INTTRA recently conducted a global e-invoicing study that showed 100 percent of surveyed shippers/freight forwarders want to receive invoices electronically from their carriers, with 81 percent requesting it before the end of 2013. Yet today, most carriers still process their invoices manually, and therefore, so must their customers.

A drive for cost savings and energy efficiency has brought a wave of new players and capabilities into the commercial building automation market. Rather than competing directly with the giants of the established building automation system (BAS) market, these new entrants are bringing additional managed data services to help drive greater efficiency.

Penske Logistics has become a sponsor of the 2014 edition of the annual Third-Party Logistics Study, joining Capgemini Consulting, Penn State University's Center for Supply Chain Research, Korn/Ferry International and eyefortransport.

Amazon will open eight new U.S. distribution centers between now and the holiday selling season, bringing the total to 54. The result of the ferocious building spree is that Amazon will then have a DC within five miles of most major U.S. cities. That means Amazon will very likely have a DC closer to your customers than many of your stores.

Rob Nemeth, president of Allied Distribution, shows exactly how rising fuel costs are affecting the movement of goods throughout the distribution chain - and how companies are responding to the trend.