to comprise people born between 1995 and 2005–is beginning to come of age, […]
When Silicon Valley startups set their sights on trucking and freight brokerage, they promised to “disrupt” the industry, employing the familiar, utopian condescension with which tech companies have promised to solve all the world’s problems. (The heading of Convoy’s website reads: “Transporting the World with Endless Capacity and Zero Waste.”) Yet in the short time […]
As relations between the U.S. and China remain in turmoil, and China shifts the focus of its economy away from low-value manufacturing, supply chain managers are increasingly scouting for new countries in which to do business, and many are particularly curious about India. India, after all, boasts the world’s ninth-largest economy, a booming IT sector, […]
When discussing the impending low-sulfur fuel (LSF) rule for maritime shipping, it’s tempting to borrow the imagery of disasters. For example, picture the coming regulation as an iceberg, and carriers as the ocean liners waiting until the last possible minute to swerve out of its way. If that picture seems dramatic, it’s because the situation […]
There’s no denying that the American trucking landscape is in turmoil. Transportation costs for U.S. businesses are up seven percent, year-over-year. What some were calling a “crisis” a few months ago has settled into a new normal, with higher rates and tighter capacity than anyone has experienced in decades. Along with rates, tensions between shippers […]
In the weeks since the U.S., Canada, and Mexico signed the USMCA trade deal, analysts around the world have begun to unpack how this new arrangement differs from NAFTA, and what it may portend for future negotiations with the U.S.. To be sure, the Trump Administration’s hard-line bargaining tactics secured some “wins” for American manufacturers, […]
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most ambitious undertakings in modern history, and of all its myriad projects, the construction of new rail lines to connect China with Europe are among the most visible. Like much of the Belt and Road, the impact of China-Europe rail is fiercely debated, with some observers […]