Supply Chain by the Numbers: August 23, 2007

Supply Chain by the Numbers

-August 23, 2007

The Numbers Worth Knowing this Week in Supply Chain and Logistics

This Week: The British Are Coming (And They're Bringing Food); Drug Stores Are Big with Consumers; Tons of Movement at the Port of Savannah; Voice-Directed Picking Leads to Improvement in Order Picking Productivity



500
The number of grocery stores some analysts say the UK’s Tesco chain could have running in the U.S. market by 2010. See In the Face of Tesco Invasion, Wal-Mart to Launch Smaller Store Formats).

5.6%

The percentage of consumer packaged goods now sold in the US through the drug store channel (CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, etc.). The drug store share of CPG sales is growing faster than any other, according to a recent report from IRI (see Drug Stores Are Winning Over Shoppers for the full report), and has an even larger market share among “heavy” (frequent) shoppers.


106,000
The approximate amount of TEU’s (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) expected to move through the port of Savannah in the peak import month of October, up from 90,000 TEUs in 2006, making Savannah the fastest growing port in the U.S.




17%
The level of improvement in order picking productivity when moving to voice-directed picking from a pick-by-label approach with RF confirmation, as found in a study by professors Timothy Ludwig and Samuel Berger of Appalachian State University, based on an analysis of results at an auto parts DC.