Delany Martinez

Delany Martinez is a freelance writer with a passion for innovation, particularly in the manufacturing industry and within the supply chain. She's had the privilege of working on several large logistics corporate blogs over the years, and can usually be found with her nose buried in industry trade magazines. Delany believes advances like driverless trucking will revolutionize the supply chain as we know it within a decade, and she is eager to see what the future holds.

Articles by Delany Martinez

• An ill wind blows: Hurricanes and supply chains don’t mix

  Tuesday, October 23, 2018

  Natural disasters are a huge headache for man-made systems — in addition to disrupting services like water and power on a residential level, they can also bring supply chains to a screeching halt. From flash flooding to outright facility damage, hurricane-proofing your supply chain is a challenge, but one well worth tackling. While you can't predict when and where a hurricane will completely shut down 3PL availability and reach, you can commit to frequent monitoring and communication throughout the storm.

• The last mile: Logistics’ final frontier meets gig culture

  Friday, October 19, 2018

  Logistics and supply chains are excellent models of efficiency, moving huge cargo containers of everything imaginable across cities, countries, and even oceans with unimaginable speed. They have a very unusual Achilles' heel, however: Main Street, USA. The so-called "last mile" conundrum has stumped otherwise perfectly tuned systems, confronting them with routes and infrastructure that simply aren't designed to handle the demands of frequent shipments.

• Serving up logistics: How QSRs and supply chains are working together

  Wednesday, September 05, 2018

  Call it a hunger for fast, convenient food: the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry in the U.S. is projected to surpass $223 billion in the next two years. Part of that success is driven — in most cases, quite literally — by robust logistical networks that tie far-flung franchises to their distributors through ever-evolving methods. With large chains like Wendy's and Chipotle touting their fresh, never-frozen fare, cold chain technology and accountability are more important than ever.

• Heads-up: Safety and liability in manufacturing

  Wednesday, August 29, 2018

  Innovation in manufacturing has made for surprisingly even footing among rivals in a variety of industries. The last remaining point of competition for market share, some argue, is found in speed and efficiency: even if two companies are making the same products, the business that gets the products made and shipped more quickly is the ostensible winner in the battle for consumer wallets. That intense focus on speed and volume, however, can come at a high cost for companies that don't tread carefully.

• Cryptologistics: Where supply chain meets blockchain

  Thursday, August 02, 2018

  One of the most universal issues facing logistics is the ability — or lack thereof — to process data in a fast, useful way. Like an unorganized warehouse packed with product and short on shelves, logistics professionals are often forced to put aside efforts to streamline in favor of staying on top of periodic targets. While computers have historically aided in bridging that gap, they too rely on a standard set of numbers presented in a specific way in order to produce useful results.

• Reshoring hits rough domestic waters

  Tuesday, July 24, 2018

  Some call the moves bold, others brash, but no matter which way you perceive the recent trade-related moves of the current administration, they're making some large, potentially negative waves for manufacturing. One of President Trump's key talking points in the run-up to the 2016 election was an optimistic promise of reshoring the large amounts of manufacturing jobs that had set sail in search of more favorable foreign waters. For a time, it looked like it might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, but in June, simmering trade tensions with China seemed to explode virtually overnight.

• Tariff torment: China’s retaliation on US trade

  Monday, July 02, 2018

  The escalation of tariff tension between the United States and its allies is reaching a fever pitch, with a growing tit-for-tat list on both the Chinese and American sides of a very public disagreement. The Trump administration’s steel tariff mandate — a hefty 25 percent on imported steel — earlier this year appears to be the proverbial spark that landed on a powder keg of inter-country trade issues. Canada became one of the first allies to make its displeasure known, but China wasn't far behind.

• Frozen-out north? The chilling of US-Canada trade

  Monday, June 25, 2018

  Of all the potential trade war scenarios that forecasters murmured over in the current administration, the prospect for Canada to be involved was, at the very least, low on the list. After an unprecedented announcement of a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum and a staggering 25 percent tariff on imported steel by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross back in May, Canada's nigh-legendary reputation of politeness began to slip a bit.

• The road to ruin: How US infrastructure is hurting logistics

  Thursday, June 07, 2018

  From crumbling, aging bridges that failed to pass any but the most basic of structural tests to endless waves of patch-fixing on the torn-up highways traversing them, many of the 4 million miles of roadways in the United States have seen much better days. For everyday drivers, this amounts to an inconvenience, and perhaps a pinch of worry when ugly weather is tossed into the mix. For logistics professionals, however, the situation is much more dire.

• Cobots are coming: When mech, man and manufacturing combine

  Wednesday, May 30, 2018

  While humans are capable of astonishing endurance and precision, repetitive motion tasks are bad news for manufacturing: they aren't just physically harmful over time, they can lead to worker burnout. When productivity is the main focus of most industries today, what's a large company with large needs to do when faced with human limitations? Hiring more workers is a huge drain on finances, but going fully automated isn't likely to win any favors with the workforce, and by extension, the public. The solution? Cobots, or collaborative robots.

