We continue our top blog posts of 2014 from our main categories today by focusing on something at Cerasis we are experts in: Logistics. We’ve already listed the top 10 manufacturing blog posts and the top 10 supply chain blog posts last week. If you are familiar with the term logistics, then you undoubtedly know it conjures up a different meaning to different people, different countries, and different companies even. There are countless number of logistics service providers who offer many different types of broad and niche services. Some logistics involves transportation or warehouses or both. Logistics encompasses certain subsets of practices within the supply chain, such as just in time logistics, mission critical logistics, and more. In fact, the logistics space is so broad, we couldn’t give you only the top 10 blog posts of 2014, but we had to include the top 15.
Top 15 Logistics Blog Posts of 2014
As with all out top blog posts of 2014 lists, this list is ranked in order of the number of views for each post, with the first the most viewed, and the 15th, the top 15th viewed blog post. However, I encourage you to browse the entire logistics category so you may see the most recent posts as well, because typically, the earlier the post was published, the more views (but that is not always the case). It is evident, the two most popular themes around logistics in 2014 based on these page views have to deal with Reverse Logistics, e-commerce, and information around the warehouse. We thank all of our readers who have read our posts. We continue to get inspired by our guest bloggers and those who respond to our content in social media. If you have a category or idea you’d like to write about or have us write about, contact us today, and we’d love to feature your writings or your idea!
Without further ado, here are the top 15 Logistics blog posts by page view from the Cerasis blog:
E-Commerce Logistics: The Evolution of Logistics and Supply Chains from Direct to Store Models to E-Commerce: In developed economies, e-commerce logistics represents the latest big driver of change in logistics and physical distribution networks, which have evolved substantially over the past 40 years or so. Currently, it remains the case that as e-commerce continues to grow, most shippers, particularly multi-channel shippers, are still only just beginning to work out what this will entail for their distribution network infrastructures. Read the full Post.
The Warehouse Manager’s Complete Warehouse Traffic Management Checklist: A warehouse manager is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of their employees and others who visit your workplace. To that end, every warehouse manager’s role is to manage the physical environment, loadshifting equipment and people, to decrease the chances of collision and accidents, and often, to help the flow of freight via outbound and inbound freight management; an entire process known as warehouse traffic management. Read the full Post.
What is Reverse Logistics and How Is It Different than Traditional Logistics? When a manufacturer’s product normally moves through the supply chain network, it is to reach the distributor or customer. Any process or management after the sale of the product involves reverse logistics. If the product is defective, the customer would return the product. The manufacturing firm would then have to organise shipping of the defective product, testing the product, dismantling, repairing, recycling or disposing the product. The product would travel in reverse through the supply chain network in order to retain any use from the defective product. The logistics for such matters is reverse logistics. Read the Full Post.
Top 3 Benefits of a Reverse Logistics Management Program: As shippers strive to wring every cent out of their logistics costs, they’re increasingly taking a hard look at their reverse logistics management practices. And no wonder, they may find a motherlode waiting to be mined.Companies can no longer afford to treat reverse logistics management as an afterthought. It needs to be a core capability within the supply chain organization. For years, most shippers paid little attention to returns. Read the Full Post.
History of Reverse Logistics is at the Core of The Stories of War, Retail, eCommerce, and Automotive Aftermarket: As you will see today the history of reverse logistics is quite older than the buzz word of it being thrown around more often today, due to the rise of internet retailing, also known as eCommerce. In fact, Cerasis performs reverse logistics every day with our customers, but you won’t find a formal page on our website or brochure outlining the details (but as we continue to increase in the automotive aftermarket industry, perhaps we should….). The reason is that really, reverse logistics is something a lot of shippers and logistics providers have done for a long time. However, though, with the expectations of an easy return experience from the B2C side of business, the industrial (read bigger freight shipments than small package) side and B2B side of business are now expected to have an efficient, focused, an costly reverse logistics program. This is why, for Cerasis, it is KEY for us to educate you on this practice of reverse logistics, because this flow of logisitcs will only increase over the coming years. Read the Full Post.
Why Logistics Efficiency is More Important Than Ever for Manufacturers: With reports and coverage all around saying manufacturing is recovering, and that companies will sustain and survive long term by investing in technology and improved operations, surely the days of viewing freight services and logistics costs as a fixed cost are behind us right? Believe it or not, even in the midst of a Manufacturing “revival” with a focus on total cost reduction, most companies miss the boat completely on logistics efficiency, a critical area for improving corporate profitability. Read the Full Post.
