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 […]
It’s a volatile time for US-China relations, and the effects of the brewing trade war are being felt around the world. Seemingly every week, a new volley of tariffs is announced by the Chinese government or the Trump administration, creating uncertainty for freight forwarders, Wall Street traders, and heartland farmers alike. Despite the fact that […]
After a 2017 in which ocean carriers fought to stabilize their industry, rates may be about to drop again in 2018. Tepid economic forecasts and the persistent problem of overcapacity could keep contract rates low for much of the year. While this may be a boon to shippers, the year ahead has plenty of potential […]
The United States is reeling from a particularly brutal hurricane season, with Harvey and Irma predicted to costs hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction and the loss of life is incalculable. But while many have called these storms “historic” or “once-in-a-lifetime,” the reality is that extreme weather events are becoming all too common, as […]
This month, Bangladesh’s finance minister announced plans to construct a floating terminal to alleviate the congestion that is crippling Chittagong, the country’s largest port. The concept is one of several bold steps the Bangladeshi government, private sector, and regional allies are considering to eliminate the bottleneck that is threatening Bangladesh’s burgeoning economy and costing shippers […]
Expanding a business internationally can seem like a daunting prospect in the best of times, and especially in 2017. Brexit, American political unrest, and a growing strain of economic nationalism have created an uncertain outlook for global trade, but these factors alone should not deter businesses from pursuing expansion. The rise of e-commerce, sophisticated data […]
This year, logistics professionals have noticed a resurgence of interest in intermodal shipping, the practice of moving containers across multiple forms of transport (rail, ship, and/or truck). Intermodal’s popularity subsided somewhat in 2015 and 2016, when excess capacity caused trucking prices to plummet. But as trucking rates rise in 2017, shippers are once again interested […]
This month, over 300,000 computers around the world were subjected to a massive cyberattack from the aptly-named WannaCry software. This attack is the latest and largest appearance of an emerging type of hacking known as “ransomware.” In a ransomware attack, victims find themselves locked out of their own data, which is encrypted unless they agree to pay […]