Viewpoint
Views and comment from Logistics Manager and IndustryThe Supply Chain will have to change
The past couple of weeks have seen the leaders of two of the world’s largest retail groups taking the opportunity to set out their social and environmental credentials.
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Published: 01 March 2008
Wal-Mart gets sourcy with retail rivals
One of the most difficult issues that every major company faces is ensuring that the products they buy from outside suppliers are made well and made right. We all saw it this year as we headed into Christmas....
Published: 01 March 2008
Achieving supply chain excellence
The supply chain is the foundation of every retail business. Retailers can put distance between themselves and their peers in an increasingly-competitive market by good supply chain management which optimises product sourcing....
Published: 01 February 2008
Is London in the van vanguard?: Mick Jackson
At the time of writing, Transport for London (TfL) has just produced its Freight Plan....
Published: 01 February 2008
It's boom time for creative solutions
There are parts of the country that are rapidly becoming no-go areas for warehouse development - particularly in the South....
Published: 01 February 2008
Managing costs
Morrisons has cut its case cost by 11 per cent over the past year, supply chain director Malcolm Basey told delegates. It has also focused on extending its depot network and improving importing methods. Plans are underway to open a depot in Swindon, to...
Published: 01 January 2008
Nike, Tesco, Mattel and now Gap…
Gap, one of the world's largest clothing retailers, has recently been faced with child labour issues in India. Somewhere down the supply chain, a vendor had subcontracted to an unauthorised supplier without the parent company's knowledge or approval. ...
Published: 01 January 2008
No truck with low skills in logistics
Here we are in the twenty-first century with the logistics industry as the fifth largest sector in the fifth largest economy in the world. ...
Published: 01 January 2008
Sleeping with the enemy
One in four of the gaps on the shelves at Tesco is because of short deliveries by suppliers, according to supply chain director Tony Mitchell. As a result both have lost out on sales, so it is no surprise that a key focus is to improve relationships with...
Published: 01 January 2008
Time to tackle the hard sums
Lack of skilled staff is a bigger issue in the UK than any other European country, according to the annual "UPS Europe Business Monitor" published last month....
Published: 01 January 2008
A Christmas fable from years gone by… : Mick Jackson
It's a month before Christmas and the world's in a state, There's a shortage of elves and our gifts will be late, "We can't get the elves" shouted Santa with dreaad, "They all work in plumbing and banking instead"...
Published: 01 December 2007
Atherstone fire set to force industry safety rethink
The fire in Atherstone on Stour that resulted in the death of four firefighters is sure to send a powerful shockwave through everyone involved in designing, specifying building and managing warehouse structures....
Published: 01 December 2007
Globalisation has its price
The decision by the Far Eastern Freight Conference to impose a congestion charge of £70 ($145) per TEU on cargo coming into the UK from Asia has, quite understandably, been greeted with outrage by shippers and forwarders alike....
Published: 01 December 2007
Packing a punch
Sometimes - just sometimes - you have to feel a little for the nation's supermarkets. Not only do they have to provide us with the finest food and drink at rock bottom prices all year round, but they've also got to find ever-more inventive ways to retain...
Published: 01 December 2007
Norbert offers salvation for Christian
Another major realignment of the European third party logistics market sees the end of one of the UK industry's most illustrious names. Malory Davies looks at the logic of the deal....
Published: 01 November 2007
Retailers respond to ethical demands
The environment in which UK grocery retailers operate is changing - quite literally - and that means big changes ahead for logistics suppliers. These changes were highlighted at the Institute of Grocery Distribution's convention last month. Malory Davies...
Published: 01 November 2007
The Dentressangle story
Norbert Dentressangle created SA Norbert Dentressangle, specialising in cross-channel traffic, in 1979 and by 1987 it had built up a network of branches in Italy, Spain and the Benelux countries....
Published: 01 November 2007
The Salvesen story
Christian Salvesen was formed in 1872 by the Salvesen family, focusing initially on providing shipping services. For much of its early life the company was one of the world's largest whaling companies....
Published: 01 November 2007
Time to focus on what's really important
It's almost a cliché to say that transport ministers are the Cinderellas of the British government....
Published: 01 November 2007
You're Fired Hired!: Mick Jackson
When writing this column I have been known once or twice to draw attention to the relatively low levels of public funding attracted by the logistics industry (eight per cent of the workforce, 3.5 per cent public funding share) when compared with...
Published: 01 November 2007
