The transportation and logistics industry influences many business practices. How do you stay current with emerging trends? Here are 5 resources that supply chain experts can use to find the latest information.
1. Industry publications: There’s no substitute for timely marketplace information. While this list of supply chain and logistics publications is not exhaustive, these publications regularly offer valuable articles.
Air Cargo World, American Shipper, CSCMP Explores, CSCMP Supply Chain Quarterly, DC Velocity, Food Logistics, Inbound Logistics, Logistics Management, Logistics Quarterly, Procurement Leaders, Supply and Demand Chain Executive, Supply Chain Brain, Supply Chain Management Review, The Journal of Commerce, and World Trade 100.
2. Economic reports: For nitty gritty economic and transportation market statistics, consult the Logistics Market Snapshot produced as a monthly report by the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics (GCIL). Want to know how the NASDAQ Transportation Index compared to the Dow Jones Transportation Index? Looking for figures on the number of freight cars in storage, ocean bulk fuel rates, diesel prices, or container rates? This is the report for you. FTR Associates is another great resource for transportation forecasting and analysis, such as rate outlooks by mode and industry.
3. Research Organizations: Consider looking at leading supply chain research advisory companies. These organizations and others deliver helpful insight, research, and analysis.
Aberdeen Group
ARC Advisory Group
Armstrong & Associates
Gartner
IDC
4. Universities: Memberships and advisory board positions with universities provide invaluable opportunities to collaborate with academia. Relationships with universities can spur innovation, and the work often pays unforeseen dividends in terms of recruiting. For a list of supply chain programs, check out CSCMP's University Listing service.
5. Supply Chain Consortia: Joining supply chain networking and information sharing groups is an excellent way to gain access to benchmarking, best practices knowledge, online analysis tools, and networking with practitioners in the logistics industry. There are many excellent organizations. For example, AMR (now Gartner) published a helpful analysis of providers to consider in 2009.
If you like these ideas, you might also enjoy our white papers, case studies, videos, global trade resources, and the TMC blog for a deeper dive into global supply chain topics.
For more information on accessing these reports, please contact solutions@chrobinson.com. What are your go-to sources for supply chain thought leadership?
