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Helpful Articles - Supply Chain

What Is Drayage? What Role Does It Play in Logistics?

Drayage acts as a crucial link in getting cargo to its final destination. These short-haul trucking services offer vital connections between ports, rail spurs, warehouses, storefronts, and other destinations. In other words, drayage is an essential logistics function that keeps freight moving. By definition, drayage refers to trucking freight over short distances. In this article, we’ll give you a deeper dive on this concept so you can understand why drayage is so vital to logistics. You’ll also understand why you might see a drayage line item on your freight invoice, and you’ll know exactly what you’re paying for when you’re shipping freight. By the way,...

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What Is Supply Chain Analytics? Why Is It Important?

Data drives better decisions. That’s the foundation underpinning supply chain analytics, a discipline that allows organizations to mine insights from its procurement, manufacturing, inventory management, warehousing, and distribution activities.   Leveraging these insights, companies gain the opportunity to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, better manage potential risks, plan more effectively, and create a more resilient supply chain that’s capable of flexing in response to today’s challenges.   In this article, we’ll walk you through a complete explanation of supply chain analytics: what it is, why it’s important, what benefits it can offer, and what challenges companies might encounter in this arena. With this understanding, you’ll have...

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What Is Inbound Logistics? And How Does It Work?

Inbound logistics moves supplies, raw materials, and/or inventory to a business. In other words, inbound logistics provide an organization with the items it needs to sell products to its customers. Given this, it’s easy to see why inbound logistics are absolutely crucial to any business’s supply chain.   In this article, we’ll take a deeper look inbound logistics. What, exactly, qualifies as inbound logistics? How, exactly, do inbound logistics work? (We’ll include examples!) And, maybe most importantly, what benefits and challenges does it present to an organization and its supply chain manager?   With all the answers to these questions, you’ll get a solid foundation...

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How Long Does It Take to Ship Freight to Puerto Rico?

More than 900,000 TEU pass through the Puerto Rico port system, making it one of the largest in the Caribbean by volume. Plus, when you add in its three airports—including the busiest cargo airport in the Caribbean—Puerto Rico has plenty of capacity for moving freight on and off the island.   If you’re starting a new business in Puerto Rico, or you’re considering working with a new supplier, it’s important to know exactly how long it will take your freight to get to Puerto Rico.   Below, we’ll offer a number of different scenarios to give you an idea of what to expect.   At...

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Logistics Outsourcing: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Real-Life Examples

90% of Fortune 500 companies can’t be wrong.   That’s the estimated percentage of America’s largest companies who outsource their logistics and supply chain functions, according to research from Armstrong & Associates, Inc. $63 billion As it stands, the 2023 global logistics outsourcing market was valued at around $63 billion dollars. It’s only expected to grow, reaching $79 billion by 2028. Given all the benefits of logistics outsourcing, its increasing popularity is no surprise. Outsourcing allows an organization to scale fast, increase efficiencies, and access cutting-edge expertise, among many other benefits.   In this article, we’ll show you exactly what it means to outsource your...

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Container Types & Sizes: Your Guide to the 10 Most Common Shipping Containers

Today, shipping containers are the standard method for moving cargo. However, that wasn’t always the case.   Containerized cargo is a relatively recent invention. In fact, the first voyage of a ship holding containerized cargo traveled from Port Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas in 1956. By the end of the 20th century, 90% of the world’s trade cargo was moving in containers.   The transportation industry owes this massive transformation to innovators like Malcolm P. McLean, who started his career as a truck driver and ended it as a shipping magnate, and Keith Tantlinger, who helped McLean standardize these containers and invented the features...

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