Mother Nature fools with supply chains
Experiencing a supply chain disruption? More than likely, Mother
Nature—in the form of weather events like tornadoes, floods, and
windstorms—is to blame.
A recent survey by the insurer Zurich
Financial Services Group and the U.K.-based
Business Continuity Institute looked at the
causes and consequences of supply chain disruption. Topping the list of causes was bad
weather, with 51 percent of survey respondents
reporting that they had experienced weather-related disruption in the past 12 months.
Unplanned telecommunications and information technology outages were the second
most-common reason for a disruption, cited by 41 percent of survey
takers. Tied for third, with 21 percent, were transport-network disruptions and an earthquake and/or tsunami.
The consequences of a supply chain disruption can be severe, the
survey results suggested. Forty-nine percent of respondents said it can
lead to lost productivity, and 38 percent said it could increase operating costs. One-third said that it could result in a loss of revenue.
Just how costly can supply chain disruptions be? Seventeen percent
of the respondents said the financial costs of the largest single supply
chain incident they experienced in the past year amounted to $1.3
million or more.
The research, the Supply Chain Resilience 2011 Study, was conducted among more than 500 supply chain organizations in 62 countries.;
Logistics gets some “face time”
in Washington
It’s great to write a letter or make a phone call to your senator or representative about pending legislation or proposed regulations. But if you
really want to convey how government policy affects your business to the
people who make those policies, nothing beats a face-to-face meeting.
That’s why a number of logistics industry associations arrange for their
members to make group pilgrimages to Washington. If shippers, carriers,
and service providers personally describe their concerns to members of
Congress, government agency administrators, and other policymakers,
the associations say, decision makers will gain a clearer understanding of
the impact of the government’s actions on day-to-day operations.
Examples of logistics-focused groups that have organized meetings
in the nation’s capital include the Coalition of New England
Companies for Trade (CONECT); the Messenger Courier Association
of America; and the American Trucking Associations, the National
Industrial Transportation League, NASSTRAC, and the Retail
Industry Leaders Association, which jointly staged the “Stand Up for
Trucking” event on Feb. 1. ;
inbound
Lost inventory?
What a nightmare!
Every warehouse operator, stockroom
manager, or transportation company can
tell a tale or two about lost inventory or
missing assets. Sometimes, the consequences are relatively minor. But in other
cases, they’re nothing less than dire, as
these real-life examples offered by Wasp
Barcode Technologies attest:
▪ The Case of the Missing Radioactive
Container. Back in 2010, FedEx was charged
with delivering three packages containing
radioactive rods used in computerized
tomography (CT) scans to a hospital. When
one of the packages went astray, FedEx initiated a nationwide search and alerted the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Fortunately, the package was recovered and
no one was exposed to radiation.
▪ The Case of the Vanishing Weapons. In
late 2010, tens of thousands of machine
guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers that were to be provided by the U.S.
military to the Afghan National Police went
missing. According to an article in Stars
and Stripes, a breakdown in communications and the Afghans’ own logistical shortcomings were to blame for the disappearance. Despite a search by coalition forces
and the Afghan police, the whereabouts of
the missing weapons remain unknown.
▪ The Case of the Forgotten Medical
Supply. Surgical items can blend into their
surroundings during medical procedures
and may be overlooked. The most common such mistake: accidentally leaving
surgical sponges inside a patient, which
can lead to serious infections or even
death. Without some method of tracking
the items, nobody knows they’re missing.
Bar-code technologies can help prevent
such asset-tracking nightmares, said Wasp’s
executives. Ultimately, they said, stories like
these serve as a reminder of the importance
of having a solid inventory control or asset
tracking system in place—whether you’re
tracking AK-47s in the field or surgical
supplies in the operating room. ;
