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Becoming a successful freight agent takes dedication, a strong work ethic, organizational skills and creative problem solving – just to name a few skills. Today, freight agent programs are making it easier to find success, but it’s important to find the right program – one designed with your unique situation in mind. Why choose the GlobalTranz freight…

Many shippers have realized that working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) leads to more efficiencies and cost savings. It also allows shippers to focus on their core competencies. But 3PLs are not one size fits all. There are a variety of third-party logistics services available, making it particularly important to choose the right one.…

While it’s common knowledge that each generation of workers has different requirements, the degree to which current job seekers vote with their feet when it comes to choosing companies based on these preferences is surprising. A CNBC/Momentive survey released earlier this month found those in the job market want to work for firms that share their values.…

Have you ever played chess? It’s a simple game where two players square off against each other with 16 pieces each on a board with 64 spaces. By the time each player is three moves into the game, there are 121 million ways the game could have unfolded. In fact, there are so many different…

As if transportation and logistics executives didn’t already have enough challenges to deal with, high fuel prices have been added to their plate. As reported in a recent CNBC article, “Diesel prices are contributing to inflationary headwinds due to the fuel’s vital role in the American and global economy. Tankers, trains, and trucks all run on…

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “May you live in interesting times.” It’s supposedly a Chinese curse, although there is no verified Chinese source for the phrase. Nonetheless, to live in interesting times, per the curse, is to live in times of trouble and uncertainty. I think we can all agree that we have all been…

Benjamin Franklin famously said that “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” While this is certainly true, it doesn’t mean that coming up with a plan and an executable strategy is easy, especially in a very volatile and uncertain market like we are experiencing currently. So, if you’re a transportation executive, what are…

It’s no secret that Google and Amazon.com are continuously looking to outmaneuver each other, especially in logistics-related areas such as same-day delivery and drones…In short, logistics is becoming a greater competitive differentiator for companies across all industries, so if Google wants to seriously compete with Amazon on that front, it needs to become a 3PL,…

One Network has years of experience in healthcare supply networks that provide medicines and vaccines to hundreds of millions of people in Africa and around the globe. For example, the One Network platform for supply chain planning and execution is used by the Ministries of Health in Nigeria, Ghana, and Rwanda, providing comprehensive inventory visibility…

A recent episode of CBS’s “60 Minutes” ran a segment on some of the issues involved in the current global supply chain crisis — focusing primarily on U.S. port operations. During the episode, there was plenty of finger-pointing by various stakeholders. Much of the finger-pointing involved the movement of shipping containers into and out of…

The UK leaving the European Union is no longer an uncertainty. Brexit is a reality that businesses around the world have to face and prepare for. Whether you import/export to the UK directly or indirectly, Brexit will impact your business operations in terms of cost and timelines. This can be an opportunity or a threat…

Leaders often cite creativity and innovation as critical components of business success. But many businesses fail to create and encourage environments where creativity can flourish. Managers make three common mistakes that prohibit new ideas and suppress suggestions that don’t align with their own. A 2017 PwC survey of 1,379 CEOs determined that “innovation” was the top…

Staying in the Black on Black Friday Requires Careful Supply Chain Planning. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), customer enthusiasm for Black Friday shopping is up 8% this year, and spending is expected to increase by 4% overall. Black Friday is fast approaching, with its younger sibling, Cyber Monday, as the two highest…

According to FM Global, a commercial property insurer, these are six facets of the current supply chain crisis that exemplify threats to business resilience: 1. COVID-19 – The pandemic has disrupted demand (as consumers have hunkered down) and product supply (as factories have suspended production), setting up a bullwhip effect of supply and demand mismatches. Takeaway: Although…

2020 will be remembered as the year of mass digitisation. Few had imagined that the wind finally started turning. But when humans don’t have a choice, they adapt. Before Covid-19, pressures resulted from slowing growth and trade wars and rising consumer expectations. Consumers demand more transparency, governments wish to ensure homeland security, and supply chain…

COVID-19 accelerating digital and automation agendas, as well as future of work Dynamic growth in data analytics, artificial intelligence, robotics, IoT, Cloud, API’s signal a new normal for logistics Breakthroughs in Quantum Computing, Blockchain, and Space Logistics signal new niches for logistics providers to solve large-scale problems and create new services Sustainability is a cross-industry…

Most supply chain applications that Logility works on have significant ROIs. But sometimes it’s hard to see where the return on investment will be coming from. At Logility, we focus on the tangible benefits of improving your supply chain and how we go about producing hard-number results. We’re all very well versed in the traditional…

When it comes to transportation management systems (TMS), there is always something new to talk about. That’s because the technology continues to evolve rapidly in response to changing market forces and customer requirements. One area of growing demand and innovation is parcel shipping, which was one of the driving forces behind 3Gtms’s recent acquisition of…

If you’re a supplier, nothing makes you happier than receiving a customer order—and the more orders you get, the better. However, there are many different ways for customers to transmit those orders, from highly automated approaches to manual entry. What challenges does this create for suppliers? How can technology and digital networks streamline and automate…

Shippers around the globe continue to express concerns for the state of the freight economy 2020 industry. Experts disagree on whether we are heading for a recession or a boom. The reality is simple; organizations that can roll with the changes and adapt supply chain processes will evolve and experience productive years. Unfortunately, those that…

Many companies have collaborative planning and forecasting processes with suppliers and manufacturing partners, but very few translate demand and production forecasts into transportation capacity requirements. Why is this becoming more important? What factors are driving the need for transportation forecasting? And how is technology helping to enable this process?  Those are the main questions I…

