![The 2017 4th of July Supply Chain [Infographic]](https://www.fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/4th-of-july.jpg)
by Fronetics | Jun 27, 2017 | Big Data, Blog, Current Events, Data/Analytics, Logistics, Supply Chain
U.S. Consumers plan to spend a whopping $7.1 billion on cookouts for 4th of July celebrations.
The National Retail Federation reports that 219 million Americans plan to celebrate the 241st Independence Day. Two-thirds plan to attend a cookout, barbecue, or picnic, spending an average of $73.42 per household on food items, up from last year’s $71.34. That’s a lot of hot dogs!
And what’s a Fourth of July celebration without fireworks? 44% of Americans plan to attend a fireworks show or community celebration. The U.S. will use approximately 285.3 million pounds of fireworks, totaling $1.09 billion dollars. More than 15,000 firework displays will glitter the skies to mark the special occasion.
Recognized as the nation’s largest Independence Day celebration, the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks display attracts more than 3 million spectators live and over 10 million TV viewers. The firework display in Washington, D.C., comes in second with over 700,000 viewers from the nation’s capital.
And due to a number of factors — including strong employment and the low price of gasoline — a record number of people will travel out of town this year to celebrate the holiday. NRF estimates 32.9 million, while AAA estimates it will be closer to 44.2 million travelers.
At Fronetics, we wish you and your family a safe and fun Fourth of July celebration. Here are a few more fun facts to get you into the patriotic spirit.
A 2017 4th of July Infographic for the Supply Chain
(Made with Canva)
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![The Role of Content in the Logistics & Supply Chain Industries [Infographic]](https://www.fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/role-of-content.jpg)
by Fronetics | Feb 28, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Nearly 80% of logistics and supply chain companies consider content an effective tool for their businesses.
We often use this space to talk to the logistics and supply chain industries about content marketing. Some companies are surprised to learn that this modern marketing method can be so effective for their business. The truth is, content is one of the most useful tools for not only building brand awareness, but also generating leads and earning new customers.
I can tell you this until I’m blue in the face. But, really, what’s most convincing is seeing how other businesses in the industry approach content and how it’s paying off for them.
So we at Fronetics polled supply chain and logistics marketers to determine how their companies are using content. We wanted to find out whether it’s working, as well as their challenges; how they approach outsourcing, distribution, and curation; and more. The below infographic illustrates a few of the key findings from our survey.
(Made with Canva)
To get a complete picture of the role of content in the logistics and supply chain industries, download our report:
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by Fronetics | Feb 14, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Manufacturing & Distribution, Supply Chain
Consumers will spend $18.2 billion on Valentine’s Day 2017, down from a record-high 19.7 billion in 2016, according to the National Retail Federation.
Did you purchase something sweet for your loved one to mark the special occasion this Valentine’s Day? You won’t be alone in your pursuit to find the perfect box of chocolates. According to staticsbrain.com, 47.5% of consumers celebrating Valentine’s Day 2017 will purchase chocolate or candy, and retailers will sell over 36 million heart-shaped chocolate boxes.
Connection between chocolate and Valentine’s Day
The history of the love of chocolate dates back to the Mesoamerican time, when it was viewed as a luxury item by the Mayan and Aztec upper-class elites. It wasn’t long until the popularity of the confection took over Europe and, centuries later, landed in America. Richard Cadbury created the first box of chocolates in 1868, and from there the commercialization of the treat grew. Chocolatier giants, such as Hersey and Russell Stover, have created a $98 billion industry.
Labor of love: chocolate and supply chain
When you purchase the little heart- shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day this year, remember the labor of love that went into creating those delicious sweets. From the small cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to the cocoa processors to the chocolate manufacturers and retailers, there are many hands that work together before the product reaches you, the consumer. These products — and gift-givers everywhere — rely on the logistics and supply chain industries each Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day 2017 Infographic
Here’s a quick look at how U.S. consumers will spend — literally and figuratively — this Valentine’s Day.
(Made with Canva)
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![Outsourcing Content Marketing: 13 Stats You Should See [Infographic]](https://www.fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/outsourcing-content-marketing.jpg)
by Fronetics | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing
Thinking of outsourcing content marketing? This infographic illustrates how other B2B marketers are handling content creation.
Plan. Create. Distribute. Repeat.
Does the constant creation of content feel like a drain on your resources? Do you feel like the content you’re publishing isn’t on par with the standards of your business? Do you dread the days that you need to write a blog post or prepare a customer resource?
If any of these questions hit home, chances are you’ve thought about outsourcing.
Outsourcing content marketing can be a beautiful thing: You put the content creation, design, and even distribution in the hands of an expert, leaving you free to focus on your job. But, isn’t that cheating? (It’s not.) Are other companies doing it, too? (You bet.) Ultimately, is it a good business decision? (The top business blogs outsource about 24% of their content creation.)
