Optimizing your company’s reverse logistics system

What happens to your products after the point of sale? Are they easily returned if they’re faulty, recyclable if they’ve reached end-of-life, or able to be repaired? If the answer to these questions isn’t known, or the process to make those events happen isn’t well-defined, your reverse logistics system may not be operating at peak efficiency. Take a look at the benefits of an optimized approach, and get tips for improving your processes.  

Cincinnati’s success starts with its employees

Family, quality and wellness are three words that embody the team at our service center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Approximately 60 dock workers, city drivers, office employees and regional personnel operate this facility day and night to ensure customers receive on-time pickups and deliveries. Through extensive training and development, each employee has the skill to solve supply chain disruptions and the will to do what’s best for the customer.

Freight pickup and delivery

Imagine you’re the logistics manager responsible for scheduling hundreds of inbound and outbound shipments each day. You evaluate each of your orders at the start of every workday and start devising a shipping plan that will get your freight out on time. Say you’ve got one pallet of bedframes that need to be delivered to a local retailer today, and you need to get 10 sets of mattresses and box springs from your warehouse in Atlanta to another retailer in New York by the end of business tomorrow afternoon.

Recognizing the dedication of our Tulsa Service Center employees

At 3 a.m. every weekday, the lights at our Tulsa service center come on. As many of its employees start their day, most of Tulsa is still sleeping. But in a world where freight is continuously moving, those few extra hours are critical. Fortunately, Tulsa’s employees have the will and determination to put in the hard work necessary to serve our customers well — and they’ve experienced growth as a result.

Using lifelong learning to advance careers

Staying on top of current trends is instrumental for success in many industries. Medical professionals take courses throughout their careers to ensure superior patient care, and educators are required to take part in specialized training for the classroom. But how do you develop employees in fields that don’t necessitate continued education?

Can the logistics industry benefit from blockchain technology?

What if human error could be eliminated from data management? You’d never have to question revenue numbers or spend time resolving payment disputes, and you’d always know business decisions were based on accurate information. When it came to managing your supply chain, you’d know every step was precisely monitored.    

While these situations may sound too good to be true, blockchain technology could make them a reality in the not-so-distant future.

July and August trade shows in the U.S.

Health, beauty and apparel expos, along with trade shows targeting the construction and home improvement industry, highlight the list of upcoming events for July and August. If you sell products or services catered to those industries and are considering exhibiting at a show this summer, you may benefit from exposing your company to potential new clients, and from the opportunity to evaluate your competitors, survey the market and get new ideas for your business.

Utilize multiple transportation modes to solve capacity issues 

Relying on multiple sources for transportation isn’t a new concept. Companies with owned assets often use 3PLs to supplement their equipment, and most businesses will count on several carriers to cover freight. But how often do companies diversify the modes they rely on, not just who covers their current modes?

The importance of maritime shipping

Ocean shipping services transport more than 80 percent of all globally traded products. In fact, maritime trade is a huge part of what makes the world go round. The clothes you wear, the vehicle you drive (and the fuel), the TV you watch, and the cellphone in your hand likely came from countries like China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. But, have you ever thought about the shipping routes ocean vessels take to ensure a quick and safe delivery?

What’s affecting truckload capacity?

As mentioned in my previous update, the capacity crunch industry experts have been discussing for several years appears to be here. But how do we know this isn’t an issue that eventually will normalize? And why is this time different from other supply chain disruptions?

To better understand what’s going on, we can look at national measures of freight volume and capacity, and see how today’s market compares to previous events.