Ο όμιλος FDL GROUP, ανέλαβε για λογαριασμό της WATT+VOLT την παραλαβή, αποθήκευση, διαχείριση και διανομή υλικού Marketing & POP (Φυλλάδια, Αφίσες, Φακέλους, Σακούλες, Ημερολόγια, Στυλό κ.α.) σε όλο το δίκτυό της, το οποίο ανέρχεται (έως σήμερα) σε 39 σημεία εξυπηρέτησης σε όλη την Ελλάδα. Η WATT+VOLT είναι ένας από τους μεγαλύτερους παρόχους ολοκληρωμέvων υπηρεσιών ενέργειας…

2020 seemed a world away just a few years ago and yet, here we are. This promises to be a very eventful year. What’s on the horizon for supply chain professionals? Here are three supply chain trends to consider.   Sustainability on the agenda Companies are increasingly under pressure to become more green. Moving past waste, water, and C02 reduction,…

How an “internet” for logistics will deliver new efficiencies and value. “What I’m suggesting to you is that this could be a renaissance. We may be on the cusp of a future which could provide a tremendous leap forward for humanity.” So says Jeremy Rifkin, American economic and social theorist whose vision for a sustainable,…

Supply chain technology always evolves, changes to meet the needs of the global supply chain, and offers huge benefits. With the new year, Cerasis always takes a moment to reflect on the state of the industry and the trends shaping it for the remainder of the year. The supply chain technology trends 2020 has to offer…

Supply chain technology always evolves, changes to meet the needs of the global supply chain, and offers huge benefits. With the new year, Cerasis always takes a moment to reflect on the state of the industry and the trends shaping it for the remainder of the year. The supply chain technology trends 2020 has to offer…

The manufacturing industry has a strong heritage of adopting game-changing technologies to deliver higher quality products more efficiently. With the introduction of digital supply chains, the industry is moving into an era arguably on par with the industrial revolution. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and digital roadmaps that align with company goals do…

The freight transportation market in 2019 turned out to be very different than the 2018 market. As we begin 2020: Where are we in the truckload market cycle? What will be some of the key factors impacting supply and demand this year? What actions should shippers take to successfully navigate the road ahead? As I…

Companies have access to more data than ever before, but more data doesn’t automatically translate into more insights and business value. How do you go from data to business value? Why is data context important? How do you turn insights into action? Those are some of the key questions I discussed with Stephen Husk, Supply…

DEMAND SHAPING: FROM CELEBRITY SPONSORSHIP TO LIMITED RELEASE The modern-day sneaker culture was built on the celebrity limited release. When Michael Jordan first signed with Nike in 1984, the star-endorsed shoes were expected to produce $4 million in sales annually – they did $100 million in the first 9 months. Nike president and co-founder Phil…

The customer is king — and the king expects to be treated royally. Kelly McKesten and Stéphanie Thomson, respectively a producer and an editor with Think with Google, report the phrase “the customer is king” can be traced back to the 1930s in book written by William Harold Hutt entitled Economists and the Public: A Study of…

Last week, the Department of Justice gave the green light to the long-sought merger of telecom giants T-Mobile and Sprint. While the merger of the #3 and #4 American phone carriers, respectively, still has legal hurdles to overcome, it is expected to accelerate the deployment of 5G networks in the U.S. For consumers, 5G networks…

Should companies put customers or employees at the center of their universe? There are two competing thoughts on this question, as illustrated by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson: “The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer. Our goal is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company.” — Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO “Clients…

Should companies put customers or employees at the center of their universe? There are two competing thoughts on this question, as illustrated by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson: “The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer. Our goal is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company.” — Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO “Clients…

Fresh and refrigerated foods continue to gain in popularity as consumers demand healthier foods and shun preservatives. One need only visit a local supermarket, peruse restaurant menus or count the number of nearby farmer’s markets to know this is true, but statistics also support the claim. A recent article in Food Technology cites Technomic and…

This is probably an understatement, but entrepreneurs are some of the busiest people around. A day in the life of an entrepreneur is chock-full of business decisions, research and networking. Because there’s so much to do and so little time to do so, entrepreneurs can easily get off track and become distracted with nonessentials. Chat…

This is probably an understatement, but entrepreneurs are some of the busiest people around. A day in the life of an entrepreneur is chock-full of business decisions, research and networking. Because there’s so much to do and so little time to do so, entrepreneurs can easily get off track and become distracted with nonessentials. Chat…

Recognition is a fundamental human need. At the most basic level, it makes us feel valued, which is what inspires us to stay all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at work. Out of all the things that matter in the workplace, helping employees feel appreciated is the most important one. Gladly, this isn’t something that I have…

The financial crisis and economic meltdown of 2007-2009 was disruptive for firms across industries, markets, and geographies.  It resulted in the collapse of the financial sector, radical changes in the regulatory and policy environment, and a severe contraction of the world economy. In fact, an economic meltdown of this magnitude fundamentally affects all aspects of…

Our 17th Hero of Progress is Malcom McLean, an American truck driver and, later, a businessman who developed the modern intermodal shipping container. McLean’s development of standardized shipping containers significantly reduced the cost of transporting cargo across the world. Lower shipping costs significantly boosted international trade which, in turn, helped to lift hundreds of millions of people…

Το 2020 έρχεται πολύ απαιτητικό, τόσο ως δεκαετία, όσο και ως έτος, για το εργατικό δυναμικό, παγκοσμίως. Ο κόσμος μάλλον θα εργάζεται κατά το ήμισυ των ημερών του μήνα από το σπίτι, και συγκεκριμένα από την τραπεζαρία του σπιτιού του, με την μουσική της αρεσκείας του να ακούγεται σε όλο το δωμάτιο κι όχι απλά…

Back when our Facebook design team still fit around a conference table, a new designer joining our merry band was a momentous event. Everyone loved sitting down and showing her how we worked —where we kept our design files, what tools to download, which meetings to attend. We were grateful that someone else had come…