You ought to be in pictures …

Logistics is made for the movies—after all, it is a business built around motion. The Danish transportation and logistics giant A.P. Møller-Maersk Group clearly subscribes to that idea, as evidenced by its recent launch of a series of short films showcasing the capabilities of its divisions, including Damco and Maersk Line.

The “We are Maersk” videos feature the requisite employees talking about devotion to the customer and executives extolling the company’s business philosophy. But the films are more than just moving versions of corporate brochures. They include interesting and often artistic vignettes of activities like the voyage of citrus fruits from remote areas of South America to cocktail bars in Europe and the construction of a new ocean container.

The beautifully shot and edited films are themselves a product of complex global logistics:

▪ Time spent: three film crews shot for three months on five continents

▪ Modes of transportation: Bicycle, car, truck, train, bus, container ships, supply vessel, fishing boat, dinghy, pilot boat, tanker, tractor, subway, and airplane

▪ Hours spent offshore: 2,448

▪ Helicopter flights: 96 hours above New York, Brazil, South Africa, Rotterdam, and the North Sea

▪ Countries filmed: Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Kazakhstan, Liberia, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam

▪ Cities featured: About 40, including Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway

To watch the films, go to www.wearemaersk. com, choose the screen mode, “Continue to the site,” and then “View all stories.” ;

inbound

NASSTRAC conference offers
roadmap for an uncertain world

Whether you’re a buyer or a provider of transportation services, your world is an uncertain one. Economic volatility, changing regulations, and capacity constraints are challenging even the most experienced managers. To get an idea of what’s happening and how others are dealing with those issues, head on down to Orlando, Fla., for NASSTRAC’s 2012 Logistics Conference and Expo, April 29 to May 2.

Topics on the agenda include a view from Wall Street of the economy and its impact on freight transportation; an update on legal, regulatory, and legislative decisions affecting transportation and supply chain operations; and emerging trends and technologies. In addition, executives from Dell and Stein Mart will speak about their companies’ supply chain transformations.

The invited keynote speaker is Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. And the popular motor carrier CEO panel returns for a high-level discussion of the biggest challenges facing the trucking industry. Panelists include Derek Leathers, president and COO of Werner Enterprises; Bill Logue, president and CEO, FedEx Freight; Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight; Roy Slagle, president and CEO of ABF Freight System; John White, president of U.S. Xpress; and Rob Estes, president and CEO, Estes Express.

For more information, go to www.nasstrac.org/conference. ;

Trade shows are designed to be venues for companies to show off their wares to potential buyers. But they can also offer great educational opportunities for students. That’s why the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and its Material Handling Education Foundation Inc. (MHEFI) recently established the Allan Howie Fund.

The fund will provide grants to students from educational institutions supported by MHIA’s Technical Career Education Program. The grants will pay travel expenses for selected students and teachers to attend MHIA’s ProMat and Modex trade events. To get the fundraising ball rolling, MHIA has contributed $6,700 raised from admission fees from the group’s Industry Night at Modex 2012 in Atlanta. Over 1,400 industry professionals attended the networking event.

MHEFI established the fund to honor Allan Howie, who recently retired as MHIA’s director of continuing education and professional development. During his 30-year career, Howie has worked with public schools, community colleges, government agencies, and charitable institutions to educate individuals seeking to get into the warehousing, distribution, supply chain, and logistics industry at the entry level. Ray Niemeyer has been appointed to succeed Howie at MHIA. ;