by Fronetics | Feb 5, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Our readers voted Cerasis, Women in Trucking, and Hollingsworth as the top 3 logistics and supply chain blogs of 2019.
You voted, and the results are in! Cerasis is your number one favorite blog of the year, with Women in Trucking and Hollingsworth coming in second and third.
We love hearing what blogs you enjoy reading and find valuable. There are lots of great industry options, so we know it’s not easy to narrow down your favorites. We had lots of great responses, but only Women in Trucking held its spot on our list of the top logistics and supply blogs from 2018 and 2017.
Aside from Women in Trucking, what did remain consistent from previous years is the quality of the content and the consistency of posting by the three winners. These key components have remained invaluable across all successful logistics and supply chain blogs.
Here are the top 3 logistics and supply chain blogs of 2019.
1. Cerasis
As a third-party logistics company, Cerasis works to decrease freight management inefficiencies and to provide maximum hard and soft cost savings for their customers in the process of shipping LTL (less than truckload) or truckload freight and small package freight. The blog focuses on transportation industry trends and logistics solutions with relatable topics and insightful content.
2. Ellen’s Blog for Women in Trucking
The Women in Trucking Association is a non-profit organization focused on encouraging the employment of women in the trucking industry, promoting their accomplishments, and minimizing obstacles. President and CEO Ellen Voie’s blog offers thought-provoking insight on topics from best practices to becoming a thought leader in a mostly male dominated industry. Her years of experience and passion for advancing women’s positions within the trucking industry make her blog invaluable to readers. For the third year in a row, this blog has been one of our readers top favorites due to the relatable topics and insightful content, such as family problems stemming from job-related realities and assimilating to trucking culture.
3. Hollingsworth
Utilizing best-in-class warehouse management technology, Hollingsworth offers complete, real-time visibility of the supply chain. The blog focuses on topics ranging from complex order fulfillment strategies to best practices for optimizing supply chain management. Industry tips, new technologies, and the latest strategies are just some of the topics covered in the articles.
Runner up: Argentus
Argentus, a leading supply chain recruiting firm, pulls collective expertise to good use to ensure clients are provided with the best talent available at all levels. Argentus’ blog is a go-to source for posts on talent, leadership and supply chain employment trends. Whether you’re looking for tips on hiring industry leaders, retaining your top talent, or promoting professional development, Argentus’ blog has you covered. It also regularly features guest bloggers from verticals throughout the supply chain.
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Jan 30, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain, Talent
Supply Chain skills have never been in more demand and the work has never been more interesting. Here’s a look at the best degree for supply chain management.
Highlights:
- Today’s supply chain professionals need to be well-versed in data analysis, presentation skills, negotiation skills, project management skills.
- Individual career objectives and educational options can help determine the best degree.
This guest post comes to us from Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting, a boutique recruitment firm specializing in Supply Chain Management and Procurement.
Supply Chain Management was seen as a back-office profession. People tended to rise from shop floors and warehouses into management roles and eventually – for the most high-performing individuals – Senior Director and C-Suite positions. It’s always been one of those fields that people “fall into.” Once they found themselves in a Supply Chain or Procurement job, people tended to look around and see how important it was to the business. They’d experience the fast pace, see the immense ten-dimensional puzzle involved in getting a product to market, the global scope, and be hooked.
It used to be a truism that no teenager decides that they want to get into Supply Chain, even those who had their sights set on the corporate world and not other paths like medicine or law. Supply Chain used to be the kid brother to other, more “glamorous” corporate functions like marketing and finance: misunderstood, transactional, and frankly thankless work.
No longer.
In 2018, Supply Chain Management is a key market differentiator for companies in industries as diverse as consumer goods, retail, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, you name it. Supply Chain skills have never been in more demand in the corporate word, and the work has never been more interesting. Many of the top companies in the world are waging a constant war for Supply Chain talent, with baby boomers retiring and strong economic growth driving demand. Young people are starting to wake up to the huge amount of opportunity in the field.
[bctt tweet=”Today’s Supply Chain professionals need to be well-versed in data analysis, presentation skills, negotiation skills, project management skills, as well as the know-it-when-you-see it overall skill of “business acumen.”” username=”Fronetics”]
At the same time, companies are increasing educational requirements, which makes sense: today’s Supply Chain professionals need to be well-versed in data analysis, presentation skills, negotiation skills, project management skills, as well as the know-it-when-you-see it overall skill of “business acumen.” In our recruitment practice, we’re noticing that more clients are requiring a university degree as a hard-and-fast requirement for jobs.
