Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Beyond the gloom and doom . . . U.S. international trade is rocking.

No wonder we are short of labor in the supply chain.

Exports are up. Imports are flat. Let the good times roll.

America’s posture in world trade, and the underlying supply chains, are more than robust.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the United States balance of trade in goods and services deficit dropped to $70.6 billion in July.  Exports hit the highest level in real dollars since tracking began over 70 years ago.  During the recovery from Covid,, with reshoring and shifting market demands, are holding imports flat..

This success is happening despite the global disruption caused by Ukraine.  Expect our labor shortages to continue.  Expect wage pressure to continue.  Expect inflationary pressures across the supply chain to continue.


Enjoy the ride.   

The Latest

More Stories

5 scary thoughts about disasters and disaster relief

It’s almost Halloween, and if your town is anything like mine, your neighbors’ yards are already littered with ghosts, witches and tombstones. 

Clearly some of us enjoy giving other people a scare. Just as clearly, some of us enjoy getting a scare.  

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Keep a clear focus on enterprise priorities.

"Spot solutions are needed to help a company get through a sudden shock, but the only way to ensure agility and resilience going forward is by addressing systemic issues in a way that is intentional and focused on the long term and brings together clear priorities, well-designed repeatable processes, robust governance, and a skilled team." - Harvard Business Review

From Low Cost to Best Cost

An article published by McKinsey & Co. in August observed, “over the past year, many companies have made structural changes to their supply networks by implementing dual or multiple sourcing strategies for critical materials and moving from global to regional networks.”

This structural change pivots on the difference between low cost and best cost.  The shift extends through Tier 1 Suppliers through lower tiers.  The intent of a low-cost supply chain strategy is to present a low price to customers. A best-cost strategy adds factors beyond cost to the equation, like risk, lead time, and responsiveness.

Keep ReadingShow less

Digital Freight Execution: Making Win-Win Connections

As global supply chains become increasingly complicated, there are now more digital connections and business collaborations in the global shipping industry than ever before. Holding freight data in opaque, disconnected silos and relying on outdated methods of communication is not just inefficient - it’s unsustainable.

The global supply chain is no longer a linear process. Whereas before it was simply about moving freight from point A to B, now there is now a multitude of options for transporting that freight, each with its own unique set of capabilities and constraints. 

Keep ReadingShow less

Responsible Sourcing Requires Sophisticated Supplier Management

If your business is devoting more resources to responsible sourcing lately, it’s not alone. A recent Gartner survey found that 93% of organizations are planning to invest more in responsible sourcing initiatives over the next year and a half.

Responsible sourcing is the practice of incorporating ethical, sustainable and socially conscious standards into procurement and related supply chain management operations. While responsible sourcing has long been a concern, recent trends have turned it into an urgent priority for brands and retailers, among them tightening governmental regulations. This summer the United States enacted its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans the importation of all goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the area responsible for approximately one-fifth of the world’s cotton supply. The act has enormous consequences for the entire supply chain, requiring thorough documentation for all Chinese goods entering America to prove they weren’t produced with forced labor.

Keep ReadingShow less