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2021 Supply Chain Outlook: Uncertainty Remains, Continued Disruption Expected

Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, significant uncertainty and challenges remain and more disruption is expected.

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Three ways to elevate your empty miles strategy

Reducing empty miles—or the distance traveled with no load or cargo—can have multiple benefits, including increased cost savings and streamlined operations. But at its core, it’s about making smarter, more sustainable choices while transporting goods. Here are three components to craft and execute a successful empty miles program, keeping collaboration in mind at each stop along the way.

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Navigating supply chain dynamics

Navigating supply chain dynamics

In an era of rapid geopolitical change, supply chains have evolved from operational necessities to strategic assets. Trade tensions, regional conflicts, and localization-focused economic policies are reshaping global supply chain strategies, with significant implications for the United States and other regions. This shift demands a holistic approach that balances cost efficiency with resilience.

This report integrates insights from various regions to provide a US-centric perspective on the evolving supply chain landscape while examining the interplay between American strategies and global trends.

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AI-generated image of a containership at a port.

Securing supply chain resilience requires a common vocabulary and vision

The Biden Administration started sounding the alarm about America’s supply chains just weeks after taking office in 2021 with an Executive Order, followed by the launch of the Council on Supply Chain Resilience in 2023 and additional instructions in 2024. While progress has been made on strengthening the resilience of supply chains, other gains are being left on the table. One reason why: The public and private sectors do not use a common vocabulary, leading to incomplete or misaligned incentives, priorities, and perspectives. It’s time for a common vocabulary and vision. Fortunately, the inaugural Quadrennial Supply Chain Review of December 2024 lays the groundwork for an “enduring vision” for the incoming administration and for a truly common vocabulary and vision.

Let’s define terms. In its simplest form, resilience is the ability to bounce back from large-scale disruption, according to supply chain expert and MIT professor Yossi Sheffi. On that much, the private sector and government agree.

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A photo of the inside of a retail store. In the foreground is a sign that says "Pick up online orders here." In the background is two women at a cash register in a checkout lane.

Retailers should take advantage of their brick-and-mortar locations not only to satisfy the growing demand for “buy online pickup in store” but also to support microfulfillment efforts for e-commerce.

By Wallpaper via Adobe Stock art

Build the store of the future with “buy online, pick up in store” and microfulfillment

Retailers are increasingly looking to cut costs, become more efficient, and meet ever-changing consumer demands. But how can they do so? The answer is updating their fulfillment strategy to keep pace with evolving customer expectations. As e-commerce continues to dominate the retail space and same-day delivery has become the norm, retailers must look to strengthen their “buy online pick up in store” (BOPIS) and microfulfillment strategies to stay ahead.

BOPIS allows customers to order online and pick up items at the retailers' brick-and-mortar location, and microfulfillment involves housing a retailer’s products closer to the consumer to improve delivery times. While these strategies each serve different purposes, both are centered around getting the product closer to the consumer to ensure faster fulfillment. By combining the two, retailers will be primed to meet customers’ needs—now and in the future.

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digital chain links

How to evaluate blockchain for your supply chain

In 2015, blockchain (the technology that makes digital currencies such as bitcoin work) was starting to be explored as a solution for supply chains. It promised cost savings, increased efficiency, and heightened transparency, among other benefits. For that reason, many companies were happy to run pilots testing blockchain for themselves. Today, these small-scale projects have been replaced by large-scale enterprise adoption of blockchain-based supply chain solutions. There are plenty of choices now for blockchain supply chain products, platforms, and providers. This makes the option to use blockchain available now to nearly everyone in the sector. This wealth of choice does, however, make it more difficult to decide which blockchain integration is best (or, indeed, if your organization needs to use it at all). To find the right blockchain, companies need to consider three factors: cost, sustainability, and the ultimate goal of trying new technology.

Choosing the right blockchain for an enterprise supply chain begins with the most basic consideration: cost. Blockchains work by securely recording “transactions,” and in a supply chain, those transactions are essentially database updates. However, making such updates has varying costs on different chains. If a container moves locations, that entry is updated, and a transaction is recorded. Enterprises need to figure out how many products, containers, or pieces of information they will process daily. Each of these can be considered a transaction. Now, some blockchains cost not even $1 to record a million movements. Other chains can cost thousands of dollars for the same amount of recording. Understanding the amount of activity you will need to record against the cost of transactions is the first place for an enterprise to start when considering blockchain. Ask the provider which blockchain their product is built on, and its average transaction cost. This will help you find the most cost-effective product or integration.

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