Logistics, Longitudes

Longitudes. A blog discussing the macro forces shaping the global economy today and over the horizon. Popular topics include Globalization, Trade, Sustainability, Innovation, Technology, Healthcare and Supply Chain Logistics. A blog discussing the macro forces shaping the global economy today and over the horizon. Stay Connected. Why Climate Resilience and Supply Chains Go Hand in Hand. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2017 was the third-warmest year on record, the U.S. experienced three of the top five costliest hurricanes in U.S. history that same year and the 20 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1995. Businesses already experience the negative impacts of climate change – from infrastructure […] Software Update: UPS 111.0 Is Ready to Install. The founders and early leaders of UPS built and promoted a foundation that would adapt and transform based on the needs and wants of our customers. Former UPS CEO George D. Smith (1962-1972) put it this way: We live in a world of change. Each day our environment changes, conditions change, our nation changes, the […] How to Not Run Out of Beer (or Soft Drinks) – by Supply Chain Experts. Soccer tournaments are unpredictable – that’s one of the best things about them. But one thing no one seems to have expected over the course of the FIFA World Cup this summer is how much carbon dioxide (CO2) would be needed to keep the beer flowing in British pubs. But it’s not only beer that’s facing a […] Common Misconceptions About the Summer Supply Chain. As we enter the summer months, professionals all over the globe start to prepare for one of the slowest times of year. Some people take extended, multi-week vacations or sabbaticals while others work shorter days or leave early on Fridays. This personal downshift might make it easy to assume that our supply chains are also […] Why Supply Chains Need Blockchain. In early 2013, a number of grocery stores in the UK were hit with a major incident when horse meat was found in beef burgers. To compound the problem, many of the grocery chains could not instantly point to the exact source but had to launch lengthy investigations to track back through processing plants and […] Advanced Analytics Helping to Deliver a More Efficient Last Mile. The United Nations is projecting the number of so-called megacities of more than 10 million inhabitants to rise well above 40 by 2030. About two-thirds of the global population is expected to reside in cities by 2050. In the retail sector, the battle over future consumer markets is largely a battle over who excels at […] Powering the Early-Stage Supply Chain. Warning: The power dynamic is shifting as agile, tech-savvy and well-funded small businesses come flooding into the supply chain, often displacing large and aging legacy suppliers. This is an exciting time for small businesses, driven by millennials and Generation Z, who look at entrepreneurship as a less risky proposition than their parents and friends who […] Driving Sustainable Logistics in Europe. A hyper-connected network of logistics clusters could play a key role in achieving the European Union’s goal of creating a sustainable, more efficient freight transportation system. An EU-backed research initiative called Clusters 2.0 is laying the groundwork for such a network by developing ways to link freight hubs via the physical internet. Clusters 2.0 comprises […] Top Priorities in 2018? Supply Chain Visibility and Transparency. A common problem with supply chains is they become unwieldy beasts. Each individual element and component within the network knows what they are doing, but the big picture often becomes obscure. This leaves success in the supply chain down to luck and inevitable inefficiencies. You simply can’t operate a successful supply chain blindly. More and […] A Supply Chain of Freedom: Made by Free Women. There are nearly 46 million people in 167 countries living in some form of slavery today, and women and girls in developing nations make up more than 70 percent of those exposed to constant abuse and extreme poverty. They can’t live freely or earn enough to meet basic needs for themselves or their families. Let’s […] Balancing the E and the We in the Supply Chain. It was not many years ago when the countdown to the death of the bookstore was nearing zero. The print book was on the edge of extinction as seemingly everyone was in the process of converting to e-readers. But a funny thing happened. Some readers liked print, and some liked digital. Some actually liked both. […] Love Is in the Air. Every child knows the North Pole is the geographic epicenter of Christmas – home to Santa Claus and his fabled workshop. So, here’s a quick quiz for adults: What’s the geographic epicenter of Valentine’s Day? If fresh-cut flowers are what you’re planning to give to your beloved this Feb. 14, the answer is Latin America. […] Don’t Curb Your Enthusiasm. Nobody ever said, Curbsides are cool. Perhaps that’s why we so often overlook curbs – one of a city’s most valuable assets. Everyone wants to work on expanding small business districts, improving health and education outcomes and leveraging data and technology to transform cities (because that’s all the rage these days). But curbs? Curbs don’t […] Time to Flex the Muscles of the Global Economy. For the last 30 years, trade has been one of the stabilizing pillars of the global community – creating jobs, supporting the development and spreading of technology and ideas, raising productivity, expanding consumer choice and enabling cross-border communications channels and supply chains. In material terms, our global economy has never been more prosperous. Yet open trade […] The Brewing Environmental Problem of Retail Returns. Today’s consumers have been trained to expect enjoyable, efficient and personalized shopping experiences – all at a bargain price. But this no longer just applies to the front-end purchasing experience. Now consumers expect to be delighted even when returning goods to retailers. Because of standards set by customer-centric