Something has been happening across food and beverage distribution, and it is hard to miss. Major retailers and manufacturers are announcing automated facilities at a pace not seen in years. Robotics, AI-powered fulfillment, machine vision, autonomous vehicles inside the warehouse. The inside of a modern distribution center looks nothing like it did a decade ago. […]

Intermodal freight lanes consistently produce higher damage rates than over-the-road lanes. Most operations know this. Fewer understand exactly why. And fewer still address the root cause at the right point in the process. What Makes Intermodal Lanes Different? An intermodal shipment moves on more than one mode of transportation, typically a combination of truck and […]

If you have ever had a load shift in transit, you may have assumed the securement failed. In most cases, the securement was never the problem. The load design was. Load design and cargo securement are two distinct things. Most operations treat them as one. That confusion is where most in transit damage starts. What […]

In supply chain, the problems that cost the most are rarely the ones that get the most attention. Dunnage is a perfect example. Airbags, wood 2x4s, cardboard. Most facilities treat these as a fixed cost of doing business. You need to fill the void, you buy the materials, you load the trailer, and you do […]

Ask a supply chain director what they spend on load securement and you’ll usually get one number: the dunnage line item. Airbags, cardboard, bars, 2x4s. Whatever shows up on the purchasing report. That number is real. It’s also incomplete by roughly half. The true cost of load securement has four components, and most operations are […]

You’ve seen it. Trailer doors open at the dock and instead of tight, clean rows, you’re staring at a leaning mess. Pallets walked, product shifted, maybe a toppled load. The driver shrugs. Someone mutters about road conditions. And the cost of that moment quietly hits your P&L in three or four different places before anyone […]