February 7, 2018
Are you in the process of evaluating a new warehouse management system? At a high-level, warehousing is the business of moving inventory AND data. To be successful, you have to be good at receiving, storing and shipping physical products as well as managing the information related to that inventory. Evaluating and selecting a new warehouse management system (WMS) can be an overwhelming process. Where do you find solution providers? What information do you need? How do you compare systems? What features are important? What other non-product factors are important when […]
January 3, 2018
What is Commercial off-the-shelf-software? When searching for a software solution, whether it is to run an entire business, or just fill a single functional need, one must decide whether to search for a commercial off-the-shelf-software (COTS) solution, or use programming services for custom, one-off development. COTS, also referred to as package software, is the more traditional and popular mindset. If you need a word processor, would you build one from scratch, or go find an existing software that meets your needs? Package software will beat out one-off development in nearly […]
December 21, 2017
I’m sure we all heard about the latest news out of Atlanta this past weekend. There was a power outage that lasted close to 12 hours that shut down airport operations and forced an evacuation to clear out the congestion. Travelers were left stranded with no power, no food, and no information from anyone. So you might be thinking, “Why was there no backup power and why did everyone working at the airport seem so unprepared to handle this situation?” The situation occurred because a Georgia Power Substation had a […]
December 15, 2017
The 2018 Third-Party Logistics Study was recently published. This year marks the 22nd year of publication. The paper discusses the findings from an annual survey of 3PL/4PL Providers, Shippers (not currently using 3PL/4PL services) and Shippers (currently using 3PL/4PL). The study is conducted by C. John Langley Jr. Ph.D and Infosys Consulting. Sponsors include Penske Logistics, Korn Ferry, Infosys and Penn State Smeal College of Business. The survey is 60 pages and covers various areas of the 3PL market including automation/digitization trends, new technologies such as blockchain, increased importance of […]
December 11, 2017
You get into work a little late, it happens, but you had to get that fancy coffee. You plop down at the same old desk: family photos, cat calendar, black computer screen. Today, you don’t reach out for the power button on the monitor, but lean back, prop your legs up, and take a long satisfying sip. Maybe years ago you would have been frantic to organize the morning activities, review the inbound orders, load balance your pickers, print your paperwork, and round up the team. Your mornings are much […]
November 1, 2017
To an outsider, 3PL warehousing may seem like a fairly simple business. You have stuff stored in a building. Someone tells you to ship some of the stuff, which you do in a merrily way. Then you get more stuff and put it away temporarily until someone asks you to ship that stuff. Easy! Well there’s obviously a lot more to it. We’ve prioritized 5 areas that we think should be part of every successful 3PL warehouse. No, you do not have to take a vocabulary test on these but […]