Weather events around the world disrupts production of a key component. A port strike delays imports. An equipment breakdown strands a shipment. These require action in the moment. But anticipating these events before they happen can make the difference between surviving and succeeding. “You have to have increased sensitivity in your company to the severe impacts that supply chain disruptions ...

In many fields, technological advances bring focus and simplification. The exponential growth of e-commerce and omni-channel retail, however, has done quite the opposite when it comes to distribution centers and material handling. Conversations have become increasingly complex, solutions more varied—and the timeline faster than ever. “Before, there certainly was more predictability,” said Kris Bjorson, international director, retail e-commerce and distribution, ...

By Gary Forger Think about this for a minute. The U.S. is expected to generate about 270,000 logistics-related jobs each year through 2018. At current job creation rates, that’s a bit more than 10 percent of all new jobs annually in the U.S. Many of these people will be working in warehousing and distribution as well as trucking, operations management, ...

By Joel Kranc By all accounts and economic indicators, the U.S. economy grew more than expected in the second quarter with higher GDP and private employers maintaining an increased pace of hiring. A recovery with some momentum has been building and this can be seen in the logistics and supply chain industries as well. A recent “Logistics Market Snapshot” produced ...

By Michael Fickes Do the demands of the manual material handling tasks you assign fit the capabilities of your workers? Have you studied the experience of your workers, watched them on the job looking for awkward postures, repetitive motions, fatigue and other indicators of a poor fit? According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), ergonomics is ...

Until two years ago, Moosejaw Mountaineering & Backcountry Travel, an online and brick and mortar retailer specializing in outdoor recreation apparel and gear, relied on a paper-based warehouse management system. Plans to add four additional stores to bring the number to 11 and an increasing volume of online orders spurred the move to automate the process. “We’re a small information ...

In a time of increased scrutiny of factory conditions in developing countries, for-profit startup LaborVoices Inc. aims to make supply chains transparent for corporate brands while providing “a voice for global workers” by gathering real-time data from thousands of laborers across the world. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company has set up a system to regularly survey workers on safety, wages and ...

Since 1999, the Panama Canal has attracted more and more traffic. Supply chain strategists are all looking at the Panama Canal expansion to see what effect the expanded Panama Canal will have on business. Scheduled to open in 2015, the expanded Canal will have a third set of locks. “The third set of locks will add a third lane, which ...

New methods of harvesting natural gas and oil from shale formations through fracking (hydraulic fracturing) have already provided several benefits to the U.S. But how widespread and long-term will those effects be, and how will they impact the companies that make up the supply chain throughout the U.S.? Lower energy prices Unconventional production methods have produced an abundance of natural ...

  Cold storage isn’t just about storage anymore. Different processors often specify different shelf lives – 90 days for this product and 100 days for that one – and cold storage warehouses must often provide multiple temperature zones for different products. And, when the seasons change, so might the products and the temperatures. Industries that need cold storage facilities – ...