Eddie Stobart has ordered 225 new Schmitz Cargobull fixed roof curtainsiders to replace 223 vehicles that had been operated by haulier Irlam, which Stobart acquired in 2008

Toy manufacturer Mattel has renewed its 1999 contract with Wincanton for UK distribution for another six years

Amazon Web Services has set out plans to make Oracle Database 11g available via the Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), during the second quarter of 2011

UK manufacturing has another strong month in January, according to the Purchasing Manager’s Index, produced by Markit for the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply

Cargoitalia says it has completed its first full year of trading ahead of its business plan

Door manufacturer Premdor has extended its contract with TDG to provide UK mainland transport for a further two years

The Automated Material Handling Systems Association has set out a nine point code of practice to ensure the highest standards of business integrity for operators

Orders for forklift trucks rose 24 per cent last year – the first annual rise for three years, according to the British Industrial Truck Association. Secretary-general James Clark said the figures consolidated optimism for rising sales this year

With retailers experiencing a toxic mix of increasing commodity prices, rising fuel costs and a hike in VAT, the focus for most in 2011 will be on inventory reduction, cost containment and supply chain optimisation. By Nick Allen.

Sales and operations planning is a critical process for most businesses – ensuring that corporate aims are put into effect. But just how good are companies at it? By Nick Allen.