Making Sense of Today’s Volatile Supply Chains

How can we make sense of the volatile changes in our supply chains this year, and what should we expect going forward? For excellent insights, we can turn to Harvard Business School Professor Willy Shih. Willy just published a thoughtful article in the The Wall Street Journal on the seven principles of today's supply chain. To summarize: 1. Today's [...]

By |2022-07-23T21:23:55+00:00July 23rd, 2022|

Ukraine Logistics Coalition – Focusing on Humanitarian Relief

The Ukraine Logistics Coalition (ULC) is focused on protecting Ukraine by maximizing the inflow of food, medicine, and vital supplies. To that end, it was terrific to see Ukraine Ambassador Oksana Markarova at the YPO Global Diplomacy Network conference in DC. We talked about how to help rebuild Ukraine and strengthen its supply chains. The [...]

By |2023-08-22T19:17:36+00:00May 29th, 2022|

Supply Chains: Do you Prefer Cheap, or Resilient?

Would you prefer your supply chains to be cheap or resilient? It turns out that 40 years of cutting cost exposed us to dependency on China and risk of disruption. What happens next? One solution will be "China + 1." As Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih describes it in the Wall Street Journal, "Politically sensitive gear such [...]

By |2023-08-22T19:19:36+00:00December 27th, 2021|

Logistics: The Battle Between Walled Garden and Open Source Models

The technology world has seen a battle between walled-garden and open source models. Apple created a closed-loop ecosystem where it tightly controlled the customer experience. On the other hand, Google challenged the status quo with an open-source network that brought in a broad range of partners. In logistics, we are seeing a similar battle emerge. On the one side, [...]

By |2021-09-15T15:21:08+00:00September 15th, 2021|

Last-Mile Logistics in Latin America

Last-mile logistics is growing rapidly in the US. This surge has fueled growth for giants like UPS and FedEx, as well as last-mile logistics specialists like USPack and LaserShip, and technology leaders like Bringg. And it has been fueling acquisitions, such as the Target acquisition of Deliv. But what about Latin America? $11 billion has been invested globally in last-mile logistics this decade, but Latin [...]

By |2021-08-04T20:52:23+00:00August 4th, 2021|

Bringg Becomes the Newest Unicorn in Logistics

The supply chain world just welcomed its latest unicorn. Congratulations to Bringg and its outstanding team, which is building the market leader in last-mile logistics software. When we first met Bringg's founders Raanan Cohen and Lior Sion, it was 2016. Bringg was just getting started. Still, it was clear that they had a compelling solution for the last mile, blue-chip [...]

By |2021-06-19T21:00:27+00:00June 19th, 2021|

The JD Logistics IPO and the Growth in Chinese Last-Mile Logistics

JD Logistics is planning to raise $3.4 billion in an IPO. Three issues that stand out: First, JD attracted a world-class network of largely US-based investments banks, including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Nevertheless, they chose the Hong Kong exchange for their listing. This reflects the fact that Chinese and US markets are increasingly separating from one another. [...]

By |2021-06-01T15:29:40+00:00June 1st, 2021|

Why Cambridge Capital Backed ReverseLogix

Cambridge Capital recently decided to invest $20 million in ReverseLogix, a reverse logistics SaaS company. We've received a lot of interest from other logistics technology companies, as well as retailers and brands seeking a partner to manage their returns. So I thought it might help to explain our reasoning for making this decision, and sharing [...]

By |2023-08-22T19:20:43+00:00March 8th, 2021|

The Blue Wave and Taxes: What a Biden Win Means for Business Owners… and Supply Chain Companies

On November 3, the American people will vote. We may not know the actual election results immediately, due to unprecedented volumes of vote-by-mail. However, the polling currently suggests a Democratic sweep of the White House, Congress, and Senate. Meanwhile, Wall Street increasingly expects a Blue Wave. What will be the ripple effects for taxes, business [...]

By |2020-10-30T13:07:56+00:00October 30th, 2020|

The Beer Game

Why is Crown Holdings, Inc. running out of cans? Supply chain students are familiar with the "beer game." It's an academic exercise that shows how a small increase in demand at the end-consumer level can drive larger ripples through the entire supply chain. We are witnessing a real-life "beer game" today, as demand shifts from kegs to [...]

By |2020-08-28T02:04:09+00:00August 27th, 2020|