Trade wars and overall worsening relations with China and a global pandemic that exposed supply chain vulnerabilities is forcing big name firms to mitigate their supply chain risks by relying less on China and diversifying their supply chains to surrounding areas. Companies such as Nike, Apple, Samsung and more are making changes to their supply…
Brace yourselves for more logistical nightmares and sky-high shipping costs. We just got quoted $20K for a shipping container. We usually pay $3K — Dave Llorens (@davellorens) June 25, 2021 Due to the pandemic, shipping ports & terminals are having trouble hiring enough trained people to process all the backlog of ships at shipping terminals….
We previously mentioned the ketchup shortage that restaurants were facing, but it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. While the shortage in ketchup was not due to an actual shortage of ketchup but a shortage in the specific ketchup packaging that was in demand, namely takeout ketchup pouches (vs ketchup bottles)….
Despite a global pandemic, e-commerce sales has skyrocketed in the last year. The major shipping players like Fedex and UPS are struggling to keep up with demand with this surge in e-commerce sales. During March and April 2021, only 87% of FedEx Ground shipments arrived on-time. While for UPS, 95% of shipments reached their destination. The…
Chinese manufacturers are delaying orders, raising prices and even closing up – high raw-material prices and a shortage of workers have made it difficult for smaller Chinese manufacturers to stay afloat. Many of these (including many that sell their goods to the US or Western countries) have gone under in recent months. Some manufacturers have…
The cost of goods are rising at every step in the production process. Prices for commodities like oil and crops have increased this year, which has resulted in a rise in transport prices. This has left trucking companies with fewer drivers to take goods to factories and construction sites which has led to higher costs….
Supermarket chain, Kroger, will be testing drone deliveries this spring from one of their stores. The technology allows for deliveries of up to five pounds to customers’ homes or wherever they may be, enabling cookout supplies to be sent directly to a park in as little as 15 minutes. The new tech allows home-delivery of 5lbs…
Automakers are building up stockpiles in anticipation for the increased demand of parts and batteries. Tesla is trying to lock up access to raw materials. The hyper-efficient auto supply chain is going through its biggest transformation in more than half a century. The transformation is fueled by the troubles car manufacturers have had during the…
Panasonic announced they will acquire large supply chain software company, Blue Yonder. The deal is valued at $7.1 billion. The two companies have partnered together in the past and now make this synergistic partnership even more powerful by merging Blue Yonder’s software (e.g. artificial intelligence features) with Panasonic’s autonomous hardware into a total supply chain…
We’ve talked about the global shortage in semiconductor chips, but guess what’s the latest product shortage? Who would have thought that ketchup (or tomato sauce depending on where you live) ould be the latest coveted product. With COVID-19 shutting down a lot of in-person dining and forcing restaurants to focus on take-out and delivery – which…