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 […]