mThink

ASCET: What has changed in Crate and Barrel’s inventory management process since 4R and Crate and Barrel began working together? Ed Rennemann (ER): We had not changed our store replenishing process since 1984. Historically, we have given our store managers the visibility to see what was available in the DC along with rates of sale [...]

Business information analysis is at a crossroads. Saddled with an overabundance of data, corporations struggle to distill terabytes of information so that C-level executives and business process managers can make credible and effective decisions. Much of these data are associated with a location. Customer information files often contain a name and address; packages need to [...]

When one of the world’s largest and most admired cosmetics companies needed a distribution center to accommodate growth, it sought a facility whose aesthetics and build-quality were consistent with its world-class image. The Challenge In summer 2005, Dallas-based Mary Kay Inc. turned to First Industrial Realty Trust to help them build a 135,000 sf. distribution [...]

To gain advantage in the highly competitive retail environment, one of America’s most trusted appliance manufacturers fine-tuned its delivery network — and moved operations closer to its customers. The Challenge In an effort to shorten the time it takes to get its products to end-users in key markets throughout the U.S., $4.7 billion behemoth Maytag [...]

Eager to sell a vacant distribution facility made redundant following a merger agreement, North America’s leading distributor of paper products sought and found a decisive buyer — inking a deal in record time. The Challenge When Unisource Worldwide, a subsidiary of paper, pulp and wood giant Georgia-Pacific Corp., was seeking a buyer for a nonessential [...]

"Sophisticated companies large and small have begun to recognize the untapped potential of their industrial real estate assets." In today’s rapidly evolving and competitive business environment, corporate America is looking at its industrial real estate in a whole new way. More and more, sophisticated companies large and small have begun to recognize the untapped potential [...]

In today’s globally competitive world, operating efficiency is the primary focus of the corporate cost-minimization/profit-maximization equation. Many manufactured goods are becoming commodities as new substitutes emerge. Further, increases in speed and reliability in transportation, domestically and especially globally, allow for freer geographic distribution of manufacturing and warehouse facilities. Since the Industrial Revolution, supply chain management [...]

Effective management of the supply chain over the last decade has helped several leading corporations gain market share, reduce costs and deliver more value to their shareholders. However, the aviation and defense industry has lagged its peers in adopting supply chain management practices. If one digs deeper, they will find several reasons that have driven [...]

Aviall, Inc. (NYSE:AVL) is a leading provider of aftermarket supply chain management services for the aviation and defense industries. As the world’s largest independent provider of aviation parts, the Aviall Services business unit markets and distributes products for over 220 manufacturers and offers approximately 660,000 catalog items from 37 customer service centers located in North [...]