Business Facilities - December 2008 - (Page D1) LOCATIONS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY Supply Chain Priorities By Donna Clapp When it comes to choosing a new location for your next distribution center, creating a strategic distribution network plan is a first priority to address today’s logistics challenges. T he world economy is uncertain, fuel costs have been riding the same roller coaster as the stock markets, and customers, when they are buying, are demanding shorter delivery times and reduced inventories. In the United States, approximately 60% of all energy consumption is used for transportation, according to Tompkins Associates, a leading provider of supply chain consulting. Although these expenses tend to be buried in the overall cost of transportation, any significant shift in the price of energy has an impact on the costs of transportation and, in turn, on distribution. Therefore, to minimize total distribution cost, it is important to find the best balance of these costs by prioritizing what’s most important in your supply chain. “The best approach to pinpoint your supply chain priorities is to start with a comprehensive assessment of your supply chain to find out exactly where you are,” says John Spain, senior partner at Tompkins. “Then, by benchmarking your supply chain against others, you can find the gaps in performance and identify areas that need improvement.” This is the first step to creating a strategic distribution network plan. According to a Tompkins report entitled “Designing a Distribution Network to Address Today’s Challenges,” the objective of strategic distribution network planning is to determine a plan that indicates the most economical way to ship and receive products while maintaining or increasing customer service requirements, or simply put, to maximize profits and optimize service. Strategic distribution network planning typically answers the following: A S P E C I A L A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N O F B U S I N E S S FA C I L I T I E S A N D S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T D-1 PHOTO CREDITS: STOCK IMAGES SUPPLIED BY BATON ROUGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - December 2008 Business Facilities - December 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: North Carolina Gold Award: New Engine for Growth in Virginia Silver Award: Tennessee Gets the Big Prize Bronze Award: Enrichment in Idaho Falls Honorable Mentions International Reach From America's Heartland Supply Chain Priorities Metro Spotlight: Greenville/ Spartanburg, SC The Magnolia State Has It All A Real Estate Mega-Merger State of the Year Ask the Expert Advertiser Index Business Facilities - December 2008 Business Facilities - December 2008 - Business Facilities - December 2008 (Page Cover1) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Business Facilities - December 2008 (Page Cover2) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Business Facilities - December 2008 (Page 1) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Contents (Page 2) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Business Facilities - December 2008 - First Word (Page 6) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Snapshots (Page 7) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Corporate Moves: North Carolina (Page 8) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Corporate Moves: North Carolina (Page 9) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Gold Award: New Engine for Growth in Virginia (Page 10) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Gold Award: New Engine for Growth in Virginia (Page 11) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Gold Award: New Engine for Growth in Virginia (Page 12) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Silver Award: Tennessee Gets the Big Prize (Page 13) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Bronze Award: Enrichment in Idaho Falls (Page 14) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Honorable Mentions (Page 15) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Honorable Mentions (Page 16) Business Facilities - December 2008 - International Reach From America's Heartland (Page 17) Business Facilities - December 2008 - International Reach From America's Heartland (Page 18) Business Facilities - December 2008 - International Reach From America's Heartland (Page 19) Business Facilities - December 2008 - International Reach From America's Heartland (Page 20) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D1) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D2) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D3) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D4) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D5) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D6) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D7) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D8) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D9) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D10) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D11) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D12) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D13) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D14) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D15) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Supply Chain Priorities (Page D16) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Metro Spotlight: Greenville/ Spartanburg, SC (Page 37) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Metro Spotlight: Greenville/ Spartanburg, SC (Page 38) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Metro Spotlight: Greenville/ Spartanburg, SC (Page 39) Business Facilities - December 2008 - The Magnolia State Has It All (Page 40) Business Facilities - December 2008 - The Magnolia State Has It All (Page 41) Business Facilities - December 2008 - The Magnolia State Has It All (Page 42) Business Facilities - December 2008 - The Magnolia State Has It All (Page 43) Business Facilities - December 2008 - A Real Estate Mega-Merger (Page 44) Business Facilities - December 2008 - A Real Estate Mega-Merger (Page 45) Business Facilities - December 2008 - A Real Estate Mega-Merger (Page 46) Business Facilities - December 2008 - A Real Estate Mega-Merger (Page 47) Business Facilities - December 2008 - A Real Estate Mega-Merger (Page 48) Business Facilities - December 2008 - State of the Year (Page 49) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Ask the Expert (Page 50) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Ask the Expert (Page 51) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Ask the Expert (Page 52) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Ask the Expert (Page 53) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Ask the Expert (Page 54) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Advertiser Index (Page 55) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Advertiser Index (Page 56) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Advertiser Index (Page Cover3) Business Facilities - December 2008 - Advertiser Index (Page Cover4)
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