There is plenty to consider when analyzing a transportation operation. Among the seemingly endless details that go into making a logistics decision, there is an important and often under-analyzed detail — how a carrier’s minimum charge can work in concert with retail minimum orders to maximize supply chain savings. Though minimum order quantity and minimum […]
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Using Transportation Data Analytics and Zipline’s KanoPI to Improve Your Transportation Network
How are modern consumer product companies using transportation data analytics to find success? They’re using technology to evaluate their vast amount of shipment data and increase transparency into their transportation network, identifying opportunities for improvement and cost savings. According to an article published by Cerasis, “Big data has become synonymous with better business, improving efficiency […]
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Leveraging Logistics to Unlock Profit – Specialty Food Association
Logistics is a rapidly changing and complex industry. This is particularly true for grocery and retail transportation. Retailers are tightening demands on vendors so they can have well-stocked shelves and retain customers, keeping them from turning to online alternatives. While e-commerce is booming, only 3% of grocery shopping is currently done online. There is still […]
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Disadvantages of Bundling Logistics Services
Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash Why it’s paramount that shippers avoid the seduction of a turnkey logistics provider (and why many mature supply chain leaders already know this). As they approached a higher level of demand for their offerings, an importer of food products from Mexico signed up with a one-stop logistics provider in Laredo, Texas. […]
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5 Ways to Recoup Value of Near-Expired Food and Beverage Products
Food and beverage manufacturers are often faced with figuring out what to do with product that is near its “sell by,” “use by,” or “best by” date. These dates prevent them from being able to sell through traditional customer channels and they must find new ways to salvage not only the product but the potential […]
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Rejected Freight: Top Reasons Freight is Turned Away
What does it mean to have rejected freight? If a carrier arrives at a facility and the receiver refuses to take the freight as is, it is rejected and must go back to the shipper or be fixed before ownership can switch hands. Some reasons for rejected freight are obvious, like a damaged product or […]
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OTR vs Intermodal: Which Shipping Strategy is Right for You?
What mode of transportation is the best choice for the movement of your freight? Each mode offers its own set of pros and cons and is best suited for different situations. One of the most common debates is over-the-road (truckload) vs. intermodal (rail). Many shippers stick to using trucks/vans to move their product because it’s […]
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List of Top 20 Accessorial Charges
First, what are accessorial charges? Accessorial charges are fees added to a freight bill for additional services that the carrier might provide. These are a la carte, or per service, and outside of standard shipping and receiving. They are mode-agnostic but are known to occur most often with LTL shipments. These charges will oftentimes be assessed […]
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Freight Audit: Supplier Penalties and Accessorial Charges
A freight audit is the process of examining, adjusting and verifying freight bills for accuracy. While auditing your invoices for accessorial charges and supplier penalties is just a portion of the entire auditing process, it is an important step to take when looking to lower your transportation spend. There are often repeat offenses that you […]
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Walmart’s On-Time, In-Full (OTIF) Program: What You Need to Know
https://sfa.ziplinelogistics.com/blog/walmart-otif-may-2019/ Walmart has changed their vendor guidelines and scorecard parameters a few times in recent years. They went from requiring a four-day shipping window in 2016 to a two-day shipping window in 2017 and a no-day shipping window in 2018. They have since relaxed rules to allow carriers to deliver one day early (as of April […]
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Case Study: Solving for Walmart Vendor Compliance
Strategic appointment times and booking of preferred carriers makes meeting Walmart vendor compliance standards simple. A producer of organic food supplements engaged Zipline Logistics to solve reoccurring delivery problems for one of its largest customers – Walmart. Orders for the big-box store were consistently rejected. This caused orders to be late, extra paperwork, and the […]
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Top Reasons for Retail Vendor Chargebacks
Major retail and grocery stores have all rolled out vendor compliance programs in recent years. Retailers like Walmart, Kroger, Amazon, and Target have instituted vendor scorecards that encourage suppliers to more accurately hit order quantities and timelines. These exist to help the stores remain competitive, lower inventory costs, and keep their shelves full. Vendor chargebacks […]
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