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How to Lower Total Supply Chain Management Cost
People are often delighted to see a favorite childhood treat on the shelf of their local grocery store—and shocked at how expensive it is now. While factors like inflation, taxes, and regulations play a role in the prices of everyday food and consumer items, they are not the only forces at work. It takes a…
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How Long Do Pallets Last?
If you’re building a pallet fleet, it’s crucial to know how long your pallets will last in order to make the best possible choice for your company’s needs. You may seek out short-term options that have a low upfront cost, like stringer pallets. Or, you might invest in more durable block pallets that offer longer-term…
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How to Streamline Your Pallet Inspection Procedure
ARTICLE UPDATED DECEMBER 20, 2023 Pallets are an essential component of virtually every warehouse delivery, making it a rarity to find a shipment that doesn’t utilize them. Even less common is the sight of goods leaving a facility without being securely palletized. The consistent flow of pallets, from intake to throughput, is a universal presence…
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How to Reduce Pallet Costs
Efficiency is the key to protecting profit margins, especially in the high volume and narrow margin world of grocery and consumer packaged goods. Due to the nature of these industries, the companies working in them already pursue efficiency with an eye towards keeping their Total Cost of Business (TCOB) low and their profits as high…
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Cross Docking As a Supply Chain Strategy
ARTICLE UPDATED ON AUGUST 10, 2023 Cross docking is a supply chain tactic that eliminates the need for a warehouse, at least in theory. In this approach, incoming freight from trucks is directly transferred across the shipping dock and loaded onto outbound trucks without going through a separate facility. However, the reality of implementing cross…
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Why Are Freight Rates Dropping in 2019?
The years 2017 and 2018 were incredibly profitable for transportation companies, but the increasing transportation rates that made these years so profitable for carriers also tightened profit margins for manufacturers. Many increased product prices to cover the high cost of freight rates. The boom showed no sign of stopping at the end of 2018. In…
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5 Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Best Practices
When it comes to supply chains, the pharmaceutical supply chain is probably the most heavily regulated of all–and for good reason. Even the smallest error in shipping and storage can impact the efficacy of a product and put lives at risk. Adhering to pharmaceutical supply chain best practices is crucial to ensure pharmaceuticals are delivered…
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How to Improve the Warehouse Shipping Process
On its surface, the warehouse shipping process is simple. The customer places an order, the warehouse management system (WMS) generates a pick order, and a warehouseman follows the pick order, pulls the items needed from inventory, and brings them all to packing. The packing department boxes everything up, palletizes the load, and it all ships…