• How will Chinese tariffs affect manufacturing?

  Thursday, April 19, 2018

  It's often said that in war, there are no winners — and in trade wars, that axiom tends to ring particularly true. In an escalation that leaves manufacturers caught in an unenviable position, the administration's struggles with China are starting to lap at the edges of the loading dock.

• Checking the check: Why billing mistakes slow down supply chains

  Thursday, April 05, 2018

  In logistics, a great deal of discussion surrounds methodology — speed is crucial to the supply chain in terms of fulfillment. Money, however, tends to shift to the backburner — quotes, line items and invoices.

• The social cost of doing business

  Tuesday, March 27, 2018

  The debate over corporate personhood continues to rage on, but it brings up a larger societal question in the process: Should businesses wade into charged sociopolitical issues? The natural inclination is to avoid liability wherever possible, and that definitely stretches into expressions and "taking sides" for most businesses, whose leaders prefer to stay as neutral as possible in the public eye.

• A self-correcting supply chain on the horizon

  Tuesday, February 27, 2018

  While logistics can answer many burning industry questions, figuring out why the chicken crossed the road isn't usually one of them. However, as Yum Brands recently found out in the UK, it's an important one.

• Delivering unexpected options: Can Amazon win the logistics game?

  Tuesday, February 20, 2018

  When a business needs to send a package, it has a familiar suite of options: USPS, UPS, FedEx or DHL. These companies all have at least a few decades under their delivery belt — the youngest, FedEx, is coming up on its 47th birthday.

• Blockchain: Moving the market, and possibly the warehouse

  Tuesday, February 06, 2018

  While the financial sector has been buzzing with news about cryptocurrencies like the well-known Bitcoin and runner-up Ethereum, the rest of the business world has focused on what makes those currencies so valuable — especially when it comes to supply chains. The blockchain, a decentralized network approach to verification and authenticity, has far-reaching applications that are still evolving and changing, at times even faster than the speed of business.

• The distribution swap: Walmart’s bold logistics move

  Wednesday, January 24, 2018

  The shifting landscape of e-commerce has been largely shaped in the last few years by a single domineering hand: Amazon's. The "A-to-Z" sales site has become the source for all things shipped, but now their largest competitor is trying to close the market share gap.

• Stopping sexism: Equality in manufacturing

  Tuesday, December 12, 2017

  Internet-enabled sales, digital infrastructure and social media networking have expanded the reach of businesses to unprecedented heights in the last 20-odd years. That exponential increase, however, is only one side of the coin. The darker side of business — the scandal-prone side — is subsequently running out of shadows in which to hide.

• Easing off the gas: Tesla trucks are here

  Monday, November 20, 2017

  Even if you'd only gotten into the logistics game yesterday, you'd be hard-pressed to miss the dire warnings about the state of truck driver shortages in the industry. It's a perfect storm of job popularity flagging with the younger set, an older generation of drivers aging out and wages falling while expectations are on the rise.

• Automatic efficiency: How AI is redefining manufacturing

  Thursday, October 26, 2017

  Artificial intelligence has officially made the leap from science fiction plot device to cultural citizen, weaving into the fabric of daily life without much of a fanfare. In the private sector, its presence helps power internet searches and smart home devices, and is even starting to branch into vehicles.

• Can this fabric turn clothes into batteries?

  Wednesday, October 18, 2017

  Power is important. Just ask anyone who has ever stared down that annoying red "low battery" indicator on a smartphone, just when they needed it for navigation or an important phone call.

• Is autonomous trucking hauling a load of problems?

  Friday, September 22, 2017

  Faced with a massive industry-scale driver shortage, companies are nervously reviewing their options for over-road logistics in the near future. With an administration that slashed rail expansion and infrastructure investment only a few months into 2017, a rock-and-hard-place scenario is starting to emerge on the road between warehouse and customer.

• When unstoppable weather meets an immovable supply chain

  Monday, September 18, 2017

  As hurricane seasons go, 2017 is shaping up to be the one of the most devastating years on record. There isn't an in-place industry that hasn't been left in shambles throughout Houston and the west coast of Florida.

• Additive manufacturing: Is the supply chain going 3-D?

  Wednesday, September 06, 2017

  The concept of the supply chain has remained largely unchanged throughout business history: a series of services, including manufacturing and logistics, that carry a product from its raw material stage to the hands of the end user. Notably, each link in that chain deals with prefabricated materials, with the bulk of the chain's effort placed on getting them from point A to point B.

• Equality in manufacturing: What’s in the way?

  Wednesday, August 23, 2017

  After decades of men and women working alongside one another, it's both surprising and disheartening that there is still a gender war simmering. Women have been vying for equal placement alongside male counterparts since ancient sailors forbade their presence on sailing ships.

