In the business world, poor efficiency equals lost profits and less chance at survival. As dire as that sounds, inefficiency among first responders can have even more serious consequences, especially with state and local police departments. Yet many local government agencies all over the country still grapple with the issue of asset management and inventoryRead… Read more »
Take a spin through the headlines and it’s easy to see fire departments struggling with fixed asset management. In a rural Mississippi town recently, thieves made off with much of the equipment that allowed a volunteer fire department to do its critical job. They stole the “jaws of life,” saws, fans, tools and other equipment.Read… Read more »
That “unproductive” feeling in your warehouse likely isn’t due to your employees’ extra coffee breaks. A recent survey of distribution centers in the United Kingdom revealed that DCs waste an average of 3,000 hours per year on inefficient workflow and processes. Responses from 250 supply chain, warehouse and distribution managers were compiled to show thatRead… Read more »
Chinese New Year is signaling an increase in transpacific freight, but retailers are bracing for potential supply chain disruptions over threats of a worker strike at gulf and east coast ports. Though talks made progress in December, when an earlier strike was avoided between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s AssociationRead… Read more »
The start of a new year usually signifies a time for reflection on where we’ve been and where we’re headed, and nowhere is that disparity more glaringly apparent than in the technology sector. A decade ago, a business traveler had to collect receipts, pull up Excel and spend an afternoon keying up an expense reportRead… Read more »
IT budgets on college campuses are like anywhere else: Tight and getting tighter. Still, more schools reported in an annual study that they’re continuing to invest in technology, with 25 percent planning to upgrade or replace their Enterprise Resource Planning systems for asset management, expense management, invoice management and other functions in the next twoRead… Read more »
While business travel is expected to pick up in 2013, it appears that trends for corporate events, such as meetings and conferences, are shifting to reflect new economic realities. The Active Network recently published a study which followed meeting planning patterns from 2008-2012, and showed a distinct change in how companies approach organizing corporate gatherings.Read… Read more »
At some point in the past decade, society entered what I’ll call the “Age of Now.” Instant gratification is not a new concept, of course. According to Wikipedia (our favorite modern shortcut to learning things nowinstead of doing actual research), pizza delivery began in Naples way back in the 1800s. Florists have offered same-day deliveryRead… Read more »
Though Europe has led the charge toward mandating electronic invoice management for private and public organizations, e-invoicing has been gaining rapid ground in South America as well. Ecuador has now joined the ranks of countries looking to cut costs and improve services through implementation of an electronic invoice management system, following a pilot program whichRead… Read more »
2011 witnessed an increase in backsourcing, which included severing ties with offshore contractors and returning business operations to domestic and local spheres, or even entirely in-house. That trend is continuing even into 2013 as American manufacturing is being reinvigorated by supply chain management concerns that are bringing more positions back home. The individual circumstances behindRead… Read more »