January, 2018

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Supply Chain Transparency: Blockchain to the Rescue?

All Things Supply Chain

As pointed out by Chloe Cooke in her 2017 wrap-up post on this platform in December, it has been a while since we addressed the topic of supply chain transparency.

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Join my S&OP Mindset Survey

Supply Chain Trend

S&OP is an enterprise wide business planning process that can only be effective and sustainable when it is supported by the right mindset and behaviours. Individuals and teams with a superior mindset will increase S&OP effectiveness and are proven to perform better and show increased well-being. This short 5 minute survey will assess your organisation’s mindset.

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Top 3 Reasons Food Shippers Need Trailer Temperature Tracking in TMS

Supply Chain Collaborator

There is only one enterprise-level transportation management system (TMS) platform that offers trailer temperature tracking in real time. We’ll let you guess who it is! More importantly, we’re going to share three reasons why food shippers and other organizations with perishable or temperature-sensitive products should be clamoring for this innovative functionality (if they haven’t already been wishing this feature was available to them). .

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Infographic: Amazon and Uber in Logistics

The Network Effect

Two huge companies, Amazon and Uber, from very different sectors, have recently entered the $8 trillion logistics market. With this. The post Infographic: Amazon and Uber in Logistics appeared first on The Network Effect.

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Load Optimization: A Sustainable Way To Reduce Transportation Costs

Discover strategies to optimize load building and achieve significant transportation cost savings. Plus, learn how load optimization can help reduce CO 2 emissions and align with climate regulations and consumer expectations. Finally, discover best practices for sustainable load optimization.

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Responsible sourcing as part of corporate governance

SupplyShift

Hello, my name is Alex, I’m the CEO of SupplyShift. Although we typically focus on supply-chain specific items of interest, I wanted to start this year with a broader look at the business landscape of 2018 and beyond. In the last five years there has been a substantial increase in consumer preferences focused on ethics-based brands (HSBC) as well as rapidly growing shareholder actions based on social and environmental metrics ( HBR.com ) that result in a change in the way that global companies

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Blockchain: So Much Bigger Than Bitcoin

Supply Chain Brain

Voting. A blockchain allows the authentication of transactions without them needing to be administered or guaranteed by a central authority. Ballot boxes and current online voting platforms are vulnerable to manipulation; now a startup called Follow My Vote is developing a blockchain-based system to ensure security, transparency and mathematically accurate election results.

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Does Cost Plus Encourage Lazy Procurement?

Market Dojo

Cost plus: (definition, adjective). “relating to or denoting a method of pricing a service or product in which a fixed profit factor is added to the costs.”. You could argue that every item or service sold is cost plus. In other words, you need to make a profit to stay in business so that everything purchased has to have a margin added to the final sale value, which will be more than the sum of their parts.

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UltraShipTMS Talks YMS in Modern Materials Handling Magazine Article

Supply Chain Collaborator

Richard Chrzanowski, Implementation Manager for UltraShipTMS and acknowledged transportation logistics expert was tapped by Modern Materials Handling magazine for a feature article on Yard Management technologies. Read the informative piece which sheds light on how solution providers are solving the challenges involved in yard visibility and timely throughput.

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Sydney, 1 March 2018: Managing Upward Workshop for Experienced Product Managers

The Network Effect

Managing Upward: A One Day Workshop for Experienced Product Managers. Cohosted by Brainmates and Rich Mironov. Where: Brainmates, Level 6 / 100 Clarence St, Sydney, Australia. When: 1 March 2018, 8:45am – 5:00 pm. Cost: $995 AUD, register here. This interactive workshop on managing upward will help product managers improve their understanding and skills for working (upward) with their executives.

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Responsible sourcing as part of corporate governance

SupplyShift

Hello, my name is Alex, I’m the CEO of SupplyShift. Although we typically focus on supply-chain specific items of interest, I wanted to start this year with a broader look at the business landscape of 2018 and beyond. In the last five years there has been a substantial increase in consumer preferences focused on ethics-based brands (HSBC) as well as rapidly growing shareholder actions based on social and environmental metrics ( HBR.com ) that result in a change in the way that global companies

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Autonomous AI Agents Are the Future of Procurement and Supply Chain Operations

As early as next year, procurement and supply chain operations will begin to adopt AI agents, often called “agentic AI,” to work alongside employees to make and execute decisions with precision across procurement and even the most complex global supply chains. Unlike LLM-based generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, these AI agents do not require prompts from humans.