The requirement often ends there. “A degree.” Which means that there are lots of educational avenues aspiring Supply Chain professionals can take to set themselves apart from the competition. But it can be daunting: should you do an Engineering degree with a focus on Industrial Engineering? Should you do a business degree? A liberal arts degree and then an MBA? Or should you forgo a formal degree and pursue certifications like CSCMP and APICS from industry associations?
It depends. It’s hard to arrive at a definitive answer. Why is that?
- Individual career objectives vary. For example, someone who wants to pursue a career in sourcing and Procurement will probably be better served by a business degree than an engineering degree. And someone who’s interested in Production Planning, Supply Planning, and/or Demand Planning is probably best served by a STEM degree that features a lot of quantitative analysis.
- Educational options vary. More schools are offering Supply Chain specialties as part of MBA programs, as well as at the undergrad and college levels. More traditional programs (engineering, business, etc.) are taking steps to prepare students for careers in Supply Chain Management. But options for programs vary based on geography and the grades that any one candidate brings to the table.
That said, we still think it’s worthwhile to give some tips for people exploring their education options in the field. So we put the question to our network of established Supply Chain professionals to see what they had to say.
Here are some of the more insightful responses:
“Engineering degree with focus in database structures and statistics can equip one with the required skills for this domain. Presently all SCM jobs require one to be able to work with ERP systems so it is nice to have understanding about the underlying concepts.”
“The easiest that i can think of is Industrial Engineering which is a mix of Engineering/Mgt/commercial/statistics subjects. My degree in IE was a sound base to launch me into a SC/Logistics career. Then top it off with a certification after gaining some work experience. Certifications without some work exposure may turn to be useless. Certifications should be a source of validation of what you know in the discipline. I do hear there are schools/community colleges these days offering SC/Logistics as a degree. In all, any course that exposes and builds a person’s critical thinking skills is ok to get into supply chain.”
“Best degree would be to start working in a warehouse. Try some scheduling work also if you can. For all the value that a degree gives you, nothing beats knowing how goods flow and how truck drivers get stuff from point A to B. Do this for a year, then worry about which degree to get.”
“1) Chemical/Industrial/Mechanical Engineering 2) Economics 3) Business/Commerce with a major in finance 4) a solid liberal arts education from a university that will propel you into a top business school.”
“Engineering or Business provide a great foundation for logical, innovative and strategic thinking.”
Hopefully the above comments can help offer some guidance to anyone who’s interested in embarking on Supply Chain Management as a career path. There are lots of paths to go down. But whether you choose the university, college or certifications route, it’s pretty undeniable that more education is never a bad thing.
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by Fronetics | Jan 29, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Knowing the right video distribution channels can go a long way toward driving traffic and getting your content to your target audience.
Highlights:
- An effective video distribution strategy is key to success.
- Choose video distribution channels that match your marketing goals.
- Paid ads can give video an extra boost.
Video transcript:
I’m Christy Lemire, the Director of Video Marketing here at Fronetics. Today we’re going to be talking about the four best distribution platforms for video.
Here are the four best platforms for distributing your marketing videos.
1. Your network
Don’t underestimate the power of your own existing network. Send your videos, via email, to your primary contacts and everyone in your current database.
2. Social media
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and of course YouTube are great to reach your target audience. Of course within the category of social media, you want to consider what platforms suit your content best. YouTube is a great place to start, but there are also many industry specific online forums and social groups that can benefit you as well.
3. Blogs
Promote your video on your own blog to reach your followers and boost your SEO. It’s also a good idea to distribute your video on other industry specific blogs to overlap your target audience.
4. Paid ads
While the first three channels of distribution we discussed are organic, sometimes it is well worth it to use paid ads to give your content a significant boost, such as Google Adwords and AdSense.
Bottom line is using the right distribution channels helps you get the most out of your video marketing efforts. For more information about video marketing, visit Fronetics.com.
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Jan 24, 2019 | Blog, Consumer Electronics, Logistics, Supply Chain
Drones and other autonomous technology are actively being utilized in supply chains. Here’s how companies like PINC and Amazon are leveraging this new technology for inventory management.
Highlights:
- Drones and other autonomous technology are actively being utilized today in supply chains.
