@Risk

Container manufacturers aren’t the only ones ill-equipped to meet a significant upturn in demand.

New research from PRTM suggests that global corporations, in general, face significant hurdles with their supply chains now that the economy is starting to rebound.

PRTM’s Global Supply Chain Trends 2010–2012 Survey—the largest annual survey of global supply chains ever conducted by the firm –polled nearly 350 senior management execs from Europe, the Americas and Asia. The study found that even though these execs are optimistic about the future, most are concerned that their global operations won’t be able to keep pace with new demand.

For example: (more…)

We’ve all dealt with traffic tie-ups in our personal lives –unfortunately, that’s particularly true for those of us who live here, in California!  But, have you ever considered how much traffic congestion may be affecting the operational costs, supply chain efficiency and overall productivity of your company?

The Associated General Contractors of America polled nearly 1,200 construction firms in late April and May to take a close look at that question, and the data uncovered may surprise you.

For example, the survey found that: (more…)

Most shippers (53 percent) still use a manual process to determine licensing requirements for exports and destination country import regulations, according to a new survey from Kewill.

That’s somewhat surprising, considering that Kewill’s research also found that:

• almost all shippers (95 percent) use two or more carriers, and

• the largest shippers are more likely to use five or more carriers (28 percent vs. 9 percent for small shippers).

Isn’t it time to improve automation and integration of this fundamental business practice? Management of global trade in today’s competitive and complex business environment demands no less. After all, by updating these processes, shippers can cut costs, improve workflows, decreases errors –and mitigate the risks associated with compliance, invoice discrepancies and damaged customer relationships.

Think about it for a minute: How confident are you about the documentation your shippers prepare? Could your supply chain be interrupted by these types of processing errors?

Kewill’s fourth annual benchmarking survey, titled 2010 Best Practices Survey for Parcel Shipping and Global Trade Management, also found that:

• 96 percent of those surveyed have made changes to their business in response to the recent economic slowdown. These changes include headcount reductions, use of lower cost shipping options, and changes to the carrier mix.

• Employees are now spending considerable time and effort processing import and export documents and have reported a measurable level of errors that cause delays and rework.

• The majority of companies (59 percent) report that it takes more than 10 minutes, on average, to produce and distribute export documentation.

• 60 percent of those surveyed said that they are using lower cost shipping options. One-third changed the carrier mix to include regional carriers and/or consolidation.

The findings of the survey are detailed in a white paper available at www.kewill.com/Benchmark2010.

For the third year in a row, Apple took first place in the Supply Chain Top 25, a ranking initiative conducted by AMR Research, a Gartner, Inc. company.

AMR Research has released a Supply Chain Top 25 report annually for the past six years, and this is the first time a company has been ranked No. 1 for three consecutive years. Analysts attribute Apple’s success to its ability to consistently bring both operational excellence and innovation excellence to bear in some of the most competitive markets in the world. According to AMR Research, Apple has broken new ground in transforming a supply chain into a value chain by starting with the consumer experience and designing its network to serve that master first and foremost.

The Supply Chain Top 25 also includes other notable achievements. For example:

• Second-placed Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the only company to have been in AMR’s Supply Chain Top 25 for six years running.

• Cisco Systems has climbed steadily in AMR’s rankings for five straight years, moving up two slots to No. 3 this year.

• Five companies — Research In Motion (RIM), Amazon.com, McDonald’s, Microsoft and Inditex — joined the Top 25 for the first time in 2010.

“Twenty years ago, a typical product company had supply chain reporting to manufacturing, with responsibility mainly for inbound materials management and outbound shipping,” says Debra Hofman, research vice president at AMR Research. “New data shows that supply chain reports to manufacturing in only 6 percent of companies surveyed, while 61 percent have the head of supply chain reporting directly to the CEO, general manager or president of the business. It seems clear that supply chain has grown up and the business has taken notice.”

Here is the complete list of the Supply Chain Top 25: (more…)

The Canadian federal government has launched a new air cargo security screening program for shippers and forwarders.

The $95.7-million program, which will be phased in over five years, involves new technology, more inspectors and additional training, and under the new initiative, the Canadian government will increase the scope of mandatory screening at various points in the supply chain –for example, by making the higher-risk classes and the sources of air cargo a priority.

Like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) here in the U.S., this new program will create additional screening capacity upstream in the supply chain, so that security can be improved, but screening bottlenecks at airports can be avoided.

During his announcement of the new measures, Canada’s Transport Minister John Baird pointed out that 75 percent of commercial cargo travels in planes that also transport passengers.

“We must remember that terrorism is not just something that happens somewhere else to someone else,” he said.

According to a press release, the program aims to achieve four important goals: (more…)