Each day, more than $1.7 billion in goods cross the border from Mexico into the U.S., with more than 70% of that freight traveling by truck. For businesses on both sides of the border, getting their goods from point A to B is often a complex, confusing and expensive process. Cross-border shippi

The days of static supply chains, both globally and locally, are long gone. Enterprises now must deal with an immense level of complexity and volatility, with continual change being the new normal.Organizations today have to grapple with faster product release cycles; shorter product lifecycles; omn

Even the strongest narrative about international trade flows can shift with jarring suddenness.For the last 30 years or so, the conventional wisdom about U.S. seaports has centered on the increasing dominance of the West Coast, particularly the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The coming Century

A world without supply chains would look nothing like the one we know today. But a world without streamlined payments throughout that supply chain is just the world we live in.There’s an all-too-common disconnect between highly automated, efficient supplier streams and the very manual, paper-h

Sometimes I think it’s OK to have a burger and fries because I ordered a Diet Coke. My soft drink tells me I’m watching what I eat, at the same time I’m ignoring the fact that my actual meal has many empty calories. Psychologists call this “cognitive dissonance” —

When will ocean carriers shed their obsession with vessel size? Not anytime soon, according to one economist.For decades now, carriers have been introducing progressively bigger containerships into the oceangoing trades. The largest vessel in 1970 was 1,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU); by 201

Hurricane season brings with it all sorts of dire predictions, with many unknowns and variabilities in the impact of advancing storms. These uncertainties can force significant disruptions to event planning, services, travel, and activities. Potential results include the relocation of sports and ent

Some call it an apocalypse. Others a bloodbath.Whatever you call it, things aren’t looking good in the freight industry, where companies shutting down is now a daily event rather than something that only happens a few times a year. In fact, while the rest of the country is just now ringing ala

The impact of personalized experiences on shopping decisions is well accepted across industries. Customers venture into buying journeys that are both multichanneled and non-linear. With the advent of disruptive retail technologies, globalization, economic expansion and digitization, offering the rig

Supply-chain management is a significant area of business that, when done well, can make all processes run much more smoothly. The problem with many companies’ efforts is that they stick too rigidly to a system of operation that they’ve been committed to for years.This isn’t to say

Each year, the San Francisco Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals hosts a panel of experts who venture their views on future trends, respond to one another’s predictions, then poll the audience, which votes by holding up either green AGREE or red DISAGREE cards. T

The manufacturing industry is inherently complex. Supply chains are geographically diverse. And regulatory requirements continually evolve. What’s more, massive amounts of information exist outside organizational walls and are difficult or impossible to access. Yet many manufacturers still rel

When it comes to products that infringe on patents, retailers that sell them are just as vulnerable to legal action as the manufacturers that make them.That became evident to five retailing giants when they were sued by the regents of the University of California this summer for selling a type of li

Customer experience is disrupting and changing the supply-chain world from the inside out.New delivery models and e-commerce are causing customers to expect immediate, accurate and flexible product delivery at any quantity. So how can you deliver this new level of customer experience, while managing

For most companies or consumer-facing brands, the priority is keeping customers happy and loyal, so that they generate return business. Thanks to e-commerce, sellers have been able to reach consumers at home and across borders, but this has posed its own challenge. Buyers today want instant satisfac

While watching the latest Democratic presidential debate, it occurred to me that both political parties are missing a critical issue when it comes to job creation.On the Democratic side, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders proposed expensive government spending programs for healthcare and regulation

The 2019 edition of DHL’s Resilience360 report projected that this year, businesses should prepare for at least four major hurricanes across the Americas and 10 typhoons in East Asia. In addition to Hurricane Dorian’s very recent assault on the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast, one needs

For more than 20 years, the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group consisting entirely of chief executive officers, has maintained that the primary mission of corporations is to serve the interests of their shareholders. Now the group wants the world to believe that it values other fundamentals as we

How can retailers foresee what the must-have holiday gifts will be — and, most importantly, manage increased activity accordingly?Fashion trends have always been tricky for retailers to predict, and the terrain has become increasingly rocky with the rapid growth of influencer marketing, fast f

By its very nature, a supply chain requires a collaborative partnership between people and organizations. While this can help to achieve a common objective and foster growth, it might also pose a host of problems.Through these symbiotic relationships, companies have unknowingly exposed sensitive asp