There are quite a number of developments and new entrants in the marketplace for voice applications, says Rich Hayden, director of business development at Voxware. He details how that's good and bad for customers, and says a "configurable software product" may be of use to you.
The operations of less-than-truckload carries have changed so dramatically in the last two decades that they bear little resemblance to the traditional LTL model that was prevalent for decades, says Brad Morris, vice president of marketing at AAA Cooper, a regional LTL carrier operating in the Southeast.
The economic crisis has provided shippers a great opportunity to step back and rethink their logistics and supply chain operations to see where they can pull costs out of the system and become more efficient, says consultant Dan Goodwill. "Everyone knows that beating up on carriers to bring costs down can't go on forever."
Motor carriers increasingly have turned to costing systems to help navigate the difficult pricing environment brought on by the recession, says Bill McGinley, vice president of pricing and revenue management at Wilson Trucking Co.
The clean air standards for heavy truck engines that went into effect Jan. 1 of this year culminate a three-tier process that began with legislation passed in 2001. Don Kilfin, a fleet sales manager for Nalley Motor Trucks and retired Detroit Diesel executive, says the challenges for engine manufacturers in meeting these standards have been substantial and have come with a price.
Rob Lewin, director of global logistics at Flowserve Worldwide, discusses capacity issues in an evolving carrier landscape, leveraging spend with rate and non-rate negotiations, knowing which providers to keep, and what collaboration really means to a company.
When Intel realized it lagged behind competitors in meeting same-day delivery of its chips, it knew a drastic makeover of its supply chain was necessary, says Viju Menon, director of worldwide supply planning operations at the company. He discusses how the paradigm shift has improved customer responsiveness and inventory optimization.
Sales and operations planning is growing in importance to manufacturers and so is the necessity to manage risk, says Simon Ellis, practice director, supply chain strategies, at IDC Manufacturing Insights. In his analysis, Ellis assesses the future of outsourcing and the health of the supply chain.
Razat Gaurav, senior vice president of i2 Technologies, discusses how a stressed economy, globalization, tight financial markets and various delivery models such as software as a service will impact logistics in 2010.
New-product development and a complete makeover of its supply chain came simultaneously for Motorola. Ann Deardorff, senior director of quality and strategy, outlines some of the challenges the electronics giant has faced so far in this ongoing project.