Liners Refuse to Yield
The Numbers Say Stay Away. The Ships Say Otherwise. July 28, 2026. A 16,592 TEU container vessel named Ane Maersk enters the Red Sea from the Mediterranean. It calls at Jeddah. Then, instead of retreating…
Supplier Data Is AI Infrastructure
Last month, a supply chain team in Rotterdam watched an AI procurement agent place a $340,000 order for aluminium extrusions. The price was right. The lead time looked fine. The supplier scorecard glowed green. There…
The Battery Bust: What Varta’s Collapse Means for Europe’s Energy Supply Chain
If you have ever changed the battery in a child’s toy, a TV remote, or a hearing aid in Europe, there is a strong chance you were holding a Varta. In 2022 alone, the company…
Red Sea, Canal Droughts, and Sanctions: The Triple Squeeze on Global Shipping
In early July, a senior logistics manager at a Rotterdam-based freight forwarder opened her morning dashboard and found three red alerts. A Saudi tanker had been struck by a Houthi drone in the Red Sea….
Amazon Is Coming for Your Parcel
Amazon Is Coming for Your Parcel: Why FedEx and UPS Should Be Worried: Amazon is aggressively expanding its own delivery network to absorb the parcel volumes FedEx and UPS are shedding at a moment when fuel surcharges are hammering shippers.
The Multifront Storm
When a Canadian logistics director wakes up to find that 25 percent of his trucking fleet is suddenly stuck at the Ambassador Bridge because of a retaliatory tariff hold, he does not have time to…
When Green Goals Collide With Reality
When the world’s largest meat processor announced its 2040 net zero target three years ago, the food industry applauded. Finally, a heavyweight was stepping up. But in June 2026, JBS quietly withdrew that commitment, citing…
What Tibet Taught Me About Supply Chain Metrics
In Tibet, distances were traditionally measured not in miles or kilometres, but in cups of tea. A journey between two villages was not “17 kilometres.” It was “three cups of tea” , meaning the number…
You Wanted Supplier Diversity. Now You Have Supplier Proliferation.
In 2021, a European automotive manufacturer decided it had too many eggs in one basket. Its braking system for three flagship models came from a single supplier in the Czech Republic. When that plant shut…