- PINC and Amazon are using autonomous technology for inventory management.
- By implementing new technologies, operating costs decreased by 20%, successfully boosting operating margins.
It’s been five years since Charlie Rose interviewed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on 60 Minutes about new innovations that Amazon was working on. Bezos revealed that Amazon was on the brink of a supply chain revolution involving octocoptor drones transporting parcels: Amazon Prime Air.
Tweets and status updates immediately conveyed consumer excitement that flying Amazon drones could deliver packages directly to doorsteps. And on the flipside, some employees of shipping carriers and brick-and-mortar retailers expressed fear that their respective industries would become obsolete.
Fast forward to the present… While advancements have been made in drone and autonomous technology, such as Amazon’s tests in the United States, Dominos’ self-driving delivery car, and Tesla’s self-driving truck, Bezos’ grand vision still remains a dream for impatient online shoppers.
That aside, drones and other autonomous technology are actively being utilized today in supply chains, and their usage extends beyond the conceived purpose of package delivery. One such use case that companies PINC and Amazon leverage this technology for is inventory management.
PINC: Aerial Inventory Robots
Less than 10% of the 250,000 warehouses and manufacturing facilities in the United States utilize automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) for managing their inventories. Instead, they resort to manual human labor coupled with outdated storage solutions and antiquated inventory management measures. The need for automation in the factory setting is paramount.
PINC, a top provider of yard management systems, pioneered the use of drones in warehouses. Since 2014, PINC enacted the use of flying drone technology (PINC AIR, Aerial Inventory Robots) to track assets in warehouses.
PINC AIR Hardware
These “inventory robots” leverage barcode-reader technology and roam premises in an automated fashion, ensuring efficient inventory tracking. Technically speaking, the drones are equipped with optical sensors which allows them to take pictures of barcodes and obtain information for identifying and counting inventory.
Indoor aerial drones have limited GPS capabilities compared to their outdoor counterparts, and instead rely on indoor location services software to aid in setting the devices’ “travel boundaries” within warehouses.
PINC AIR Benefits
PINC AIR saves time, money, and offers a safer alternative to traditional rolling ladders for companies wishing to upgrade their inventory management system. Businesses spend less on workers’ compensation claims by reducing on-job injury rates. Their robots operate at the leisure of the company, are 300 times faster than a human performing the same work, and possess high accuracy levels. Even a daily inventory check provides a company a plethora of data.
PINC’s aerial drones replace the clipboards and spreadsheets of inventory counts by giving companies a platform that automatically displays the needed information in real time. Businesses could use this data to answer a variety of questions such as, “How many days do certain television brands sit in stock at certain facilities during the holiday season?”
Amazon Robotics (Kiva): Robots
In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva for $775 million, phased-in its technology in its warehouses a few years later, and formed the subsidiary Amazon Robotics. Kiva robots replaced forklifts, large conveyor systems, and other human-operated machines. They’re efficient at performing monotonous tasks that previously fatigued employees, such as carrying and stacking bins around all day.
[bctt tweet=”In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva for $775 million, phased-in its technology in its warehouses, and formed the subsidiary Amazon Robotics. Kiva robots replaced forklifts, large conveyor systems, and other human-operated machines. ” username=”Fronetics”]
Amazon made the move to continue pursuing competitive advantage in the e-commerce space along with maintaining control of the thousands of products in their fulfillment centers.
Some of Amazon’s robotics are large, 6-ton “Robo Stow” mechanical arms that move and stack bins around the factory. Others are used for carrying, transporting, and storing merchandise up to 3,000 pounds in an orderly fashion. Using these robots to stack and transfer merchandise saves aisle space in warehouses, allowing facilities to carry more inventory, meaning customers will be able to receive their goods quicker.
But what happened to the human employees? Did Kiva’s technology truly destroy thousands of jobs within Amazon’s warehouses? Is this the part when we rage against the machine due to the “robot uprising” stealing jobs?
Put your pitchforks down. No layoffs occurred, and, instead, robots and humans began working together. Despite skeptics’ views that automation is a job disrupter, SVP of Operations at Amazon Dave Clark assured, “[…] automation increases productivity and, in some cases, demand from consumers, which ultimately creates more jobs […] Warehouse workers would continue to work in technologically rich environments.”
