Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Forward Thinking

There must be (almost) 50 ways to reduce your unsaleables

A panel discussion at the CSCMP EDGE 2017 conference addressed how consumer goods companies can reduce product damage and expiration.

Every year the consumer goods sector in the United States loses $15 billion to unsaleables, or products that cannot be sold due to their condition. To address this massive source of waste in the supply chain, the Trading Partner Alliance (TPA) and pallet company CHEP released a new report titled "Collaborative Strategies to Reduce Unsaleables" at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) EDGE 2017 conference on Tuesday.

A panel of experts discussed the report during an educational session at the conference. The report identifies 48 best-in-class practices for reducing the number of products that are damaged or expire before they can be sold. The practices encompass all of the main players in the consumer goods market including manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Practices include such things as: using FIFO (first-in, first-out) when scheduling shipments; having an agreed-upon strategy and schedule for communicating information about discontinued items; testing packaging, unit loads, and handling systems throughout the supply chain; and clearly marking "best if used by" dates on all product packaging. The report also provides a system to help companies prioritize which best practices they should focus on and offers suggestions for how to implement them.


Even though the report is based on surveys and interviews with supply chain managers specifically in the consumer goods market, Daniel Triot, senior director at TPA, believes many of the practices can be applied to other industries. Triot is actively looking to work with other industries on further developing these best practices.

TPA previously published "Unsaleables 101," which covers the history of the movement to reduce unsaleables. The organization plans to develop an online educational program on reducing unsaleables and is looking to develop recommendations for reducing unsaleable fresh produce and meat.

The Trading Partner Alliance (TPA) is a joint group formed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) to develop a shared retailer-manufacturer agenda on supply chain efficiency issues.

Recent

More Stories

Logistics services continue to “go green”

Logistics services continue to “go green”

The market for environmentally friendly logistics services is expected to grow by nearly 8% between now and 2033, reaching a value of $2.8 billion, according to research from Custom Market Insights (CMI), released earlier this year.

The “green logistics services market” encompasses environmentally sustainable logistics practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste, and improving energy efficiency throughout the supply chain, according to CMI. The market involves the use of eco-friendly transportation methods—such as electric and hybrid vehicles—as well as renewable energy-powered warehouses, and advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for optimizing logistics operations.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

exxonmobile oil field with pumps in texas

Kinaxis and ExxonMobil will design supply chain planning tools

Supply chain orchestration software provider Kinaxis today announced a co-development deal with ExxonMobil to create supply chain technology solutions designed specifically for the energy sector.

ExxonMobil is uniquely placed to understand the biggest opportunities in improving energy supply chains, from more accurate sales and operations planning, increased agility in field operations, effective management of enormous transportation networks and adapting quickly to complex regulatory environments,” John Sicard, Kinaxis CEO, said in a release.

Keep ReadingShow less
warehouse worker using mobile computer

Federal regulators delay pharma track and trace rule

Pharmaceutical groups are breathing a sigh of relief today after federal regulators granted many of them more time to come into compliance with strict track and trace rules required by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).

The initiative is intended to create an electronic track and trace network that allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pinpoint the location of any drug throughout the supply chain and drill down to the individual package level, thus improving safety compliance and reducing counterfeiting. To enable that practice, third-party companies like TraceLink have built networks to manage the massive amounts of data required.

Keep ReadingShow less
hurricane milton rainfall forecast map florida

Supply chain networks prep for delays as Milton storms in

Hurricane Milton was just beginning to unleash its slashing wind and pouring rain on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday, but the supply chain disruptions caused by the enormous storm have already been unfolding for days.

For example, millions of residents and workers in the Tampa region have now left their homes and jobs, heeding increasingly dire evacuation warnings from state officials. They’re fleeing the estimated 10 to 20 feet of storm surge that is forecast to swamp the area, due to Hurricane Milton’s status as the strongest hurricane in the Gulf since Rita in 2005, the fifth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on pressure, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on its peak winds, according to market data provider Industrial Info Resources.

Keep ReadingShow less
NRF Hackett port import stats chart

U.S. imports remain high despite dockworkers strike

The three-day dockworkers strike that shut down East and Gulf coast port operations from Maine to Texas last week appears not to have dented the nation’s flow of imported goods, according to the latest monthly report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

Imports at the nation’s major container ports should continue at elevated levels this month despite the strike, the groups said in their Global Port Tracker report.

Keep ReadingShow less