Companies are rushing to take advantage of low-cost country sourcing, but the right processes and technology must be in place before expected savings can be realized.
Earthbound Farm grew from humble beginnings to become the nation's largest grower and shipper of organic produce. Getting its highly perishable products from West Coast farms to stores across the country presents a daunting logistics challenge.
Capacity is stretched thin and costs for fuel and drivers are accelerating, and that's not likely to change in the near term. It's time that businesses become more strategic in their transportation decisions.
Spend management applications give companies visibility to how and where money is being spent in the supply chain, and they identify and enable numerous ways to save.
A conversation with Yossi Sheffi, professor of engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology and director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.
Beneath the hype surrounding retailer mandates for RFID tagging are lots of other supply chain applications of the technology-some still in development and some that have been around for years.
New product introductions are dramatically increasing, but the important role of logistics in the success of product launches still is often overlooked.