On Christmas Eve, 1968, while Apollo 8 orbited the moon, the astronauts read from Genesis and wished us peace on Earth. As a boy, I marveled at the accomplishment of sending men beyond the moon. Upon the... View More
Remember the pre-barcode era when most businesses found out what they owned and where it was just once a year during that tedious accounting activity called taking inventory? This non-productive and often... View More
The evolution of barcode technology has led to the development of faster, more intelligent scanners than anyone could have imagined when they were introduced nearly 30 years ago. Notwithstanding the numerous... View More
It is half time and we are down by two touchdowns. Its time for a new plan if we are to win this game. Shipping individual products to consumers has become a major challenge for existing supply chains.... View More
American Freightways, a scheduled for-hire carrier of less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments of general commodities, has been using dock-mounted computer terminals since 1993, the year the company adopted... View More
There is not only tremendous pressure from the Web and e-commerce for companies to deliver traditional truckload and LTL deliveries, but also a dramatic increase in the requirement for direct shipments... View More
As with many decisions, a balanced, well-thought-out approach lies precariously between two dangerous, yet common extremes. Especially when expanding to international customers and suppliers, managers... View More
In 1989, Robert C. Camp published a breakthrough book entitled Benchmarking The Search for Industry Best Practices that Lead to Superior Performance. That started a revolution from boardroom to shop floor... View More
Prior to 1999, every aspect of back-end support operations for the direct marketing industry was tailored to meet the needs of the typical cataloger. In the 1970s and 1980s, direct marketing was limited... View More
If youre an optimist, a box is half full. If youre a pessimist, its half empty. If youre a shipping manager, its not yet ready for shipping. Whatever you ship, whether its industrial valves, electronics... View More
There are two misconceptions in the consumer goods supply chain: First, a barcode scanner and a barcode verifier do the same thing. Second, verifying barcodes is a complicated ordeal. From packaging... View More
Imagine sending out over 80 million items a year a significant percentage of which is returned by the recipient. Sound like a nightmare for returns processing? Absolutely. But Bookspan, which does just... View More
As technology changes the face of fulfillment and distribution, two very important trends have emerged: the need for increased speed in the packaging process and the call for more flexible packaging solutions.... View More
Inbound vendor compliance � and the related savings on shipping � has become a hot cost-saving opportunity. If your company receives and pays for products from outside vendors, you can�t afford to overlook... View More
Overnight service continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the shipping industry. Years of effective advertising have convinced the shipping public that faster is better � for a price. Used... View More
Deregulation has had very positive effects on the cost of transporting and distributing the nation�s freight and parcel express traffic. However, shippers must learn about the pitfalls in transportation... View More
By Bert Moore Prognostication is always fun. When you�re right, no one remembers. When you�re wrong, no one forgets. So, rather than climb out on this limb all by myself, I�ve invited some industry experts... View More
If you were planning to reengineer your distribution center, what would be the most important aspects of the project to consider? Would it be cost, return on investment, downtime for the company and its... View More
Just-in-time logistics, steady product flow management and the never-ending drive for maximum efficiency have intensified the attention given to loading dock design. A multitude of fluctuating variables... View More
The Internet is usually given credit � good and bad � for every new development in manufacturing and distribution. But while processing data through the Internet has an impact on the success of many a... View More
