The Inovis Blog

Image Source: http://www.trainnet.org

There’s something magical about trains…The Polar Express, the Darjeeling Limited, Planes, Trains and Automobiles… I’ve always wanted to ride the Orient Express and have always had a great appreciation for this historic vehicle. Needless to say, I was very excited to see this article on Supply Chain Digest entitled “Transportation News: Are We Entering a New Railroad Golden Era?“

While the railroad has undergone a century of decline due to the development of cars and trucks, it seems to be making a comeback. Soaring fuel prices and fuel surcharges, in addition to the surge in imports, have brought the locomotive back to life. Here are some other factors that may help with rail growth:

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Image Source: http://www.thetreecompany.com.au

Here on the Inovis blog, we often cover green trends in the supply chain. It seems that environmental awareness continues to bleed into business more and more. And although it appears that companies are embracing a more eco-friendly strategy, are they really? Perhaps not as much as we had hoped…

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Today’s business environment demands collaboration to gain competitive advantage. The more trading partners you have, the more complex your business community is. Today’s question is:

How do you manage your relationship with your trading partners and keep your business community in check?

Image Source: http://www.tracethenation.biz

Despite remarkable advancements in technology and methods used in the supply chain, costly data errors and exceptions still exist. For retailers and vendors alike, this is a huge problem. On the surface, it may seem like just a charge here and there, but deductions point to a much bigger problem…underlying inefficiencies in your business process. For a majority of companies, the largest frustration lies in the desire to fix these issues.

Good news! For all parties involved, there is more than hope! Costly errors are absolutely preventable! The key for both groups is to manage the exception process as efficiently as possible and continually improve the shared steps across ordering, shipments and invoicing. Have deductions been an ongoing issue for your company? How has your company solved this issue?