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Amazon finished 2016 with a bang. What will 2017 bring?
Danielle Manley RetailAmazon has always been on the forefront of advancements in the retail world. From technology to delivery, Amazon is constantly disrupting the industry, so it's no surprise they closed out 2016 with a bang — a big bang.
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How the Hanjin bankruptcy nearly ruined Christmas
Alan Kelsky Distribution & WarehousingAs Hanjin Shipping was moving container cargo to ports all over the globe this summer, news broke that affected retailers worldwide. Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container shipping company filed for bankruptcy Aug. 31 in Seoul, South Korea.
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Amazon delivers a new kind of logistics
Robert Gordon Distribution & WarehousingAlthough many people are focusing on Amazon's recent earnings miss, it's important to look past that and realize the online retail giant has spent more than ever on logistics infrastructure. Amazon clearly added assets and is hiring 120,000 people to push its internal logistics initiative forward.
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The search for a perfect unit load
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingIt is an established fact that the cost per pound to move materials will decrease as the size of the unit load increases. It is cheaper to handle a full case of product than individual consumer packages, and significantly less expensive to handle a 40-case unit load than individual cases.
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Do you know where your packages are?
Danielle Manley Distribution & WarehousingWith everyone moving to online shopping and home delivery, the retail and delivery industries are experiencing many changes. Some companies are testing different delivery options that will make them stand apart from the crowd; others are studying the delivery process to determine where they can improve.
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The DuPont model’s impact on LSPs and distributors
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingAt the end of World War I, a venerable chemical company in Delaware purchased about one quarter of a rising Michigan manufacturing business called General Motors. DuPont's management recognized that new skills were necessary to control its major investment in a mass production enterprise that was substantially different from a chemical business that traced its roots to the making of gunpowder in the 18th century.
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Finding a blue ocean in the warehouse
Ken Ackerman Distribution & Warehousing"Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant," a book by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, attracted lots of attention when it was published in 2005. It details how successful companies avoid battling it out among rivals, and instead seek out "blue ocean" — untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.
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How to win the battle against rust on your trucks
Alan Kelsky Distribution & WarehousingRust is a major concern for small business owners who depend on their trucks for their livelihood as well as fleet owners for whom trucks are a major investment. Trucks with corrosion damage can lead to lost income as well as high repair bills.
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Seeking a profit island in the warehouse
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingMany buyers of logistics services regard their vendors as purveyors of commodities. While providers tend to fret about this, remember the fact that this attitude has been prevalent for decades, long before deregulation and the rise of physical distribution and supply chain management.
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How warehouses can avoid the contract trap
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingUntil a few decades ago, agreements between logistics service providers and their customers were seldom governed by any long-term agreement. The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) developed a standard contract early in the last century and has revised that agreement to comply with the growth of electronic communication.
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