August 31, 2005 by Splatty
Filed under Uncategorized
Does Bigger Mean Better???
Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies recently published an article regarding the emergence of the mid size 3PL . For years, one of the major selling points from many of the top 25 3PL’s has been their global coverage, global buying power and market dominance. This article makes an interesting point for the smaller 3PL, touting their ability to react quickly to customer demands, flexibility in providing solutions that are outside of their standard solution sets, and ability to specialize within a certain market sector. With the continued consolidation among the top logistics players it will be interesting to see how the 2nd tier 3PL’s evolve.
Transload Definition
August 30, 2005 by Splatty
Filed under Misc Logistics, Supply Chain Management
TransloadDefinition -
The process of transferring product from ocean containers into domestic intermodal, or over-the-road trailers; to enhance product delivery and strategic real-time allocations at a reduced overall cost
Transloading ocean containers to rail/truck has become quite popular on the West coast near the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Companies with multiple distribution centers located in various locations throughout the U.S. can potentially save a substantial amount of money by utilizing a 4 to 3 transload or “many to few” transload solution. This solution allows a transload company (many 3PL’s currently offer this service) to transload four inbound 40′ ocean containers into three 53′ outbound domestic trailers thus providing an overall cost benefit on the inland delivery portion of the movement. Other benefits of transloading include the following:
1. Greater flexibility in final disposition of product.
2. Overall reduction in the cost of transportation through improved equipment utilizations and reduced inter-DC transfers.
3. Greater flexibility, product flow control and visibility.
4. Enables merge-in-transit of international product from multiple countries.
August 28, 2005 by Splatty
Filed under Uncategorized
Fuel Surcharge Increase
A majority of the airlines have recently announced that the fuel surcharge will increase to $0.50 per kilo effective September 5th. 3PL’s pass the increased cost onto the shipper which means increased airfreight charges for international airfreight shipments.
August 26, 2005 by Splatty
Filed under Uncategorized
Your Dream Job???
When people find out what I do for a living the first question they inevitably ask is, “How did you get into that field?” It is my experience that the majority of the people I ask this question to generally stumbled into the industry. Although more schools are beginning to provide some type of degree or certification in logistics / supply chain managment, the majority of people I speak with did not study in this field. As for myself, I spent a significant amount of time in Asia and speak Chinese so working for a global company was a natural fit. I would be curious to know for those of you in the logistics field, “How did you get your start in logistics?”
