Every logistics operation will say safety programs are a priority. But many such claims are lip service only. Safety solutions, over and above OSHA-mandated programs, cost money – for training, equipment and software. Many companies struggle to invest money in things that might happen.

Are you happy with your logistics performance?

A pretty simple question that calls for a yes or no answer.

Unfortunately, among us logistics types, our operations and engineering brains rely on formulas, not feelings, to provide the answer. 

As third party logistics (3PL) distribution center professionals, we all have logistics KPIs (key performance indicators) that are either directed by our customer or are an internal measure of success.  The goal: to keep our KPIs operating in the green.  However, there are two KPIs that I have seen consumer packaged goods (CPG) customers attempt to manipulate, and I struggle to understand the logic. 

Noted logistics educator Dr. Thomas J. Goldsby is the Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation Professor in Business, Professor of Logistics, and Chair of the Department of Marketing & Logistics at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. He is an academic advisory board member to the National Center for the Middle Market located at Ohio State. We recently talked to Dr. Goldsby about some of the challenges and opportunities associated with logistics for middle market companies. 

KANE’s new Chief Operating Officer is Richard McDuffie, a 30-year logistics industry veteran with a strong track record of driving operational excellence in logistics across the retail, manufacturing and 3PL industries. We recently sat down with Richard to discuss some of the changes he has seen in the industry over the years and what the future might hold.

If you were contracting for home renovation work, you might deal with a single general contractor to coordinate the project. But you’d like to feel confident that the people actually laying the tile, putting up the drywall, and attaching the plumbing fixtures have the experience and training to do a quality job. 

The same holds true for the use of temporary labor for warehouse staffing. As a user of third-party logistics (3PL) services, you want to understand how your 3PL utilizes temporary labor and how that might impact work quality.

KANE’s new Chief Commercial Office is Stan Schrader, a 35-year logistics industry veteran with a strong background in building and scaling successful logistics sales organizations.  We recently sat down with Stan to discuss some of the changes he has seen in the industry over the years and where he sees the greatest opportunity.

Distribution network optimization has become a white-hot topic these days as “the Amazon effect” leads businesses to evaluate how quickly they can get products to customers. 

Warehouse optimization modeling exercises examine the upside of being closer to customers versus the downside of carrying more inventory in more locations.  The biggest mistake companies make in this area is relying too much on the modeling software itself to provide an answer to the question: “How many warehouses should I have and where should they be?”