Shipper of choice: Strategic KPI or lip service?

Simply claiming to be a shipper of choice is not enough in a supply chain increasingly dependent on relationships, panelists said at the CSCMP Edge conference. "You can talk your talk, but you have to walk the walk at some point."

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 23, 2019

US-Mexico tomato deal comes with heavy inspection burden, worrying buyers

Walmart's Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs James R. Bailey reportedly wrote to the Commerce Department that "such intensive inspections do not seem proportionate to the risk."

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 23, 2019

Explore the Trendline➔

Inventory Management

Read how retailers and brand manufactures are rethinking inventory management.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

Japan, South Korea trade war escalates with supply chains caught in the middle

Tensions have been heating up between the two countries since last year, coming to a head this week as Japan and South Korea have removed each other from their preferred trading partner lists.

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 19, 2019

UBS: Tariffs, store closings mean easy pickings for off-price retailers

As other retailers cancel orders, opportunity abounds for stores like TJ Maxx to buy inventory at even deeper discounts. 

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 18, 2019

Blockchain adoption will remain elusive for financial services industry until 2022, Gartner says

Immature, fragmented standards will prevent blockchain from fully entering the financial services realm in the near term.

By Roberto Torres • Sept. 16, 2019

7 steps to manage indirect spend

Indirect spend is often relegated to new buyers or even departments outside the purview of procurement, putting a company at financial and operational risk.

By Rich Weissman • Sept. 12, 2019

China sourcing risks rise with connections to labor camps

Firms may miss ties to forced labor if they don't look deep enough into their supplier networks, a report from Verisk Maplecroft cautions. 

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 12, 2019

Procurement was a 'pain in the neck.' Now CPOs help alleviate the pressure point

Procurement is in a strategic role to find the best price while identifying vendors and suppliers — often with an assist from AI and ML. 

By Jen A. Miller • Sept. 12, 2019

Trump: US will delay Oct. 1 tariff increase on Chinese goods by 2 weeks

A 25% tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods was set to increase to 30% on Oct. 1 but is now delayed until Oct. 15 "as a gesture of good will," Trump said Wednesday.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 11, 2019

H&M, Vans boycott Brazilian leather as fires burn in Amazon rainforest

Real estate speculators and ranchers suspected to be responsible for the deforestation have been tied to major importers of beef and leather.

By Andy Burt • Sept. 11, 2019

How one company toes supply-demand balance for rare earth minerals

China's near stranglehold on rare earths has driven the U.S. government to take a keen interest in MP Materials, as it ramps up capacity for end-to-end processing in house. 

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 8, 2019

UPS converts 4 air hubs to foreign trade zones

Importing through foreign trade zones can yield significant savings, especially in the current climate of the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 6, 2019

How Cimpress leveraged analytics to cut procurement costs by 11%

The Vistaprint parent company deployed a digital platform across its subsidiaries to centralize bulk contracts while giving brands room to manage specialized orders independently.

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 5, 2019

Esprit ceases work with Myanmar military-linked supplier

The decision follows a U.N. fact-finding mission report urging all foreign companies to scrutinize any business they conduct in the country to avoid ties to the military.

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 5, 2019

Target to suppliers: Keep tariffs to yourself

The U.S.-China trade war is starting to create stark contrast between which suppliers and retailers have the power to shift the burden away from their own balance sheets and which do not. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Sept. 5, 2019

Only 20% of companies are optimistic about their future in China, survey finds

Despite uncertainty, the US-China Business Council's member survey found 87% of companies do not plan to move operations out of China. 

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 3, 2019

What US companies should know about expanding manufacturing to Mexico

As the trade war with China continues, more companies are looking south of the border with new interest.

By Sergio Tagliapietra, CEO IVEMSA • Sept. 3, 2019

Discount stores largely mitigate tariffs but still test price hikes

Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Five Below tested multiple price increase strategies in the second quarter as new tariffs are likely to hit consumer-facing product categories in the back half of the year. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 30, 2019

How to navigate procurement in a post-merger world

Industry experts argue that an ideal scenario has the procurement department come in before finalizing a deal, so it can analyze potential savings and hiccups down the road.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 29, 2019

Hospitals ration treatment due to supply shortages of immune globulin drug

The reintroduction of an intravenous immune globulin product to the U.S. market could help ease a supply crunch.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 29, 2019

Williams-Sonoma pulling forward 'as much inventory as possible' ahead of list 4 tariffs

The retailer on Wednesday raised its full-year net revenue forecast for the second time this year, even after factoring in the tariff increases the Trump administration announced last week.

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 29, 2019

China to add tariffs on $75B of US imports

One batch of duties will begin Sept. 1 and the other Dec. 15, mirroring the U.S. schedule and putting American agricultural exporters in a tough situation. 

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 23, 2019

Swine disease adds uncertainty, volatility to meat supply chains, execs say

African swine fever has wiped out 5% of global animal protein supply, creating drastic price fluctuations in a market already rocked by the U.S.-China trade war. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 23, 2019

A multicultural supply chain demands social awareness and respect

A training designed to prevent cultural gaffes at my company improved my negotiating process, as I learned to focus on supplier performance and the job at hand, not on cultural nuances and differences.

By Rich Weissman • Aug. 22, 2019

US and Mexico agree to tomato truce

An anti-dumping investigation resumed in May when the U.S. Department of Commerce formally terminated a 2013 agreement with Mexico, triggering a 17.5% tariff on Mexican fresh and chilled tomatoes. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 22, 2019