Category Archives: Strategy

On the edge of large urban centers, that is.  And that is what Chicago, Will County, and Joliet have in abundance.  It’s one reason why the area is becoming economically attractive to firms who must distribute quickly to large urban area populations, such as e-tailers and manufacturing suppliers.  Add to it the ability to serve a large population inside the ‘truck’ radius of say 400 mi, and you have a hot spot for intermodal supply chain builders to locate here.  Just one of the opportunities research and study in Joliet brings.

Warehouses on the edge offer opportunities – Supply Chain Digital.

You might not have seen this thought piece from Chris Caplice of MIT.  It seems we are betting big money on the import-from-china model, but there are some serious trends that will change things.

Decentralization of production will be good for the Chicago area, where there is already a capable manufacturing workforce. It may make sense to set up here in existing facilities than to build giant factories here. It might even be cheaper than the South.

Making products denser through design means they are cheaper to ship, and makes big factories built for economies of scale but requiring long distance hauls to some markets less practical.  Digitization of products— the shift away from physical product to knowledge based products supports this trend. It makes designs easier to distribute; and it makes products customizable, updatable, and configurable so that you do not need to throw away the hardware.

And now that online buying has taken off, retailers are combining their distribution for all channels, including online and walk in, so that inventory is being pushed closer to the customer.

4 Trends That Could Redefine Distribution in the US | Supply Chain @ MIT.