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Its factories supply the world with shoes, sweaters, consumer electronics and toys. Now China is starting to emerge as a major supplier of auto parts. What will this mean for automotive supply chains?
Employers have become much more sophisticated about how they work with their labor forces to improve productivity. But the pressure to step up productivity will only increase in the not-too-distant future, when we aging baby boomers begin to retire and the next, smaller wave of workers takes over.
Shippers, carriers, third parties and researchers spend enormous amounts of time and energy attempting to develop reliable distribution networks, yet the best-laid plans are subject to forces and events beyond the control of even the most sophisticated systems.
With millions of muggles waiting for the latest Harry Potter volume to hit the bookstores (or their doorsteps), the people charged with its distribution relied not on magic, but on careful planning and painstaking execution.
With a shortage of drivers, tighter regulations on drivers' hours of service, and other pressures, transportation capacity is hard to come by these days. Yet even amid the turmoil, some businesses are finding ways to assure transportation capacity is available when they need it and to minimize costs.
For Chiquita Brands, moving 60 million boxes of pineapples and bananas from Central America to U.S. grocers each year is the easy part. The challenge is making sure its refrigerated ships and containers don't return without a payload.
With truck and driver shortages wreaking havoc on their supply chains, some companies find themselves contemplating what was once unthinkable: starting their own fleets.
The lenses and camera bags it sells come from far-away lands, but Ritz Camera has a surprisingly detailed grasp of their whereabouts while in transit. Its secret? A really competent 3PL.