As the line between web and traditional retail store fulfillment blurs, brands need to assess their fulfillment capabilities and those of their 3PL multi-channel distribution partners. Consumers prefer to be channel agnostic. They want to complete a purchase and receive/return the product to and from any channel they choose. And they want the brands they buy from to align their businesses to make that happen. Are brands there yet? Let’s say they’re evolving ..read more

It costs $8,500 dollars to replace a warehouse worker. Sound like a lot? Well, that’s actually the low end.  Calculating just the direct, trackable dollars, the cost to replace one warehouse worker can reach 25% of that worker’s salary. Using an average warehouse associate salary of around $34,000 (Glassdoor), $8,500 is about where you end up. But the real costs, when you factor in lost productivity and other indirect impacts, are much, much higher ..read more

Much of the cost and complexity in CPG supply chains happens post manufacturing. Think about it. You might have one product – a potato chip – that gets packaged in dozens of ways. Historically, this final packaging has been handled as a discrete supply chain function. But an increasing number of CPG companies are recognizing the huge cost advantages up – to 30% of combined warehousing/packaging/freight costs – of integrating final packaging with distribution center operations, and working with secondary packaging suppliers that can make that happen ..read more

Kane Logistics was recently named 3PL of the Year by Sam’s Club. KANE operates three high-volume distribution centers for Sam's Club. The award recognizes superior operational performance and customer service. We talked with Jason Brown, KANE’s director of operations for the Sam’s Club business, about what it takes to deliver great 3PL customer service ..read more

As 2020 winds down, we took at look at the year’s top logistics blog posts that most wound you up. In case you missed them the first time, here are the three KANE-published articles that attracted the most readers. They touch on different topics (start-up management, workforce management and productivity) but all relate in one way or another to managing people – still a critically important core competency in our tech-centric, COVID-altered world ..read more

If you are a user of third-party logistics (3PL) services, you know that 3PLs tend to have a metric for just about everything – productivity, accuracy, timeliness, costs…. 3PL metrics are used as a barometer of performance and to inform continuous improvement programs. But should these same numbers be used to measure the success of your 3PL/Client relationship ..read more

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies face a constant battle for market share and retail shelf space. Price points are a key weapon in this battle and, increasingly, companies rely on lean CPG logistics operations to provide a cost advantage. How is your company responding to this challenge? With incremental improvements to existing distribution processes? Or, are you exploring logistics strategies that alter current processes and the way you work with retail customers? A mix of both is optimal, with new strategies offering the best potential for breakthrough gains and cost savings, particu ..read more

Other than inventory, labor is your biggest warehousing expense.  And that warehouse labor… well, it's costing you a lot more than you may think.  According to salary.com, the average warehouse associate's salary is about $28,000.  But many related expenses combine to make the total cost to your company for that full time employee much higher.  Let's take a look at these additional warehouse labor expenses ..read more

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are getting squeezed. On one side, your retail customers want smaller replenishment orders more frequently. At the same time, your own company is pressuring you to reduce logistics costs ..read more

As CPG suppliers follow their large retailer customers into the uncharted territory of e-tailing and increasingly lean supply chains, compliance with retailers’ transportation routing guides is a make-or-break element in the ongoing relationship. According to a study by a research team at Auburn University, sponsored by Kane Is Able, transportation is the linchpin to CPG-retailer supply chain success, and poor compliance with retailers’ transportation needs will cause fulfillment problems and jeopardize customer goodwill. Many manufacturers now report that their retailer customer’s toler ..read more