Welcome to our series celebrating the incredible women in Supply Chain and Logistics! In a traditionally male-dominated field, it's important to shine a light on the inspiring women who are making a significant impact. Through a mix of insightful and fun questions, we’ll explore their journeys, challenges, and successes. While we acknowledge the contributions of everyone in this industry, this series aims to elevate the voices and stories of women who often get missed. Next up: Shimmi Munson

In today’s fast-paced business environment, technology is often hailed as the key to unlocking supply chain efficiency. However, not all tech solutions are created equal, and the wrong choices can actually hinder your operations. Many organizations fall into the trap of over-engineering their systems, addressing only the symptoms of problems rather than their root causes. As a result, they may find themselves overwhelmed by incompatible tools and processes that complicate rather than simplify. In this post, we’ll explore five reasons your technology might be doing more harm than good to your supply chain.

In 2024, it’s nearly impossible to find someone who doesn’t receive multiple emails each day. For many, this constant influx can quickly become overwhelming, especially if you work in the logistics industry, where issues and urgent tasks are constantly coming up throughout the day. Emails pile up, distractions multiply, and before you know it, your inbox becomes a source of stress. Currently I have just 7 emails in my inbox and the goal is to have under 5 by the end of every day (zero in this industry is an unrealistic goal, IMO). So how do I manage my inbox effectively? Here are my top 5 tips to help you do the same.

There are many misconceptions regarding supply chain management. Some are pretty straightforward and well-documented, but recently, additional myths seem to have surfaced. From assumptions about who supply chain management is for, to misunderstandings about events in recent years, debunking these myths is crucial for anyone wanting to understand the industry better. Whether you’re a small business owner, an aspiring supply chain professional, or just curious about how goods move from one place to another, it’s important to separate fact from fiction. Let's dive into some of the most common myths and set the record straight!

We are back with our Part 2 of the Tech Round-Up from the Freight Waves - Future of Supply Chain Conference. There were so many cool things to cover that it wouldn’t fit into one post. So without further ado, here are the transportation management systems (TMS), freight matching/load board platforms and the finance options that were at the conference. If you haven’t read part one already, you can check it out here.

I had the pleasure of attending Freight Waves, Future of Supply Chain at the beginning of June and I was met with some incredible tech that could help logistics companies and shippers with efficient operations. I will be rounding up all the tech I was able to interact with in a two part series, it will cover Transportation Management Systems (TMS), Load boards and matching platforms, finance and accounting platforms, predictive analytics, and other miscellaneous tech that didn’t fit into these categories. A little disclaimer, I did attempt to contact as many of the companies after the show to further my education on their systems, but I wasn't able to connect with all of them (but most). I will be including links to each company to get more information.

The documentation of how products move throughout the supply chain is crucial but also tedious and very unsexy. The problem is when you get complacent with paperwork, it can cause very real consequences with the actual product and end customer experience. Here are 5 issues that come up often in shipping and logistics and how to avoid or manage them.

So Canada’s two rail companies may go on strike as early as May 22nd. Both of them, at the same time. This is a big issue, the landscape of transportation in Canada will be very chaotic if this strike goes forward. And if it persists, it will affect cross-border shipping as well.

One thing that is agreed on for the success of a business is inventory management, however, there is a lot that goes into inventory management, two of them being back-orders and out-of-stock. Let’s look at these two scenarios, what they mean, the difference between the two, how they affect a business and tips on how to manage them effectively.

In the last post, we looked at how the grind culture, that has taken root in the trucking industry, affects people on a personal level, in this 2nd part of a 3 part series we will look at the trucking industry’s culture and how grind and hustle came about, why it sucks and a possible way forward.

Welcome to the world of “grind culture” in the transportation industry, where the hustle is glorified, Red Bull is a food group, and personal sacrifice is worn like a badge of honour. In the transportation industry, there are so many posts on social media about people who are “working” 14-hour days, 7 days a week. People are giving up sleep and rest, all in the name of the grind. This grind can cause adverse effects in three key areas: personally, culturally, and the business overall. In this 3 part series, we will explore all three, starting with the personal effects. Let’s delve into what the grind looks like and how it affects individuals on a personal level.

The biggest issue seen time and time again in businesses is when teams are siloed and working independently of each other. Navigating the interactions between production, promotion, and customer satisfaction is made even more difficult when one part of the company has no visibility or understanding of another. This can lead to major inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a confusing customer experience.

In case you live under a rock or don’t work in the logistics world, here is a quick breakdown of what is going on. Convoy raised close to 1B from investors and in 2022 was valuated at 3.8B, everyone thought things were going great for them until late in 2023 when they just closed their door with little to no warning. Leaving carriers, employees, and investors unpaid and in the dark about what happened.

Navigating the complex world of international trade can be very intimidating, especially when it comes to understanding everyone’s terms and responsibilities. One especially confusing concept is the use of Incoterms or International Commercial Terms. This post will break down the current Incoterms and provide simple explanations to help you understand their significance to your business.

As its name suggests, reverse logistics is the movement of a product from the end user back to the company that made or sold it. This can happen for many reasons and in many different ways. Many considerations come into play when crafting a comprehensive reverse logistics strategy.

So you design this awesome product that people need and want, then you figure out a beautiful package thats sustainable and gives the customer a great first impression of your company. BUT THEN, you contact shipping companies to get rates of how much it will cost to send your awesome, beautifully packaged product to your customers…and it's way, way more than anticipated. How can that be?

Shipping costs can be a significant expense for consumers and businesses. Many people do not have an understanding of the factors that contribute to these costs. Due to this they may have unrealistic expectations of how much shipping should or will cost. For small businesses, these costs must be known and understood for appropriate decision-making. Let’s look at 10 of the factors that may affect your shipping costs.

Supply chain mapping is one of the best secret weapons a business can utilize to ensure an effective, efficient, and resilient supply chain. A business’s supply chain is arguably the most important part of your business, without it your product never gets to your customers and no amount of sales and marketing can fix that.

For the day-to-day consumer, the path that products take to get to them is somewhat of a mystery most of the time. They don’t really need to know the ins and outs of a product’s supply chain. So when someone decides to start a business selling a product, there are gaps that need to be filled. One of these unknowns is the concept of a customs broker, among other things. Let’s clarify what a customs broker is, what they do, and factors to decide if one is required and if so which one to choose.

In the realm of logistics and trucking, companies like Convoy and Flexport have garnered significant attention and investment, all under the banner of being industry disruptors. They promise to revolutionize the way goods are transported, managed, and coordinated while attracting investors who hope to profit from this alluring narrative.