We’ve created the following infographic to illustrate how other B2B marketers are handling outsourcing content marketing. Here are 13 statistics you need to know before you consider outsourcing.
(Made with Canva)
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![The State of Supply Chains: The Supply Chain Has Gone Digital [Infographic]](https://www.fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/virtual-reality.jpg)
by Jennifer Hart Yim | Jan 23, 2017 | Big Data, Blog, Data/Analytics, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
2016 was the year of the digital supply chain — here’s a look at how things changed.
This guest post comes to us from Adam Robinson, director of marketing for Cerasis, a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker.
2016 marched onward with a drive to improve the use of digital technology throughout the supply chain. In our first supply chain trends post, we surmised the previous year’s trends would continue. However, this prediction proved to only touch on how important the digital supply chain would become.
Within four months, the digital transformation had already reached most supply chain organizations. Per GT Nexus, 75% of executives surveyed recognized the digital supply chain as an important factor for the next five years. Meanwhile, 70% have also started processes to implement digital supply chain technologies throughout their companies.
Unfortunately, many supply chain entities continue to hope for a better tomorrow. In other words, the digital supply chain transformation has only been rated as very satisfying for 5% of respondents. In addition, just less than half (48%) of respondents report continued use of traditional technologies exclusively, which include the following:
- Fax machines
- Manual order entry and review
- Land-line phones, not voice over internet protocol (VoIP), which reduces overall costs and downtime
- Email, although beneficial, is susceptible to internet connectivity issues, security breaches and other problems
- Chaotic picking protocols
This infographic, created by GT Nexus, also shows other ways the digital supply chain evolved in 2016.
(Made with Canva)
Essentially, the digital supply chain is essential to gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. Digital technologies, reports Richard Howells of Forbes, including Big Data, analytics, the Internet of Things, social media, and point-of-sale reporting, enable business to know more about consumer needs and wants than ever before. Consequently, they can more accurately respond to changes in product demand across large distances and within infinitesimally small time frames.
Supply chain execs retained fundamentals throughout change.
Innovation is the driving force behind change and improvement in the modern world. Supply chains must evolve to meet an increasing number of omnichannel sales, and technologies must be integrated within existing systems to reach maximum efficiency and productive value.
As explained by Grant Marshbank of VSC Solutions, “The rate of change is not going to slow down. Technology will only delivery […] if it’s implemented with strategy and operations that adhere to best practices.”
Marshbank’s words highlighted the need to focus on fundamental concepts while responding to changes and improvements in the supply chain. For example, an optimized supply chain is good, but it opens more opportunities for errors. Simply putting all an organization’s proverbial eggs into one basket may be risky if appropriate auditing and review measures are not undertaken to ensure continued compliance and accuracy in all orders.
Change is a necessity for businesses, including the supply chain, to grow and expand. Yet many destructive forces can severely undermine a company’s progress. Bad weather, poor hiring practices or inefficient maintenance of consumers’ financial data can decimate a company. However, the response to hindrances in 2016 continued to showcase the importance of fundamental concepts, asserts Ryder, which include the following:
- Continually seeking the fastest, most cost-effective means of transporting products to consumers, including enhanced delivery optins.
- Expansion of global footprint while adhering to local, state, federal and international requirements
- Keeping companies accountable and focused on giving back to their domestic partners through reshoring or nearshoring
- Working with more outside agencies, also highlighted by Samantha Carr of Business 2 Community, including crowd-sourced logistics, warehouse optimization and outsourcing, and greater use of cloud-computing
Augmented reality found its place among consumers.
Augmented reality sounded amazing and far-fetched early in 2016, but the year has shown it to be one of the most successful product in existence. There tends to be more acceptance of technologies in the workplace once consumers can identify how they work.
For example, new hires are likely to pick up tablet-based systems more easily since they have been using them recreationally for some time. Essentially, the virtual-reality (VR), which is the precursor to augmented reality, hype of the 2016 Christmas shopping season is making more people excited about this new way to “see the world.”
While the VR hype may seem like it only emerged for Christmas, think about one of the hottest games of 2016, Pokémon Go! This app was built on augmented reality, combining the digital and physical worlds into one interactive environment. This technology, reports JOC.com, will be a key to practically eliminate extensive training courses and repair time requirements throughout the supply chain.
Ultimately, it translates into greater use of augmented reality in supply chains, which is growing by 100% annually, reports Barcoding Incorporated.
What’s next?
Clearly, technology dominated the conversation for 2016, but there are also changes in how supply chains operate that require a more in-depth discussion as well. In the next post of this series, we discuss the impact of artificial intelligence, agile processes and procurement expansion on the supply chain of 2016.
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