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Plug Wars: The Battle for Electric Car Supremacy

Supply Chain Brain

At the moment, Tesla and carmakers in Japan and Germany use different plugs and communication protocols to link batteries to chargers, but firms building the charging networks needed for electric vehicles to become mainstream say the number of plug formats will need to be limited to keep costs down. Carmakers behind the winning technology will benefit from having an established supply chain and an extensive network, making their vehicles potentially more attractive to customers worried about emb

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Supply Chain Lessons from the Ski Slopes

All Things Supply Chain

It’s that time of year again, when the snow covers the mountains, the piste bashers come out to play, the chair lifts are running and the ski season comes into…

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Six Features in TMS Designed to Mitigate the Capacity Crunch

Supply Chain Collaborator

Gonna keep it brief. Shippers’ transportation departments are scrambling to find capacity as the ELD mandate and other economic forces place constraints on capacity at levels the industry has rarely witnessed. So we know time is of the essence. Here are X ways a good TMS solution helps shippers mitigate a capacity crunch. Spot Market Reporting. With so many shippers being forced into the spot market to find haulers, having robust spot quote reporting is crucial, providing insights into which

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First Annual UltraShipTMS GLOBE Awards Honor Excellence in Transportation Logistics

Supply Chain Collaborator

New Awards Program Sponsored by UltraShipTMS Honors Transportation Excellence at Castellini Group, Giorgio Foods and Burns Logistics, Inc. January 18, 2018 – Fair Lawn, NJ – Burgeoning supply chain logistics software solution provider, UltraShipTMS is proud to announce the launch of an annual awards program designed to recognize excellence in the utilization and promotion of leading edge technologies supporting effective transportation planning, execution and management.

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Freight Procurement Simplified: Bids from Hours to Minutes

Speaker: Eric Berdinis, Ran Sun, & Chris Chmielewski

Procuring freight can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and error-prone. If you’re frustrated with the complex and manual processes for obtaining bids for your contract and spot freight, you’re not alone. In today’s fast-moving supply chain environment, optimizing these processes is critical to staying competitive and cutting costs. Join this exclusive webinar with experts from Uber Freight to learn how the latest digital tools and automation can transform your freight procurement strategy by strea

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No Such Thing as Pre-Onboarded Carriers from TMS Providers

Supply Chain Collaborator

Take it from a marketing guy. Performing cost benefit analysis to decide which TMS solution to implement? Understand this! There is NO SUCH THING AS PRE-ONBOARDED CARRIERS! It’s a head fake. A brilliant piece of marketing designed to entice. In fact, the notion of “pre-onboarded carriers” is designed to make shippers think this critically important and detailed process of onboarding freight carriers into your system can be standardized or otherwise easily bypassed.

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How Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Can Survive in the Age of Amazon

Supply Chain Brain

The list of old-line retailers that are struggling to survive, or have already given up the ghost, seems to get longer every day: Sears Holdings , J.C. Penney , Macy’s , J. Crew , The Limited , Radio Shack , Payless ShoeSource and Neiman Marcus , to name but a few. All have set up e-commerce operations to supplement their physical stores, but they can’t manage to get traction against the Amazon juggernaut.

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Fighting Bribery and Corruption in Global Supply Chains

Supply Chain Brain

The FCPA was enacted in 1977 to punish businesses for paying bribes to foreign government officials. The law is global in scope, and affects multiple parts of the supply chain. Penalties can be severe, involving multi-million-dollar fines and even jail sentences for violators. For businesses, the consequences can be even more wide-ranging, including a plunge in share value, the inability to attract and retain staff, and huge legal fees.

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Amazon Go: Convenience and Concern at New Checkout-Free Corner Shop

Supply Chain Brain

Monday was the first day that Amazon’s new checkout-less convenience store, Amazon Go, opened to the public, and shopping is even easier than online. There is no tedious clicking or scrolling, no banner ads to negotiate nor passwords to remember. Simply present the Amazon Go app at the gates and start shopping. The range is typical of a 7-Eleven: a few essential groceries and toiletries but mostly snacks, breakfast items, sandwiches and salads.

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How To Align Product Management And Supply Chain Operations For Successful Product Launches

Speaker: Shalini Dinesh

Effective cross-functional collaboration and communication heavily influence product launch success. Research shows that as many as 70% of product launches fail due to inadequate coordination among stakeholders, including supply chain, product management, legal, marketing, and change control teams (Gartner, 2022). The 2023 Supply Chain Insights Report highlights that 60% of supply chain disruptions are caused by poor communication and misalignment among cross-functional teams.

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U.S. Is No Longer One of the Top 10 Most Innovative Countries

Supply Chain Brain

The U.S. dropped out of the top 10 in the 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index for the first time in the six years the gauge has been compiled. South Korea and Sweden retained their No. 1 and No. 2 rankings. The index scores countries using seven criteria, including research and development spending and concentration of high-tech public companies. The U.S. fell to 11th place from ninth mainly because of an eight-spot slump in the post-secondary, or tertiary, education-efficiency category, which inclu

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'It's a No-Brainer': Are Hydrogen Cars the Future?

Supply Chain Brain

In the mid-1990s, Spowers ran a Formula Three racing team. At the time, motorsport was in the pocket of big tobacco. Every weekend, Formula One cars emblazoned with cigarette brands — Marlboro, Camel, Silk Cut — raced on TV in front of millions. “It was pretty clear it was killing people,” Spowers says. “Meanwhile, the industry was portraying a link between smoking and winners.

