Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Retailers sharpen their focus on the supply chain

Companies made bigger investments in supply chain efficiency in 2018, tech vendor survey shows.

The most successful retailers are separating themselves from the pack through efficient supply chain management, according to a study sponsored by logistics technology vendor SymphonyRetailAI, released this month.

Four out of five retailers say they view their supply chain as a strength, according to the benchmark report Supply Chain Management 2018: In Service of the Customer, but they also say it's getting harder to keep up with forecasting and fulfillment demands, putting pressure on them to step up their supply chain investments.


"For as long as we've conducted this particular supply chain benchmark, we've called the supply chain the 'next big thing,'" said Brian Kilcourse, managing partner at Retail Systems Research, which conducted the study on behalf of SymphonyRetailAI. "This year's findings show that statement is still true, with retailers making serious investments in supply chain efficiency. Retailers understand that they are challenged to assess demand with a greater accuracy than ever before and to fulfill that demand in the ways that consumers expect."

The study points to two key problems that continue to put pressure on retailers: speed of fulfillment and the changing pattern of consumer demand. Although pervasive in 2017, the issues have become more pressing this year, the study authors said, with 59 percent of respondents listing fulfillment speed as a top concern and 51 percent citing changing consumer demand.

The study authors say "retail winners" are accelerating their investments in new data and technologies aimed at improving forecasting and execution, in particular.

"As the divide between those who address concerns and those who maintain the status quo becomes starker, consumers become less forgiving," the study authors said. "With shopper loyalty hanging in the balance, the requirement for retailers to identify areas of improvement and deploy innovative solutions at a more aggressive pace becomes more critical."

The Latest

More Stories

15 candles

When a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2010, a fledgling humanitarian group knew its day had come—after months of planning, it would finally be able to take its model live and see how well it worked. Formed a year earlier to support humanitarian relief efforts, that group, Airlink, had established a network of airline partners it could call on to provide free or discounted airlift in times of crisis. As it turned out, the model held up in testing. In the weeks following the earthquake, Airlink successfully coordinated the movement of more than 2,000 doctors and nurses and more than 40 shipments of aid totaling more than 500,000 pounds into the disaster zone.

Fifteen years later, the group is still carrying out that mission—but on a much larger scale. Airlink's network today includes over 200 aid organizations and over 50 commercial and charter airlines. Since its inception, the group has flown 13,500 relief workers and transported 18 million pounds of humanitarian cargo, directly helping 60 million people impacted by natural and man-made disasters.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

How risky is your route?

When planning routes for their delivery trucks, fleet managers—or more likely, their route planning software systems—consider factors like mileage, road height and weight restrictions, traffic conditions, and weather. They can now add another variable to the mix, thanks to a new tool that calculates the chances that a load might be stolen along the way.

Developed by New Jersey-based risk assessment firm Verisk Analytics, CargoNet RouteScore API generates a cargo theft "risk score" that provides a relative measure of probability that crime and loss will occur along any given route in the U.S. and Canada. Using a proprietary algorithm, the tool rates routes on a scale from 1 to 100—with 1 representing the lowest likelihood of theft—based on risk factors such as cargo type, value, length of haul, origin, destination, day of the week, and the theft history of specific truck stops.

Keep ReadingShow less

The rise of designer diesel

Drivers typically choose a specific blend of gasoline based on their car's engine, picking high-octane fuel for a sports car and regular gas for the family sedan. Now a company has launched a similar range of products for diesel fuel, saying the offerings are calibrated for vehicles like commercial trucks.

That company, Nevada-based Advanced Refining Concepts LLC (ARC), will launch two new products, GDiesel Lightning and GDiesel Thunder, by mid-year, the company said in January. According to the firm, GDiesel Lightning is a lighter, faster-igniting diesel fuel than the classic mix and is designed specifically for urban start-stop operations—think delivery vehicles, light trucks, city buses, and passenger vehicles. GDiesel Thunder is a heavier, higher energy-content fuel made for steadier and more continuous engine operating modes, making it suitable for long-haul trucking or rail and marine applications.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo of different colored umbrellas

Do you know a Rainmaker?

Know someone who is making a difference in the world of logistics? Then consider nominating that person as one of DC Velocity’s “Rainmakers”—professionals from all facets of the business whose achievements set them apart from the crowd. In the past, they have included practitioners, consultants, academics, vendors, and even military commanders.

To identify these achievers, DC Velocity’s editorial directors work with members of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. The nomination process begins in January and concludes in April with a vote to determine which nominees will be invited to become Rainmakers.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of warehouse vacancy rates

Colliers: warehouse construction rates return to pre-pandemic levels

It’s getting a little easier to find warehouse space in the U.S., as the frantic construction pace of recent years declined to pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of 2024, in line with rising vacancies, according to a report from real estate firm Colliers.

Those trends played out as the gap between new building supply and tenants’ demand narrowed during 2024, the firm said in its “U.S. Industrial Market Outlook Report / Q4 2024.” By the numbers, developers delivered 400 million square feet for the year, 34% below the record 607 million square feet completed in 2023. And net absorption, a key measure of demand, declined by 27%, to 168 million square feet.

Keep ReadingShow less