Being human, we strive to make the best of a bad situation, and such efforts often yield positive results that might otherwise have never been realized.

Jim Brochu, general manager of supply chain with Pivotree, details the benefits of the company's new warehouse management system.

Mark Garland, president and chief executive officer of 4R Systems, describes the company's Vendor Order Optimization (VOO) product, which optimizes and prioritizes retailer orders from vendors.

Michael Lamia, senior vice president of GEODIS MyParcel, introduces the company's new direct-to-consumer cross-border delivery service to 28 countries.

These two giants of the world economy may well be on very different economic paths. In short, the U.S. has secure access to cheap energy and Europe does not.

The semiconductor shortage is forecasted to extend into late 2023 or early 2024. 

Until recently, international trade’s great big dirty secrets regarding forced labor remained mostly hidden beneath layers and layers of supply chain complexity. Now, some governments are attempting to hold companies more accountable.

In the U.S., Tesla grabs most of the headlines about electric vehicle sales, followed by the major American automakers. But it’s China that’s racking up dominance in EV production globally.

Just what is artificial intelligence, anyway? In its ultimate form, will it model, augment or replace human thought?

Does blockchain truly hold promise for creating a more efficient supply chain, or will it be dragged down by the lead weight known as Bitcoin? 

Most platforms cater to the large enterprise market, but a new breed of transportation management system is changing the competitive landscape.

Presenting he case for an integrated procurement strategy that supports greater transparency and service.

Three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the “bullwhip effect” of misaligned capacity and demand persists, contributing to labor and equipment shortages alongside port and inland congestion.

Supply chains inherently face levels of uncertainty. Meeting revenue targets, satisfying customers, and containing costs rely on companies being able to minimize that uncertainty and solve problems quickly and effectively.

Implementing intelligent materials systems that are simple, purpose-built and sustainable is important when embarking on an effort to optimize supply networks.

Employee training has typically been handled manually, in a traditional classroom setting, but new artificial intelligence-based digitized training platforms are revolutionizing human capital management.

Sweeping new global trade regulations, economic sanctions, free trade agreements, criminal or counterterrorism statutes and company ESG standards are together creating a challenging landscape for businesses engaged in global trade.

 Supply planning has emerged as a prime problem area to be tackled in many organizations.

The first instinct of many a chief financial officer in an environment of compromised corporate earnings is to look for areas to scale back spending, but increasing technology spending could help companies reduce costs and increase competitiveness.

As the supply chain becomes more complex, it’s crucial to find a managed logistics provider (MLP) with complete capabilities, depth of experience, and technology. 

Connecting planning activities increase agility for faster decisions and far-greater resilience than traditional approaches. 

Creating resilient and agile supply chains requires a platform that enables enterprises to leverage economies of scale when working with suppliers and contract manufacturers, while minimizing risk, disruptions and shortages.

More than two years of jarring supply chain disruption have proven the business case for end-to-end, real-time shipment visibility. But the horizon keeps moving, and while actionable data and visibility are critical, they’re only just a good beginning. 

Retailers coping with the rapid acceleration of e-commerce have a fantastic opportunity to improve their competitive position using new technological tools for customer engagement.

One of the chief benefits of digitization is where it meets robotics in the form of robotic process automation. RPA, also known as software robotics, has the potential to transform daily and ongoing business processes by using automation technologies to mimic back-office tasks of human workers. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, businesses around the world took the supply chain status quo for granted. Customers – consumers in particular – followed suit, simply assuming their purchases would arrive in a matter of a few days, on time, in full. 

Keeping excess inventory as a safety strategy is a losing proposition for companies. It doesn’t work because companies often hold inventory that’s not usable or is obsolete, representing a dead loss, sometimes on the order of tens of millions of dollars a year, to the company.

Supply chain visibility is often thought of as tracking the physical location of goods and assets. But the process of getting products to customers is ultimately a digital one — from negotiations, purchase orders, and acknowledgments to shipping confirmations and receiving payment.

With demand for goods at record highs, it’s crucial to operate warehouses efficiently and cost-effectively.

In the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, business planners, expecting a harsh recession, shut down manufacturing plants and canceled retailing orders

Supply chain resiliency is the ability of an organization to avoid, absorb and recover from the business impact of disruptions through a risk-balanced approach to product, supply chain strategy and network design.