Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Earth day inspires green logistics for trucks, trains, and forklifts

A growing number of logistics service providers are convinced there are business benefits to going green.

Skeptics may say the vision of a sustainable supply chain is a contradiction in terms, thanks to the emissions spewed by 18-wheeler trucks, cargo jets, containerships, forklifts, and parcel delivery vans as they whisk freight around the globe. The challenge may be tough, but a growing number of logistics service providers are convinced there are business benefits to going green.

Just Monday, supply chain specialist APL Logistics Ltd. announced it is bolstering its sustainability practice by hiring an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps fellow to create a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator. According to the Singapore-based 3PL, which has its U.S. headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., the calculator will allow customers to model greenhouse gas reduction scenarios.


Ordinarily, the move wouldn’t mean much on its own. But this year, it came shortly after the annual flurry of press releases that hits reporters’ email boxes every April 22, touting sustainable supply chain announcements for Earth Day. This year’s theme was all about cutting emissions:

By slashing emissions in nearly every corner of the supply chain, operators could team up to make a collective dent in the clouds of greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change, while continuing to turn a profit and still deliver their loads on time.

20190508omnitrax120190508omnitrax2
OmniTRAX's environmentally friendly locomotive
20190508mack20190508toyota_kenworth
Mack's fully electric garbage truckFuel-cell electric heavy-duty truck from Toyota and Kenworth
20190508kalmar120190508kalmar2
Kalmar's electric Empty Container Handler
20190508dot20190508savemart
Dot Foods' Orange EV electric yard truckSave Mart trucks will run on renewable diesel

The Latest

More Stories

5 scary thoughts about disasters and disaster relief

It’s almost Halloween, and if your town is anything like mine, your neighbors’ yards are already littered with ghosts, witches and tombstones. 

Clearly some of us enjoy giving other people a scare. Just as clearly, some of us enjoy getting a scare.  

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Keep a clear focus on enterprise priorities.

"Spot solutions are needed to help a company get through a sudden shock, but the only way to ensure agility and resilience going forward is by addressing systemic issues in a way that is intentional and focused on the long term and brings together clear priorities, well-designed repeatable processes, robust governance, and a skilled team." - Harvard Business Review

From Low Cost to Best Cost

An article published by McKinsey & Co. in August observed, “over the past year, many companies have made structural changes to their supply networks by implementing dual or multiple sourcing strategies for critical materials and moving from global to regional networks.”

This structural change pivots on the difference between low cost and best cost.  The shift extends through Tier 1 Suppliers through lower tiers.  The intent of a low-cost supply chain strategy is to present a low price to customers. A best-cost strategy adds factors beyond cost to the equation, like risk, lead time, and responsiveness.

Keep ReadingShow less

Digital Freight Execution: Making Win-Win Connections

As global supply chains become increasingly complicated, there are now more digital connections and business collaborations in the global shipping industry than ever before. Holding freight data in opaque, disconnected silos and relying on outdated methods of communication is not just inefficient - it’s unsustainable.

The global supply chain is no longer a linear process. Whereas before it was simply about moving freight from point A to B, now there is now a multitude of options for transporting that freight, each with its own unique set of capabilities and constraints. 

Keep ReadingShow less

No wonder we are short of labor in the supply chain.

America’s posture in world trade, and the underlying supply chains, are more than robust.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the United States balance of trade in goods and services deficit dropped to $70.6 billion in July.  Exports hit the highest level in real dollars since tracking began over 70 years ago.  During the recovery from Covid,, with reshoring and shifting market demands, are holding imports flat..

This success is happening despite the global disruption caused by Ukraine.  Expect our labor shortages to continue.  Expect wage pressure to continue.  Expect inflationary pressures across the supply chain to continue.

Keep ReadingShow less