Football season is officially underway in the U.S., which means team colors are flying proudly around the nation and grills are pumping out burgers and brats at a dizzying pace.
And as we root for our favorite college and pro teams to make it to the championships this season, we can also take pages from the grid iron playbooks and apply them to our own supply chain practices.
Depending on where you live, there are certain times of the year when bad weather is more likely to impact your supply chain. From hurricane season along the coasts to potential tornadoes inland, Mother Nature can quickly jeopardize your day-to-day operations. While you can't control the weather, there are a few precautions you can take to minimize its effects on your supply chain.
When you ship in volume, using less-than-truckload (LTL) for distribution is generally the most cost-effective solution for regional and short haul transportation. However, if your freight is moving a long distance, such as from the West Coast to locations across the country, the cost of moving multiple less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments can quickly add up.
When your freight is tendered into the care of your driver, the carrier does all that it can to ensure that it arrives to its destination on time, on target, and intact. To succeed, there are steps that both the carrier and the shipper can take to ensure that your freight moves without unnecessary delay or damage, including: the proper completion of the bill of lading, addressing and handling labels, as well as proper packaging.
The person driving your product from point A to point B provides more than safe, reliable transportation. For every hour they are associated with your logo and brand, they represent your business to drivers on the road, people at restaurants and truck stops, and ultimately, to your customer. Drivers are an often-overlooked piece of the customer experience puzzle, but they present a valuable opportunity to represent your company well.
One of the biggest challenges of running a retail supply chain is inventory replenishment. For many operations, high volume products need to be replenished on short notice during demand surges. Also referred to as just-in-time inventory replenishment, such surges can occur during predictable periods (i.e., holidays and peak seasons) or on a regular basis for a company that steadily moves a product.
SalonCentric, a nationwide wholesale salon and beauty supply distributor, wanted to find a way to reduce its impact on the environment while also minimizing its supply chain costs.
One area of its supply chain that SalonCentric saw an opportunity to make a difference with was the company's use of traditional cardboard boxes for shipping. Corrugate boxes, a staple of most retail supply chains, are great for transportation. However, such containers have a short shelf life and quickly find themselves in landfills.
To address the problem, SalonCentric invested in reusable plastic tote bins. The use of the bins had an astounding positive impact on the company's environmental footprint.
Winter is upon us, and businesses throughout North America are running in high gear to meet end-of-the-year deadlines and to prepare for the new year. At the same time, the winter months can bring more volatility to your supply chain and shipping practices.
One of the many challenges that shippers and freight managers face in their supply chain are accessorial charges. Also referred to as "value-added services," these charges are the additional costs that are applied to a shipment that requires extra services from the carrier beyond standard pickup and delivery.