companies, more and more retailers are offering flexible […] Logistics Emissions Move Into the Spotlight. Transportation is the second biggest global emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), yet the logistics sector is often left out of the climate conversation. The 23rd Conference of Parties (COP23), a major annual forum for climate policy dialogue, recently moved transportation into the spotlight, paving the way for more proactive emissions reduction measures. Suzanne Greene, manager […] Advice for Breaking Down Sustainability Silos in 2018. As I reflect on 2017, one of the positive changes I noticed was the breaking down of silos. As the walls between sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other corporate functions start to crumble, leaders are better able to extend their influence and catalyze the integration of sustainable business practices across their company. As Charlene Lake, chief sustainability […] The Economics and Supply Chain of Your Christmas Tree. Few symbols are as representative of the holiday season as a Christmas tree. Real or fake, traditional or upside down, Christmas trees represent the physical center of each family’s celebration and the focal point of displays in stores and in public squares. But Christmas is also big business – more than $1 Trillion was spent in […] Our Top 5 Podcasts of 2017. We fully embraced the podcasting craze in 2017, launching Longitudes Radio in October. The mission? To bring more conversations about where the world is heading straight to you. In our inaugural season, we explored how UPS is building the Network of the Future, talked about the qualities of an effective public speaker and predicted what blockchain […] Solving the Soft Skills Gap in Supply Chain Management. Managing supply chains more than ever is about managing technology. The rise of tools such as predictive analytics, the Internet of Things and blockchain places greater demand on supply chain professionals for the technical skills to understand and apply the dizzying array of new technologies in modern business. In the rush to keep up with […] 4 Ways to Future-Proof Your Supply Chain. Supply chains are facing the perfect storm of disruption – from radical transformations of industry to disasters like the extreme weather events recently felt across the world. For large and complex supply chains like HPE, digital technologies offer an opportunity to predict and manage this risk by future-proofing operations with increased visibility, agility and efficiency. At […] A Winning Formula for Freight Forwarding. The future is a popular place these days. Everybody wants to know what it looks like. Everybody wants to know the best way to prepare for it. Everybody wants to know how to get there first and with the right stuff. But getting it right has never been more difficult. Or as Yoda told Luke […] Delivering on the Customer Mandate. Talking about Apple’s approach to innovation and technology, Steve Jobs once said: “You have to start with the customer experience and work backwards.” More than ever, that is true for companies like UPS. We know that our future is closely linked with the experience our customers have with our brand. That belief is behind recent […] Think Global Production and Supply Chains Are Shrinking? Think Again. There’s an idea gaining credence in some circles that we’ve reached “peak globalization.” If the advocates of this view are right, worldwide trade volumes – which enjoyed unprecedented growth but then stalled out somewhere around 2012, according to the IMF – are heading for a period of long-term structural decline. The retreat, these trade pessimists […] Blockchain: What Can We Solve Together? Last month, Dutch authorities learned that 20 percent of the eggs coming from the Netherlands were not safe. European authorities are now in a dash to pull the bad food from the shelves. Earlier this year, 3,000 school children in Egypt became ill in the early afternoon. Ambulances were dispatched to elementary schools, as authorities […] Cutting the Cost of Grocery Delivery. Groceries need to be stored and transported at different temperatures depending on the nature of each product – so why not rationalize the distribution of these items by accommodating different temperature zones in the same truck? This is the basic rationale of multi-compartment vehicle (MCV) distribution, which is gaining ground in Europe. But adding complexity […] Mapping the Knowledge Supply Chain. When I write about supply chains, I think readers naturally envision product or material supply chains. In a physical supply chain, raw materials are processed or refined and made into other things that have to be moved from here to there. This all naturally involves trucks, air and ocean freight, warehouses, assemblies and inventory – […] How Analytics is Changing High-Tech Supply Chains. High tech is changing the logistics industry, forcing supply chains to adapt quickly. A UPS executive and an MIT professor share their views on how analytics is affecting the supply chains of technology firms. A UPS perspective by David Andries, Vice President, Customer Solutions, UPS In a recent survey of manufacturing and supply chain leaders, […] 4 Myths About Innovation in Logistics. The serenity of a normal Sunday morning gives me time to catch up on the business journals and blogs that have accumulated in my inbox throughout the week. As I comb through the articles, my serendipity turns into anxiety as I read article after article on the vast number of innovative ideas put forward by […] 3 Dangers of Supply Chain Complacency. It’s a common phrase: “Don’t rest on your laurels.” In other words, don’t be satisfied with your past successes. Go out and strive for more. In today’s culture of “hustle” and entrepreneurship (for better or worse), where you are expected to be available to your business or boss 24/7, this phrase seems obvious. However, we […] Subscribe to our new podcast for in-depth conversation with industry leaders, influencers and innovators about trends shaping the world of tomorrow.