A new customer service representative (CSR) raised an interesting issue. Her department was responsible for the shipping of replacement parts for the company�s industrial equipment. The problem was that... View More
Electronic manifesting eliminates hours of manual data processing, keyboard entry errors and the bundles of paperwork associated therein (we all know that, right?), but what began this modern day exercise... View More
It is often difficult for managers in production areas like mail or shipping to keep their employees motivated. There are several factors that lead to this including relatively low pay, working in what... View More
When Forrester Research Group asked corporate managers what this year�s greatest fulfillment challenge would be, the answer was global distribution. Lowering fulfillment costs came in a close second. The... View More
Montgomery Ward closed its doors, Chrysler announced plant closings and the layoff of 20% of its work force, UPS profits soar nine percent, JC Penney idles thousands and closes stores, CNN cuts workforce,... View More
E-commerce appears to be all about ease of doing business and the ability to receive products quickly at your home. However, as one parcel company�s television commercial graphically depicts, you do not... View More
When EDI (paperless transactions) hit the marketplace, Daniel J. Biby wrote a book entitled E-D-I or D-I-E. At that time no one could have known how right he would be. Nor could anyone have known just... View More
In the last 18 months, there�s been lots of talk about breakthroughs in RFID technology such as thin, consumable �smart labels,� and their potential impact on parcel and distribution markets. While smart... View More
On February 7th, United Parcel Service�s (UPS) new rates went into effect. The December 29, 1999 news release announced that the rate increase is �modest.� Whether or not that is true depends on which... View More
The growth of the parcel consolidation sector can be seen in one simple statistic: over half of the companies listed in our survey entered the parcel consolidation business in 1997 or later. Clearly, the... View More
The nation�s leading package and freight delivery service companies are in the nascent stages of reinventing themselves as home delivery specialists, and we are not just talking package delivery. ... View More
Not too long ago supply chain network modeling was done on Excel spreadsheets using latitude, longitude and rough data. These crude models, called �centers of gravity� or �centroids,� estimated the middle... View More
Not too long ago supply chain network modeling was done on Excel spreadsheets using latitude, longitude and rough data. These crude models, called �centers of gravity� or �centroids,� estimated the middle... View More
�Globalization is synonymous with increased risk and complexity. In light of today�s highly dynamic and time-sensitive business environment, there is less margin for error.� �... View More
Are you looking for an alternative carrier to the big four � UPS, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service? If you�re fortunate enough to have a regional carrier covering your geography, then you may be... View More
Critical changes at UPS, FedEx and DHL yield both good and bad news for shippers. The bad news is that rates continue to rise. 2005 tariffs for each of these carriers have risen an average of 2.9%. In... View More
Successful WMS implementation is possible, providing you do your homework and learn from others how to avoid the many potential hazards that can sink your ship. The cry from management to reduce... View More
Editor�s Note: Dan Mullen is the president of AIM, the global trade association for automatic identification and mobility technologies. AIM members are providers and users of systems that capture,... View More
Recently, I was in the office of a customer who had just provided all employees with an Internet-based, desktop program to facilitate outbound shipping. As I waited for my meeting, I overheard an administrative... View More
Having a son serving in the military today can put any parent on edge. What my wife and I soon realized was that sending care packages took a lot of work to package and prepare and that the cost could... View More
