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Mass Customization in the Supply Chain
Manufacturers around the world are constantly striving to increase product sales and enhance customer satisfaction. Many businesses are improving supply chain visibility and enhancing their use of technology to meet growing demand and consumer needs. A key tactic in this effort is mass customization. Mass customization involves the process of manufacturing goods that are made…
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How Retailers are Adapting to Supply Chain Disruptions
When the pandemic hit and altered the supply chain and consumer behaviors almost immediately, the retail industry had to adapt quickly. Disruptions such as materials shortages, port bottlenecks, labor crises, and more, continue to cause significant challenges for global retailers. To combat some of these interruptions, many retailers have changed their processes and employed new…
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What is Supply Chain Convergence?
Over the last few years, supply chain challenges have disrupted almost every level of business. These obstacles include backups at ports, delays in producing and delivering raw materials, and truck driver and other labor shortages. Many of these issues have been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, so as companies strive to grapple with these disruptions,…
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Total Quality Management Best Practices
It is easy to think of quality as just a means by which we measure a product’s value. However, in the supply chain, quality goes far beyond just the value of the product that is being delivered. To ensure top product quality, manufacturers must also assess the processes by which they manage their quality standards.…
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Latest Trends and Benefits of Track and Trace Technology
When distributing any product, track and trace technology is powerful for both successful delivery and supply chain transparency. At the consumer level, expectations for visibility are high. Whether it’s an online order or even a same-day food delivery, technology that allows the recipient to see their order in real-time is becoming commonplace. Managing product logistics…
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How Transloading Keeps the Supply Chain Moving
The increase in the importing and exporting of goods has manufacturers and shippers continuously looking for ways to streamline processes and move products to their destinations more efficiently. With port bottlenecks and other disruptions still impacting supply chains, finding ways to optimize logistics has become a top priority throughout the industry. One of many ways…
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The Importance of Workplace Ergonomics in the Supply Chain
Over the past three years, the traditional concept of the workplace has evolved across numerous industries. Along with what many are calling “The Great Resignation,” which left record numbers of job vacancies, employers are also finding that new and remaining workers are more focused than ever on optimal working conditions. And with labor shortages continuing,…
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Managing Middle Mile Logistics
Over the last few years, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies have had to find ways to remain efficient in a swiftly changing economic environment. Prior to the onset of the pandemic and the extreme supply chain disruptions that followed, it was common for organizations to focus heavily on the efficiency of their last-mile fulfillment strategy…
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Achieving Greater Supply Chain Agility
Achieving Greater Supply Chain Agility If the past two years have taught retailers and manufacturers anything, it is that they should expect the unexpected. Supply chain disruptions, which continue to be a prominent issue throughout many industries, have wreaked havoc on the processes and systems companies have spent years perfecting and becoming comfortable with. Companies…
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Principles of Just-in-time Supply Chains
Throughout the supply chain industry there are various types of inventory management processes that businesses use depending on how they operate. Some examples of inventory management trends include the min/max method, omni-channel fulfillment, just-in-time, and just-in-case methods. Perhaps one of the more popular practices, the just-in-time method, involves a business setting up its supply chain…
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Supply Chain Storm Resiliency and Preparedness
Supply Chain Storm Resiliency and Preparedness As our environment absorbs the impacts of worldwide climate change, destructive storms are becoming more frequent. Extreme storms are already stressful to consumers due to the heightened risk of floods, power outages, and home damage. But consumers are also feeling the stressful effects of climate disruptions hampering the activities…
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Reverse Logistics in the Supply Chain
When we think of the supply chain, we typically focus on the journey of materials to manufacturers and products to retailers and consumers. Equally important, however, are the logistical processes that go into moving a product from the consumer back to the retailer or manufacturer. Having an efficient reverse logistics plan is crucial to the…