• New laws loom as driver shortages continue

  Wednesday, July 26, 2017

  ​Long-haul trucking has been in the midst of a staffing crisis for some years now, with numbers of available candidates dwindling and driver turnover hovering near a staggering 80 percent across the board. Faced with this issue, some companies have chosen to pursue the route of innovation, with Google/Waymo hard at work both innovating in the driverless concept as well as sparring in court with rival Uber/Otto. Other truck driving companies have chosen to stay the course, but find themselves with a particularly troublesome roadblock looming: electronic logging device mandates.

• A shift back to home: US exports are up

  Tuesday, July 18, 2017

  In addition to the raw materials that comprise the manufacturing process — plastic, metal, wood, and so on — there's an invisible ingredient that can be found on every assembly line if you know where to look: politics. From the restrictions that artificially drive up scarcity for some components to the freedoms that make others easily available, the decisions of the U.S. government have an outsized impact on manufacturing as a whole. Recent trade metrics highlight a move toward self-reliance, albeit at a pace that some would say rivals a particularly patriotic glacier.

• 3 reasons your company should be using IoT

  Monday, June 26, 2017

  The internet of things (IoT) is still a relatively new concept for some businesses — especially companies long used to doing things the "old fashioned" way, via paper and face-to-face communication. Their products may be unrelated to technology, and therefore unlikely to demand the level of digital understanding that makes IoT onboarding easier for their tech-infused counterparts.

• Conquering the last mile: Walmart, Amazon embrace the unusual

  Friday, June 16, 2017

  One of the largest problems stumping efficiency and profitability experts is arguably the most difficult: getting goods through the gauntlet of the "last mile" — the final leg of a product's transportation journey before it lands with the customer.

• Lucrative innovation: How tamper-proof design is defining packaging

  Thursday, June 08, 2017

  When even a single damaged or compromised package could put an entire brand's perception at risk, keeping packages safe and sealed has become an important facet of manufacturing in certain sectors. While, say, a flashlight can't carry much liability if its packaging is tampered with, a food or drink item could carry harmful mold or bacteria, and an exposed pharmaceutical item could prove to be life-threatening. That important distinction has led to a number of impressive tamper-evident breakthroughs recently in the packaging sphere.

• Is AI the secret to manufacturing efficiency?

  Tuesday, May 23, 2017

  Robots are taking our jobs. It sounds terrifying, doesn't it? The specter of automation has reared up with a vengeance as overworked production facilities struggle to keep up with demand on several fronts: overall volume, specialty orders and particularly customer-facing customization options.

• The sky’s the limit: Learning from Tesla’s roofing innovation

  Thursday, May 18, 2017

  The latest darling of the eco-innovation trend, Tesla's new solar panel/roof tile hybrid product has continued the consumer inroads that their well-liked electric vehicles have already been cruising. In fact, Forbes pulled no punches discussing the concerns as well as the potential of the Tesla tiles — a balanced, authoritative nod that speaks volumes.

• Manufacturing talent: The case for ‘homegrown’ expertise

  Wednesday, April 26, 2017

  While the formulaic structure of manufacturing and assembly lines might not have much to do with company culture at a glance, the attitudes, expectations and even motivations of a brand still make their way into the factory. Even if two manufacturing outfits use the same machines and tools, everything from timing to technique can vary, which is why it's entirely possible for a manufacturing job candidate to look excellent on paper and terrible on the floor. For years, businesses tackled this issue in the same ways: patience, mentoring, on-the-job training, disciplinary measures and more.

• Are you ready for the ‘robocalypse’ coming to manufacturing?

  Friday, April 21, 2017

  Automation is the newest buzzword on everyone's lips when it comes to manufacturing. Is it reliable? Will it really replace humans effectively? Will there be a pushback from consumers? Apprehensive questions abound, but many are born out of misunderstanding the spread of automation, or overly-optimistic forecasts over how quickly "the turnover" will actually eclipse flesh-and-blood workers.

• Welcome home: Manufacturers are near‑shoring again under Trump

  Monday, March 20, 2017

  In recent years, it looked like inversion would become the new law of the land for many industries in the United States. The trend was led in part by the high-profile case of U.S.-based Burger King buying Canada-based Tim Hortons to "relocate" and dodge domestic taxes.

• Green meets smart: Eco-friendly packaging solutions

  Wednesday, March 01, 2017

  From a manufacturing standpoint, ordering necessary packaging material seems simple enough. At its core, it's merely multiplying anticipated outgoing packages by the Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, air pillows and other void-fillers needed to keep product safe.

• Powered by nature: Alternative energy in factories and beyond

  Tuesday, February 14, 2017

  Once considered a static "cost of doing business," the high price of energy in manufacturing is no longer a given. There is now considerable financial negotiation room thanks to renewable and alternative energy sources.