Consumer Goods Logistics Blog

Manufacturers and retailers who outsource distribution activities to third-party logistics companies (3PLs) understand that there is a certain amount of churn among warehouse workers. But just how much churn is something they should be paying far more attention to. When you work with a 3PL with high warehouse employee turnover, it drags down your business in ways far beyond what you might think.

Despite the global pandemic, Kane Logistics’ operations team has been in major start-up mode for the last year, with several new logistic operations coming on board. All facilities have started successfully and on schedule. But that success is due to more than just having a good project plan. If managing the start-up of a logistics operation is in your future – particularly during the pandemic – here are some keys to success.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, warehouse worker protection has emerged as a critical core competency for corporate logistics departments and their 3PL partners. Business continuity literally depends upon it since a virus outbreak could close down a distribution warehouse.

But getting serious about worker protection requires more than investing in extra PPE and setting up a few wash stations. It requires a significant investment of time and money.

Billions of dollars of product are lost each year to product and packaging damage in the grocery industry. Product damage is a particularly severe profit drain for wine and spirits manufacturers trying to keep a fragile product intact during the distribution journey from the bottling plant to the store shelf or doorstep.

As 2020 winds down, we took at look at the year’s top logistics blog posts that most wound you up.

In case you missed them the first time, here are the three KANE-published articles that attracted the most readers. They touch on different topics (start-up management, workforce management and productivity) but all relate in one way or another to managing people – still a critically important core competency in our tech-centric, COVID-altered world.

It’s fair to say that safety is in the news a lot these days. For companies, like Kane Logistics, that specialize in food and beverage logistics, warehouse food safety is a 24/7 obsession. We talked recently with Lora Cumbie, KANE’s Director of Quality and Compliance, to understand how KANE helps its food-industry customers operate safely and in full compliance with regulating agencies.

On any given month in the US, there are around 1,600 searches for the term “Shopify Fulfillment.” There’s also search volume for “Magento fulfillment,” “Big Commerce fulfillment” and other terms related to integration of fulfillment services with eCommerce platforms.

These people are looking for a solution. But, in reality, it doesn’t matter what platform you are on. The types of data required by any fulfillment provider are the same, and most providers can quickly and seamlessly exchange data with any eCommerce platform.

From October 21-22, Armstrong & Associates held its annual 3PL Value Creation Summit. One of the expert panels featured on the agenda was “Key Trends in Food and Beverage Logistics.” KANE Logistics’ Alex Stark was on this panel, along with representatives from CJ Logistics, Matson and RLS Logistics.

Here’s a quick rundown of what these experts are seeing in the food and beverage logistics space.