The Ultimate Guide for Effective LTL Freight Management: we put on a 60 minute webinar entitled, “Best Practices for Effective LTL Freight Management and Shipping.” We had a great turnout with over 250 logistics managers, supply chain officers, and those in the transportation world registering and attending the webinar. Below you can download the LTL Freight Management presentation with notes and also view the webinar in its entirety. Download the Webinar Replay.
Warehouse Metrics to Track to Improve Profitability and Operations: Today’s warehouse managers often accrue massive amounts of performance data, but sometimes find they can apply little of it toward making productivity gains or customer service improvements. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with data, managers should identify and focus on the most useful warehouse metrics to gather, report, and apply. Read the Full Post.
How Together 3D Printing, Big Data, and Reshoring are Changing the Logistics Landscape: Having 3D printed inventory on hand for the most purchased items, allows companies to ship freight immediately on a new e-commerce personal order, a large order by a distribution center, or parts and supplies needed to manufacturer custom products by manufacturers. Read the Full Post.
Logistics Collaboration: The Effective use of Cross-Functional Teams: Software is a necessity in all facets of business today, but people are needed to manage the software, and insure data integrity for accurate data output. People are your most important product. Use them to continuously improve your organization. Cross-Functional Teams are a good way to use multi-talented people to solve many kinds of problems and or opportunities in your organization. Read the Full Post.
The Rise of Niche Logistics Providers For Better Logistics Outcomes: Outsourced logistics partnerships are taking companies to places they’ve never been before, both in terms of emerging logistics markets as well as the level of supply chain complexity and strategy necessary to meet ever-changing global demands.As manufacturers and distribution companies become more inclined to partner with multiple niche logistics providers, maintaining expertise in specific verticals, operating regions, technology offerings, or service capabilities, supply chains are evolving into multi-tiered networks, deposited by numerous layers of transportation and logistics contracts from raw materials procurement to domestic point of consumption. Read the Full Post.
RFID Implementation: Price of Failure and Benefits of Success: RFID is the use of an object embedded or incorporated into a product, item, or person with the intention of sending or receiving identification data by utilizing wireless signals. It was primarily developed for short-range product identification, normally in the 1 inch to 6 feet range. But RFID implementation has proven to be extremely successful in managing supply chains. Read Full Post.
Logistics Process Improvement: The Effectiveness of the KISS Method: We, in no matter what kind of business we are in (but especially for logistics process improvement), have heard of the “KISS” method: “Keep it simple, stupid.” I do not agree with this interpretation, and changed it in my business to “Keep it simple AND stupid.” Keep it simple, stupid is negative, and a “put down” to others you may address, in my opinion. Read the Full Post.
How to Set Up an E-Commerce Reverse Logistics Framework Strategy for the Industrial Space as Proven By the Retail World, Part 1 of 2: If you run an e-Commerce store or are thinking about putting your manufactured, re-manufactured, or distribution catalog online, product returns are unavoidable. Reverse logistics in an e-commerce environment is a challenging part of your business. Customer service is essential to getting and keeping your online customers. The handling of your customer product returns is an essential component of your customer service program. Read the Full Post.
Reverse Logistics in E-Commerce: A Framework to Set up A Program for your Online Store, Part 2 of 2: It’s no secret that a positive experience delivered to a customer determines whether that customer will come back. This is true in pretty much any industry, but especially true in manufacturing and distribution where collaborative relationships between suppliers and customers in a B2B setting are vital for long term success.Shippers who have set up online shopping carts must enhance the user experience prior to pressing the “buy” button but also focus on the post-purchase site experience to keep customer retention metrics at satisfactory levels. Read the Full Post.
What are your favorite topics in logistics right now? Let us know in the comments below and look out for more great logistics content in 2015!
Author information
Adam Robinson
Adam Robinson oversees the overall marketing strategy for Cerasis including website development, social media and content marketing, trade show marketing, email campaigns, and webinar marketing. Mr. Robinson works with the business development department to create messaging that attracts the right decision makers, gaining inbound leads and increasing brand awareness all while shortening sales cycles, the time it takes to gain sales appointments and set proper sales and execution expectations.
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