Last month, I received an e-mail promoting a seminar on the use of blogs, social networking sites, gated communities, and microsites in consulting. Once again, I was moved to ask myself, “Doesn’t anyone talk anymore?” One cannot dispute the value of the social media we have at our fingertips today. Certainly, sites such as […]
Many of us will remember a time not too long ago, when we said, “We need to put 2020 behind us. 2021 will be better.” And for a while it appeared that it might be true, until the new year arrived. While not a supply chain issue, January 1 found us still distracted by […]
For over twenty years, Armstrong & Associates and Penn State’s John Langley and his partners have examined the logistics service provider (LSP) industry. Recently, there has been a new entry into the analysis of this segment – 3PLCentral. Their report for 2021 suggests trends and best practices that LSPs need to consider, in order […]
For years, the so-called “last mile” delivery has been problematic; and as online buying has increased, the challenge has become even more pronounced. In 2020, U.S. consumers spent $11 billion on line, about 15% over last year. Part of this increase was a result of individual changes in buying habits, and part was brought […]
Two weeks ago, President – elect Joe Biden announced he was nominating Pete Buttigieg to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Buttigieg is a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a one-time Democratic presidential candidate. He was generally considered to be an effective, innovative leader in South Bend; and unlike most of […]
As Charles Dickens reminded us in “The Tale of Two Cities”, “It was the best of times; It was the worst of times”……………… The holiday season of 2020 will long be remembered as one of the busiest, saddest, most exhausting, and most stressful of any in recent memory, as every action we have taken […]
Hopefully, those of you who read this had a good Thanksgiving, or as good as possible, considering the restrictions COVID-19 has forced upon us. Black Friday is over (maybe) and barring some wildly improbable circumstances, we will have a new president in January. Even better news is the fact that we probably will have […]
As we approach this year’s Presidential election, as supply chain managers, once again we find ourselves concerned about much needed infrastructure improvement or lack thereof. In short, we are just about where we were years ago at this time. We were facing a contentious election, Congress was arguing about a Supreme Court nominee, and […]
Every fall, for the past 25 years, Dr. John Langley of Penn State, has published the “Annual Third-Party Logistics Study”. I have been following this report since its inception, and have always found it to be a comprehensive summary of current relationships between logistics service providers (LSP) and their customers. This year’s study, sponsored […]
“The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise.” ……Mark Twain When the $5.2 billion expansion of the Panama Canal was completed in 2016, its capacity was doubled, making it possible for more ships, as well as larger ships to transit the canal and call […]