inbound
first line of defense
logistics education gets
a boost in Panama
It may be a small country, but Panama
has big dreams. With its canal expansion slated for completion in 2014 and
U.S.-Latin American trade on the rise,
Panama—situated midway between
North and South America—is looking
to transform itself into the main trade
and logistics hub for the region.
The Georgia Institute of
Technology’s Supply Chain & Logistics
Institute (SCL) hopes to facilitate
According to SCL, the center will establish formal degree programs and executive education in logistics; develop databases and models to support trade analytics; and develop innovations that will lead to new logistics services and jobs.
The first educational program, launched in November, is third-party logistics
specialist LeanCor’s Lean Supply Chain Professional Certificate program.
Dr. Dario Solis, former director of research and professor of mechanical and
electrical engineering at Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, is the center’s
managing director.
For more information, visit www.panama.gatech.edu. ;
sixty-five miles, two hours, and 100 years of history
On Nov. 7, 1910, Phil Parmelee took off in a Wright Brothers-built biplane from
Dayton, Ohio, carrying bolts of silk cloth. After flying 65 miles, he landed in
Columbus, Ohio, and delivered the shipment to The Home Store, owned by
merchant Max Morehouse. Thus concluded the inaugural air-cargo flight—the
first in the world, according to the Columbus Regional Airport Authority.
In early October, Mitchell Cary and Richard Stepler re-enacted Parmelee’s
flight in a replica Wright “B” Flyer. They took off from Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base outside of Dayton and stopped at Madison County Airport before
landing at Columbus’s Rickenbacker International Airport. Total transit time,
including the stop, was two hours.
Like its predecessor, the October flight also carried cargo. Instead of bolts of
silk, however, the open-cockpit aircraft delivered ceramic composite cloth and
three concept micro-unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The shipper of this unusual load was the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson. The consignees were Wright brothers descendants Amanda Wright Lane and Steve
Wright, and Parmelee family members Lecia Lamphere and Philip McKeachie. ;
After reading about this incident, we promise we’ll never
complain about security checks
again.
On Nov. 6, employees of First
Global Xpress (FGX), a direct-shipping service based in New
York City, became suspicious of
a Los Angeles-bound air shipment that included a decrepit
overstuffed suitcase. When they
pulled the luggage out for further investigation, the handle
broke off, revealing bullets
inside. FGX’s operations management team immediately
summoned company CEO
Justin Brown and activated the
company’s security plan, evacuating the premises and locking down the perimeter until
local and federal authorities
arrived.
Authorities eventually discovered a large quantity of
weapons in the shipment,
including loaded AK- 47 assault,
. 30 caliber, and British military
rifles; a shotgun; 96 knives;
knuckle rings; fireworks; and
nearly 3,000 rounds of various
types of ammunition.
Brown credited his staff’s
commitment to safety and their
training on Transportation
Security Administration and
Federal Aviation Administration standards with preventing
a catastrophe.
According to reports in New
York news media, the owner of
the weapons is Jonathan Shaw,
57, a tattoo artist who counts a
number of celebrities among
his clients. Shaw, who was
arrested and reportedly faces
118 weapons and ammunition
charges, was moving from New
York to the West Coast. ;
