Straightline Source is defying the e-business odds and growing legs as a virtual distributor of carbon and flat-rolled steel. Technology enabling order efficiency and waste reduction is part of the reason.
As off-price stores moved upscale in recent years with the creation of attractive, shopper-friendly outlet malls, the demands of consumers and value retailers changed. Low prices were still expected, but shoppers also wanted a better selection of style and colors. To meet this need, Levi Strauss revamped its value-channel logistics.
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.
Key Amazon.com executives in Seattle and Europe - including founder Jeff Bezos - talk about how the company's supply-chain strategies and fledgling European operations are shaping its prospects.
GTE's in-house recovery operation is so successful that it now handles reverse logistics services for other companies. Likewise, 3M turned to its own logistics and manufacturing groups to recover useable by-products - and lots of money.
Beginning in 1996, the household products manufacturer decided to replace its centralized distribution pattern with an approach that relied on regional distribution centers across the country. Mark VII was named to help connect the links in the network through intermodal shipments.