Unreliable advance planning in the building trades, multiple manufacturing sites and the fragile nature of its products were just some of the logistics challenges faced by Pella Corp. It needed a total set of logistics solutions throughout its widespread enterprise.

Rapid growth, acquisition of a company with different distribution characteristics and a troubled ERP implementation created supply-chain problems for Hershey Foods in the late 1990s. A new strategy that focused on fulfillment speed and agility helped turn things around.

The pioneer of the office-products superstore has big plans to boost sales and market share in Europe by increasing stores, catalog orders, contract stationery business, and internet retailing. But it must balance growth with the challenge of a multi-channel supply chain.

Webvan Corp., with the help of its technology partners, has broken the code on guaranteed, self-scheduled home delivery. Here's how it gets the goods delivered within a promised 30-minute window and where it plans to take that achievement.

The consumer products division of Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant, found additional dollars to invest in its capital-intensive business by outsourcing inbound logistics and shifting responsibility for inventory management to vendors.

The market leader in networking hardware creates a single enterprise of channel partners, connected by the internet, with stunning results.

As Kodak's European business changed in response to economic union and various internal factors, the company needed a logistics solution that would provide greater flexibility and lower overhead costs at key facilities. It opted for outsourcing with a shared-use approach, a concept that was given an unusual and innovative twist in the U.K. with partner MSAS Global Logistics.

Fujitsu PC needed help with its notebook operation, which was suffering from both excess inventory and slow deliveries. It turned to FedEx for a total logistics solution and now is getting the results it wanted - but the start-up was far from smooth.

Canadian Tire is perhaps Canada's most widely recognized and well established retailer, but in the early 1990s the company realized its aging stores and out-of-date replenishment system were costing it business. A major renovation of stores and re-engineering of the supply chain yielded impressive results.

The cosmetics and fragrances manufacturer significantly reduced order-cycle times by assigning production and logistics operations to the same manager, and by implementing ISM's SPEX export documentation system.