The author Jean Toomer once wrote, “Acceptance of prevailing standards often means that we have no standards of our own.” Any company with a global logistics network should be able to identify... View More

• Nearly 8% increase in 1-5 lb. ground rates • Some accessorial increases hit 10% • Several international rates approach 15% • New international surcharges announced for 2012 UPS has... View More

After a recession-caused freight price war in the past few years, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight demand and prices are rising again as the economy recovers. With a shortage of trucks, drivers, and even... View More

Many high-throughput retail distribution centers face a growing logistics challenge - the need to prepare small-quantity, mixed-SKU orders of small items to ship and arrive on schedule with near zero tolerance... View More

In this column, I would like to introduce the concept of Intralogistics as the new mantra for Materials Management. APICS defines Materials Management as “the grouping of management functions supporting... View More

FedEx announced their Express service rate increases, which will become effective Monday, January 2nd 2012. The announced rate increase is 5.9%, offset somewhat with the now standard two percentage point... View More

Companies conducting business in China are optimistic about the future of that country’s domestic market. As the country evolves from an export environment to an export and “in China for China”... View More

Thanks to wireless technology, mobile powered workstations (MPWs) are opening up new frontiers of efficiency and productivity. These workstations with integrated power supplies can maneuver computers,... View More

Even from among firms that are best defined by the products of their R&D departments and laboratories, it is increasing common to hear an executive state the goal of making his or her company one that... View More

While negotiating contracts with your carriers, it's not enough to focus on just the price that you're paying on a rate sheet; you also need to pay close attention to the dimensional factor that is being... View More

In a recent article on exporting from the United States we talked about three companies in the market place that can help you make entry into foreign markets. (See the article from our August issue ... View More

How does a Midwest delivery company, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin compete with the national delivery firms? There’s “Brown”–UPS, which operates world-wide and along side... View More

One parcel carrier recently reported domestic operating profit increased 31%, while another reported net income up 33%. Shippers need to be able to manage the impact that these improved carrier margins... View More

In today’s changing market and constant increase in the cost of freight, managing transportation is a very important area of any company. The ability to utilize software that has a low total cost... View More

A Pitney Bowes customer had just secured a new contract for global parts distribution, largely of small parcels, for a vehicle manufacturer. The customer needed a solution that could be deployed as a “black... View More

As I compose this column it’s three days into the widespread power failures caused by Hurricane Irene. Writing in the comfort of my office at home – comfortable only because of my generator... View More

As the owner of one of the largest and fastest growing Parcel Auditing and Contract Negotiating firms in the domestic US, I am constantly fielding inquiries from shippers regarding their small parcel shipping... View More

The sage adage "Think globally, act locally" has never been more relevant to businesses — especially those that ship goods. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, roughly 96 percent of the world's... View More

Wholesalers and retailers have trended away from large distribution centers, moving instead to leaner drop-ship operations. To achieve this nimble speed to market, suppliers have been forced to use small... View More

With Internet sales on the rise, more shippers of jewelry, gold coins, watches, electronics and expensive fashion are filling b-to-c orders. This means more parcels, lower declared values, demand for lower... View More