Featured

The pandemic has forced many retailers to offer curbside pickup for online orders as a new option for their customers. While it’s a phenomenon mostly seen in North America or places where having a car & driving are common, it looks like curbside pickup is beneficial for both the retailer and the customer. Curbside pickup […]

For years, international organizations such as the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the United Nations have advocated for gender equality, using research and annual reports to demonstrate the positive correlation among gender equality, gross domestic product (GDP), and competitiveness. While the gender gap remains large in American supply chains, a new report regarding

Many people strive to buy local, but for government agencies, purchasing American-made supplies and products is mandated by federal law. Agencies can often sidestep this legislation due to legal loopholes, but more stringent enforcement may put an end to this practice and force agencies to buy strictly American-made articles. Learn how phasing out foreign vendors

As the demand for e-commerce grows, it has continually presented logistics managers with a range of challenges. Last-mile logistics remains one of the most pressing tasks for logistics experts, and it doesn’t yet have a clear-cut solution. Discover some of the biggest challenges related to last-mile logistics and find out how some major e-commerce companies

Maersk Line may have absorbed the greatest impact from the June 2017 Petya virus attack, but the shipping and logistics company was far from the only one affected. In fact, this cyber attack affected countless vendors and customers, ultimately disrupting supply chains around the globe. Learn more about the nature of the Petya cyber attack

How a Cyberattack Impacts Global Supply Chains

E-Commerce and Last-Mile Logistics An Insurmountable Challenge

As companies expand their global reach and develop increasingly complex supply chains, they have greater chances of attaining worldwide success, yet they also take on substantially heightened security risks. While many businesses have taken steps to improve their supply chains, not all have taken the steps necessary to address significant digital security risks. Learn how

Robotics has long been a key component of the shipping industry, as robots can efficiently and cheaply perform simple, repetitive tasks that factor importantly into logistics. In recent years, however, robotics has begun to fill a more advanced role in the supply chain. Learn how robotics has taken on a more prominent position and discover

Why Digital Security Concerns Could Mean Big Trouble for Supply Chains

Businesses around the world are seeking the next big boost to supply chain management, and many signs point to predictive analytics becoming an essential tool. This technology, which relies on data to determine patterns and predict future outcomes, has plenty of potential. Learn how and why predictive analytics is set to disrupt supply chain technology.

In recent years, the automotive industry has made great strides in improving sustainability and supply chain transparency. The 2017 launch of DRIVE Sustainability, a partnership that includes 10 major automakers, promises additional progress toward a more sustainable industry. Learn which automakers have joined DRIVE Sustainability and how this important partnership could impact automotive supply chains

Climate change has prompted countless logistical challenges for global shipping companies and supply chain managers, but some potentially lucrative opportunities have also emerged. Find out how newly available Arctic shipping routes could provide much-needed solutions for Chinese supply chains and understand the impact that these routes could have. Why Arctic Shipping Routes Make Sense for

Truck platooning happens when a fleet of trucks drives closely together with very little following distance between each vehicle. It is a way of maximizing the capacity of a road while also saving on fuel consumption. The University of Purdue aims to study truck platooning technologies to help industry partners with their research. Truck platooning

The trucking industry is crucial to the success of the American economy. Shipping by truck is typically less expensive than air freight. In addition, trucks can reach more locations than container ships, rail cars, and other types of transportation. That’s why it’s not surprising that the freight truck industry is expected to grow dramatically over

Driverless trucks are undergoing testing in several states, and Ohio is creating the ideal testing environment with its “smart” road plan. The state plans to build this road over a 35 mile stretch. Take a look at what the state hopes to accomplish with this smart road.

Amazon is testing online grocery shopping and delivery in key cities, and Walmart and several other grocers have implemented online grocery shopping with store pickup programs. This is a grocery shopping trend that will continue in 2017. Check out why it’s booming and how it’s affecting retail logistics.

At the end of 2016, cargo imports surged. Retailers had experienced strong holiday spending and were stocking up on inventory for 2017. The increased container cargo volume was a welcome change from the lows of 2016, when overcapacity and weak demand caused rates to drop to the lowest they had been in years. This even

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for families in the U.S. who don’t have the resources to buy sufficient groceries. The program is getting an upgrade in 2017 with the introduction of online grocery shopping. Starting in the summer of 2017, some program participants

It’s typical for shipping rates to increase every year to accommodate employees’ annual salary increases and new technology upgrades. At the end of 2016, however, UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service (USPS) increased their rates higher than what’s normally expected. It’s important to understand shipping rates when choosing a delivery service provider because

It will still be a decade or more before driverless trucks and other vehicles are commonplace in the shipping industry, but Otto just made an important step towards this reality. The Uber subsidiary made the first revenue-generating shipment by driverless truck on October 20, 2016.

Gold is one of those precious metals that has remained popular throughout history. The demand for gold has gone up and down, but overall it has experienced an upward trend. The price of gold saw a sharp increase in 2016, and it’s proving to be resilient in foreign markets. Analysts continue to debate if the

Staple grains like wheat and rice were produced in record numbers in 2016. This high level of production has helped stabilize the global food market and keep the world food import bill low. This is good news for consumers who have faced increasingly higher prices for staple grains over the last few years.

Food waste is a major problem in the U.S. Business Insider reports that one-third of all food produced in the U.S goes to waste, which equals 133 billion pounds of food per year. Supermarkets are some of the worst offenders. Big brands like Walmart have been caught dumping food into the dumpster because it was

The 2008 financial crisis put the global container industry in turmoil. Since then, the road to recovery has been long and difficult. Even A.P. Moeller-Maersk, the biggest shipping company in the world, has cut costs and adjusted its operations accordingly. Around the world, several ocean carrier mergers have occurred in order to keep companies in

The Panama Canal recently expanded its locks to accommodate larger cargo ships. This has had a major impact on ports in the United States because they’ll need to unload cargo ships more quickly and to accommodate larger ships. To prepare, American ports are spending money on upgrades.

Farmers have been implementing new technology for decades. Today, some dairy farms can practically run themselves thanks to technological advances. Thanks to robotic milking machines, cows can roam freely and then go to a milking station when they need to be milked. This automated process saves farmers a lot of time and allows them to

Most companies around the world do not have supply chain practices in place to promote sustainable sourcing. As customers push for sustainability, however, this issue is becoming a big deal. Take a look why consumers are demanding more sustainability and the steps companies are taking to improve.