In fact, since the Kiva acquisition, Amazon increased the number of warehouse employees by nearly 200% to an upwards of 125,000 workers due to the increased volume of orders. Signs show no stopping either with the rising demand of high-skilled programming jobs, technicians, as well as those working hand-in-hand with robots.
Existing employees took on new roles and increased their skillset. For example, some employees moved to “stow” products on shelves for the robots to move away, following computer instructions to optimize where merchandise goes.
From there, the robots line up when customer orders arrive. Human “pickers” grab the products from the robots’ shelves and place them in plastic bins. At this point, merchandise is packed in cardboard boxes for customers. Warehouse jobs become less monotonous as the products that employees place on the robots vary.
And with that said, the cost savings from this technology is astounding…
Cost Savings → Increased Efficiency
Operating costs decreased by 20% at a $22 million savings from each fulfillment center, successfully boosting operating margins. These savings are attributed to enhancing warehouse efficiency. Amazon found that cycle times decreased between 75% and 80% to just 15 minutes. As a side effect, additional space was allocated for inventory, increasing the amount of storage by 50%.
Drawbacks & Limitations of Autonomous Technology in Supply Chains
PINC: Barcodes & Drone Power Source
PINC’s optical technology requires packages to display barcode tags in plain sight for the drones to process accurately. This raises concerns for companies who do not have this ideal setup in their warehouses, potentially raising costs.
Another issue is the drone power source. AIR drones are powered with hydrogen fuel cells instead of batteries as they last longer and charge faster. PINC CEO Matt Yearling revealed that the hydrogen-powered technology can fly up to three hours, and only needs a few minutes to refuel. Companies therefore need to strategically consider when the drones are scheduled to fly and follow-up with refueling procedures when the drones’ power is depleted.
Amazon Robotics (Kiva): Robots Cost & Limitations
The robots themselves are also limited in the tasks that they can perform. For example, the “robotic arm” was designed to pick up packages of certain sizes. Amazon has been in the process of researching their flexibility to complete more advanced tasks, though for now human workers help in that regard. After all, “There are many things humans do really well that we don’t even understand yet,” says Beth Marcus, an Amazon employee who specializes in robotics.
While autonomous technology clearly has its benefits, it comes with a cost. Aside from the initial expense Amazon incurred with Kiva’s acquisition, an installation cost of $15 million per location is required, costing Amazon nearly $1.7 billion to fully deploy robots in all 115 locations. Despite this cost, Amazon nets a savings of $7 million per facility when compared with its recurring annual savings.
Conclusion
While introducing new technology into the supply chain space is sometimes deemed as “disruptive,” the ends justify the means for autonomous technology. Along with new jobs being created, modern manufacturing workers are gaining more skills by learning to operate robots. Drones and robots allow companies to effectively match their scale and flexibility with increased consumer demand.
PINC’s drones are a great way to establish an accurate representation of inventory in real time from past to present. This further strengthens a company’s promise to fulfill needs for its customers.
Amazon Robotics enables companies to maintain incredibly efficient workflows in their warehouses and fulfillment centers.
In a poll of executives by Techpro, an astonishing 64% reported that there were no plans to leverage autonomous technology in their businesses. Applying drones and robots to inventory management gives companies a competitive advantage and a head start in taking advantage of cutting-edge technology.
It just goes to show that autonomous technology further streamlines operations and supply chains by allowing companies to reach new heights.
This article was written by Spencer Black, an MBA student at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, specializing in Information Systems & Business Analytics. After graduating summa cum laude from UNH in Computer Science in 2015, he has been working at Pegasystems as a Software Engineer.
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by Fronetics | Jan 23, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Supply chain and logistics companies: here are your key takeaways on digital marketing trends from the Content Marketing Institute’s 2019 survey.
Highlights:
- For 2019, resolve to put your audience first.
- Building audience trust is crucial.
- Make sure your content is performing well by keeping pace with changes to search engines.
The Content Marketing Institute has published its ninth annual survey, giving insight into the most significant digital marketing trends and priorities for 2019. We’ll get into some key takeaways in detail, but perhaps the most striking finding was one that we’ve been talking about for years.
Of the top performing B2B marketers surveyed, the vast majority (90%) reported that they “prioritize the audience’s informational needs over their sales/promotional message.” That’s a powerful statistic. And when you consider that of the least successful B2B marketers, only 56% doing the same, it’s hard not to agree that the success gap is accounted for by this prioritization.