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Where Will Companies Find Their Future I.T. Expertise?

Supply Chain Brain

The need for tech expertise is greater than it has ever been — and growing. The increasing sophistication of information systems, coupled with business’s ever-expanding reliance on technology to handle critical processes, raises big questions about where that support is going to come from in the years ahead. Companies need to start thinking about I.T. talent as a supply chain unto itself.

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What Blockchain Means to Supply Chain

Supply Chain Brain

Blockchain technology was created to support transactions involving Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But it has quickly emerged from that dark and mysterious world to offer an invaluable tool for business in general, and global supply chains in particular. Touted as a secure, immutable system of record for any number of transactions between business partners, it seems an ideal tool for managing the complex web of relationships that make up a typical supply chain.

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The Evolution of Control Towers to Command Centers

Are fragmented control towers hindering your supply chain’s growth and response time? Attempting to manage disruptions through various departmental control towers with basic analytic overlays hinders agility and, ultimately, your resiliency. Today’s volatile landscape requires inherent visibility across your entire value chain and the ability to orchestrate course corrections within a unified platform.

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Cyberattacks and War Are Now the Most Feared Risks For 2018

Supply Chain Brain

The growing cyber-dependency of governments and companies, and the associated risks of hacking by criminals or hostile states, has replaced social polarization as a main threat to stability over the next decade, according to the WEF’s yearly assessment of global risks, published Wednesday at Bloomberg LP’s new European headquarters in London. The Davos forum starts Jan. 23 in the Swiss ski resort.

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Bitcoin Could End Up Using More Power Than Electric Cars

Supply Chain Brain

Miners of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could require up to 140 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2018, about 0.6 percent of the global total, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Nicholas Ashworth wrote in a note last week. That’s more than expected power demand from electric vehicles in 2025. “If cryptocurrencies continue to appreciate we expect global mining power consumption to increase,” Ashworth wrote in the note.

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Will the New Tax Bill Bring Overseas Profits Back Home?

Supply Chain Brain

U.S.-based corporations are reported to have between $2tr and $3tr stashed away in offshore accounts, to avoid paying high taxes on domestic income. Apple alone is said to be holding some $269bn in cash and cash equivalents through its overseas affiliates. American companies have been loath to bring that money back to the U.S. because it would become subject to a repatriation tax rate of up to 40 percent.

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Best Practices for Logistics Leaders in 2018

Supply Chain Brain

Logistics and transportation providers have been reaping the benefits of strong demand for product, driven in large part by the increasing dominance of e-commerce and the internet. But they can’t afford to be complacent. In the months ahead, they’ll be grappling with a multitude of uncertainties, including questions about rates, regulations and driver availability.

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The Key to Sustainable Energy Optimization: A Data-Driven Approach for Manufacturing

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. ♻️ Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

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Toyota's Vision for Self-Driving Includes Amazon Collaboration

Supply Chain Brain

Partners include Amazon, Uber, Pizza Hut and China’s DiDi. Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the carmaker’s founder, debuted the e-Palette vehicle and e-Palette Alliance to a packed crowd at CES 2018 in Las Vegas on Monday. Along with eventually slotting future versions of the concept electric vehicle, which can be configured for deliveries, mobile stores, ridesharing or a rolling office, alliance partners will work with Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform to create a range of connec

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'It Can’t Be True': Inside the Semiconductor Industry’s Meltdown

Supply Chain Brain

Months earlier, cybersecurity researcher Anders Fogh had posted a blog suggesting a possible way to hack into chips powering most of the world’s computers, and the friends spent part of the evening trying to make sense of it. The idea nagged at Prescher, so when he got home he fired up his desktop computer and set about putting the theory into practice.

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Intel Facing Class-Action Lawsuits Over Meltdown and Spectre Bugs

Supply Chain Brain

The flaws, called Meltdown and Spectre, exist within virtually all modern processors and could allow hackers to steal sensitive data although no data breaches have been reported yet. While Spectre affects processors made by a variety of firms, Meltdown appears to primarily affect Intel processors made since 1995. Three separate class-action lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs in California, Oregon and Indiana seeking compensation, with more expected.

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A Cryptocurrency That Embraces Regulation

Supply Chain Brain

Don’t count on that happening in the immediate future. But several recent developments suggest that cryptocurrency mania is entering a new phase of maturity, driven by regulators and new coin offerings that strive to comply with them. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new Cyber Unit , created last September to address a broad range of cyber-related threats, announced its first action against an initial coin offering (ICO) in December.

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The Ultimate Guide to Transportation and Load Building Optimization

Enhance your transportation and load building efficiency with our comprehensive guide. Learn to tackle today's supply chain challenges and optimize your approach with advanced planning strategies. This guide covers: Supply Chain Challenges: Discover how transportation planning can address critical issues and improve efficiency. Load Building Benefits: Understand how effective load building can enhance your transportation processes.