So collaborative purchasing appears feasible for the restaurant industry. But what about other business sectors? Can different companies - even direct competitors - really band together to get better deals from their suppliers?
Analyst Insight: The automotive industry is an orchestration of marketing, logistics and product development. This orchestration, which leads to higher complexity and demand, requires that many parts be available in manufacturing and services. And this global and complex way of looking at a problem drives the European automotive industry to operate in Asia, as well as localize their supply chains for sales in Asia. However, the logistics for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) between these two continents sometimes become complex. - Thomas Wiedmann, Managing Director, Europe, Tompkins International
CEVA Logistics has opened a logistics center in Jacksonville, Fla., where services will include solutions design and engineering, managed transportation, global supply chain solutions, transportation procurement, and rail fueling.
China has assumed control of a strategic Pakistani port on the Arabian Sea, as part of a drive to secure energy and maritime routes that also gives it a potential naval base, sparking Indian concern. The Pakistani cabinet approved the transfer of Gwadar, currently a commercial failure cut off from the national road network, from Singapore's PSA International to the state-owned China company on January 30.
The American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index increased 2.9 percent in January after jumping 2.4 percent in December. Tonnage has surged at least 2.4 percent every month since November, gaining a total of 9.1 percent over that period. As a result, the SA index equaled 125.2 (2000=100) in January versus 121.7 in December. January's index was the highest on record. Compared with January 2012, the SA index was up a robust 6.5 percent the best year-over-year result since December 2011.
TNT Express has opened a new hub near Romania's third largest airport, Traian Vuia International Airport, in Timisoara. TNT Romania said its new Timisoara Centre was built to provide operational and technological support specifically for high-performance express services.
A U.S. firm has announced the addition of a driver behavior feature set to its fleet tracking system. The technology aims to help fleet operators identify drivers who are compromising safety and fuel efficiency by their behavior behind the wheel.
Four of the busiest airports in the country will get tightened cargo security this year to enhance screening of dangerous items, a move that raises concerns from business people who say the extra measure will make the current "slow" service even less efficient.
The current British politicians representing the transport sector certainly seem to be putting themselves out again this month with ministerial visits to two of the country's major container shipping ports, a leading logistics park and the launch of a new scheme to place ex-forces personnel into work in the freight and logistics sectors.
Freightgate, a global provider of Logistics Cloud Solutions, announced enhanced predictive analytics capabilities in its logistics cloud platform, known as the Freightgate Universe.