Digital marketing trends in 2019: making the audience a priority
Looking at the key trends from 2018, which will set the pace for 2019, some overall themes emerge. Foremost among them is the need to put audiences first. When 96% of the most successful B2B marketers report that their organizations have “built credibility and trust with their audience,” it indicates that those organizations have been highly effective at listening to their audiences and delivering value with their content.
Savvy marketers going forward will devote time and resources to researching the needs of their audience. Currently, only 23% of marketers are using email to encourage audience participation, build community, and bring new perspectives to their efforts. Not only that, but only 42% report seeking conversations with customers as a form of audience research.
Successful marketers in 2019 will lead the charge, putting email and other forms of digital marketing to use not only to publish their own content, but to form a deeper understanding of the needs and perspectives of their audience.
3 key digital marketing trends for 2019
1) Email campaigns and educational content win the day.
The majority (58%) of CMI’s survey respondents report that they have successfully used content marketing to nurture subscribers, audience, or leads within the past year. Their most successful methods were email (87%) and educational content (77%).
[bctt tweet=”When it comes to building trust among your audience, and nurturing relationships with prospects, educational content can be your best friend.” username=”Fronetics”]
We’ve written before about the overwhelming preference among B2B buyers for educational content like case studies. When it comes to building trust among your audience, and nurturing relationships with prospects, educational content can be your best friend. Similarly, email marketing, when used strategically, is an ideal way to usher prospects down the sales funnel with your content. For more insights, take a look through our top 7 email marketing posts from 2018.
2) Video continues to gain popularity.
We talk a lot about the value of video marketing for the supply chain. Once again this year, video has continued to increase its popularity. More than 50% of survey respondents increased their use of video marketing. Interestingly, a majority also bumped up their use of text-based digital marketing, as well as images (such as infographics, photos, and charts).
Video is on the rise all over the internet, and it gets easier all the time to create focused, engaging, and creative video content to market your business. That being said, successful B2B companies in the supply chain are increasingly outsourcing tasks like videography in order to ensure optimal video strategy, creation, production, and distribution across social media and content platforms.
3) SEO and search algorithms are a concern.
CMI’s survey asked about content marketing issues that organizations are concerned about and found that 61% are worried about changes to SEO/search algorithms. A significant minority (45%) are also concerned about changes to social media algorithms.
It’s true that just as people are changing how they search, search engines themselves are shifting their algorithms, becoming more sophisticated, and making the simple keyword model rapidly outmoded. Keeping up with the change can be overwhelming, but resources exist to help you. Our four-part series on writing for SEO can help you adjust your strategies and provides guidance on topic clusters and pillar content, as well as how to evaluate the success of your content.
What other digital marketing trends are you looking out for in 2019?
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by Fronetics | Jan 22, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Social media is an ideal way for supply chain and logistics companies to reach their audience. But too many businesses are still making these basic social media mistakes.
Highlights
- Social media only works as a marketing tool if you have a documented strategy.
- Don’t try to use every popular platform. Find where your target audience spends their time and focus on that platform.
- Don’t promote your brand. Engage with customers to build long-lasting relationships.
Video transcript:
I’m Kettie Laky. I’m the director of social media at Fronetics, and today we’re going to be talking about the basic mistakes that companies still make with social media.
As of 2019, there are approximately 2.8 billion social media users around the globe. So there’s no denying social media is a powerful tool for businesses to create brand awareness and generate leads. But it’s not going to be effective if it’s not done correctly.
There are three mistakes that businesses tend to make on social media still.
The first one is using objectives instead of strategy to drive their social media. Social media platforms are making updates and changes all the time to improve the customer experience. To weather those changes and to keep your customers engaged, it’s important that you have a strategy behind what you’re doing. The strategy should include content, the frequency of posts, and pillar content. A strategy’s also going to help you prove ROI.
The second mistake that companies tend to make is using all the most popular social media platforms. Social media platforms have differentiating qualities that appeal to different audiences. So get to know where your audiences are spending their time. For instance, if you’re marketing to millennials, you’re going to want to be on Twitter.
The third mistake companies tend to make on social media is by promoting rather than engaging. The companies that are having success with social media are finding innovative and creative ways to relate to their customers. So get your customers engaged, get them involved in your story, and you’re going to create long-lasting relationships with them.
If you need help with your social media strategy, give us a call or visit us at Fronetics.com.
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