If “cancelled” was the “Word of the Year” for 2020 due to the pandemic, then the early favorite for 2021 is “delayed” — as in orders for everything from sofas to semiconductors getting delayed due to port closures, capacity constraints, labor shortages, and other issues.
The first half of the year has also brought us several unicorns — that is, ongoing investments in supply chain and logistics technology and services companies, driving their valuations past the $1 billion mark.
Maybe by the end of the year, “inflation” will define 2021 — with companies experiencing rising costs across their supply chains (transportation, labor, raw materials, fuel, etc.).
Simply put, we’re six months into 2021 and the year so far has been as challenging as 2020, perhaps even more (albeit for different reasons).
The road signs ahead all read the same: Expect the unexpected the rest of the way.
The Quarter in Review
In case you missed them the first time around or want to read/view them again, check out the top posts and new episodes from the second quarter of 2021. After reading/watching them, share this post with your colleagues and social media followers, then post a comment and share your perspective on these topics!
Top Posts
- Technology’s Role in Enabling Supply Chain Sustainability
- Last-Mile Delivery: What Will Separate Leaders from Laggards?
- How Logistics Technology Helps Shippers Overcome Challenges
- The Future of Cross-Border E-Commerce
- Will Supply Chain Technology Help Shippers When Next Crisis Happens?
- Transportation Market Constraints: Developing A Shipper Action Plan
- Manhattan Momentum Connect 2021: TMS In The Spotlight
- What We Need (More Of) Now in Logistics
- Reskilling Employees for Supply Chain Jobs
- Cybersecurity: Is It A Priority In Your Supply Chain?
New Episodes
- How Vulnerable Is Your Supply Chain?
- Measuring Transportation Emissions: Turning Future Goals into Today’s Operations
- Why LSPs Need a Digital Transformation Strategy
- Technology’s Role in Enabling Supply Chain Sustainability
- How Logistics Technology Helps Shippers Overcome Challenges
- Scaling Technology To Enhance Customer Engagement
- Price Optimization: The Next Big Opportunity In Supply Chain
- Emerging Trends In Newspaper Distribution Technology
- Leveraging Data To Drive Operational & Procurement Decisions In Transportation
Indago Research Reports
This quarter we completed ten research surveys and donated $1,600 so far this year to JDRF, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.
- Inflation in Supply Chain (June 2021): How concerned are you (or your company) about rising inflationary pressures across your supply chain?
- Calculating Carbon Emissions of Goods (June 2021): How difficult would it be to accurately calculate the carbon emissions of your imported goods? What are the main challenges in calculating the carbon emissions of your imported goods?
- Leveraging Data in Transportation & Logistics (June 2021):How effective are companies in converting data into actionable insights? What are the biggest inhibitors? Where are the biggest opportunities to achieve business benefits by leveraging data more effectively?
- Changes To Covid Masking Requirements (May 2021): Is your company changing its masking requirements in response to updated CDC guidelines, increased vaccination rates, and/or changes in local laws?
- Advice for Young Supply Chain Professionals (May 2021): What advice would you give to young professionals or students interested in a supply chain career?
- Tender Rejection Rate (May 2021): Is your tender rejection rate increasing so far this year? How do you find a carrier when contracted carriers reject a tendered load?
- The Bigger Problem to Solve in Supply Chains Today (May 2021): What is the biggest asset constraint limiting your ability to effectively manage your supply chain?
- Importance of Gartner Magic Quadrants (April 2021): How important are these Magic Quadrant reports in your software selection process? What factors are the most important when selecting a supply chain software solution?
- Attending In-Person Conferences Again (April 2021): When do you foresee attending your first in-person conference again? What factors are most important in your decision?
- Current Truck Transportation Market (April 2021): How would you characterize the current truck transportation market? What actions, if any, are you taking to better manage capacity and costs?
If you’re a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a manufacturing, retail, or distribution company, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-5 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes that need our help today more than ever.
Reminder: There are many ways to stay connected with Talking Logistics and Indago throughout the year — choose all the options that you prefer:
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iTunes (where you can listen to podcast versions of our episodes)
