The Supply Chainer

Warehouse electrification is accelerating as operators seek to reduce operating costs, improve equipment uptime, and meet sustainability goals. But for many organizations, replacing internal combustion forklifts with electric alternatives has proven to be far more complex than swapping one vehicle for another. The transition increasingly requires coordinated decisions across facilities, energy infrastructure, finance, operations, and maintenance. Organizations that approach e

An invoice arrives without a purchase order. Finance teams scramble to identify the requester. Procurement has no visibility into the purchase. Approval workflows begin after the spending decision has already been made. Across large enterprises, these seemingly small process failures can create significant administrative overhead and delay payment cycles. A new benchmark report from Coupa suggests many organizations may be focusing on the wrong point in the process. While pro

Supply chain visibility has become a board-level issue, but collecting more supplier data does not automatically reduce risk On the latest Resilient Supply Chain Podcast, host Tom Raftery speaks with Justin Dillon, founder and CEO of FRDM, about converting deep-tier visibility into practical, defensible action. Their discussion examines human rights, geopolitical, trade and sustainability risks, and why procurement teams need to move beyond static supplier surveys. The full e

Container shipping rates have begun softening for the first time since April even as fuel costs rise and geopolitical tensions intensify across two of the world's most important maritime chokepoints. The combination of easing demand, added vessel capacity, Asian port congestion, and renewed security concerns in the Middle East is creating an increasingly complex operating environment for global shippers. According to the latest Freightos market update, Asia-US West Coast cont

A hospital procurement director receives an urgent request for sterile wound dressings following an unexpected surge in emergency admissions. The order arrives within 24 hours, routed automatically through a regional distribution center tha...

Battery material recycling is moving from pilot programs to industrial scale as cost reductions and tightening raw material access reshape procurement economics. Manufacturers now face parallel pressure: secure lithium, nickel, and cobalt s...

A shipment clears manufacturing but stalls at export review. Customs documentation is incomplete. Export-control licensing requirements changed last week, and no one updated the screening checklist. Freight forwarders request additional cer...

A planner opens the production schedule Monday morning. The forecast changed over the weekend. Half the week's orders now require expediting. Supplier lead times stretched. The MRP system recalculated overnight and pushed three new purchase...

E-commerce fulfilment operators spent much of the past decade investing in automation to increase storage density, accelerate picking, and improve throughput. But as order volumes continue to grow and product assortments expand, many warehouse operators are discovering that capacity challenges have evolved. The issue is no longer simply how to move products faster. Increasingly, the challenge is maintaining consistent service levels while pushing more volume through facilitie

Parcel shipping has traditionally been treated as a routine operating expense. Invoices are paid, contracts are renewed every few years, and transportation costs are accepted as part of doing business. But as carrier pricing becomes increasingly complex, many organizations are discovering that parcel spend is one of the least visible - and least controlled - areas of the supply chain. Fuel surcharges, residential delivery fees, demand pricing, and accessorial charges now chan

When fleet operators evaluate electric forklifts, chargers, or other industrial electric equipment, the conversation usually starts with technology. Battery performance, charging speed, maintenance requirements, operating costs, and total cost of ownership dominate procurement discussions. Increasingly, however, technology is no longer the factor determining whether an electrification project moves forward. The real differentiator is incentives. A growing network of federal,

A driverless Volvo semi completes its first commercial run on Interstate 35 in Texas. The truck transmits location, speed, and lane position every second. Traffic signals confirm green phases through vehicle-to-infrastructure links. The rou...