DC Velocity - December 2013

newsworthy

Virginia Albanese, president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, talked about how to speed up service in expedited shipping and keep up with ever-changing demand, at an event hosted by The Traffic Club of Chicago. … Yusen Logistics has expanded its trans-Atlantic airfreight service with regular departures from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, and Paris. … Mezzanine company Cubic Designs has been acquired by Mi Tek Industries, a Berkshire Hathaway company.

… UPS has launched its route optimization software known as ORION, which stands for On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation. … Supply chain commerce solutions provider Manhattan Associates Inc., in collaboration with Logistica de Mexico, hosted Manhattan Exchange Mexico 2013 in October in Mexico City. … Intelligrated, a North America-based automated material handling solutions provider, is expanding its southern operation in Alpharetta, Ga. … Kristi Montgomery, vice president of IT at Kenco, spoke about business contingency planning at the Technology & Operations Solutions for Warehousing Conference in Chicago. … Since it

became an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) company in 2008, storage systems manufacturer Hannibal Industries’ share value has increased by 124 percent. … InfinityQS International Inc. has released ProFicient 5. 1, the latest version of its manufacturing intelligence platform. … Knighted, a software subsidiary of material handling company Intelligrated, has relocated to a new, larger facility in Elmsford, N.Y. … All four of the super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes that arrived at the Port of Savannah in June are now fully operational at Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal. … Clark Material Handling Co. has released an app for any iOS or Android device that provides information on Clark products and services. … Caro Trans, a global NVOCC ( nonvessel-operat-ing common carrier) and ocean-freight consolidator, has added a direct, all-water less-than-containerload service from New York to St. Petersburg, Russia, and an expedited less-than-containerload import service from China. … Logistics service provider GAC Shipping USA has strengthened its ship agency services in the United States by opening a new office in Galliano, La. … Michigan-based Container and Pooling Solutions (CAPS) is rebranding its intermediate bulk container management business as CHEP Pallecon Solutions.

short takes

YUSEN LOGISTICS

If you look at Christmas shopping as a business project, one thing in particular is certain: There is a hard deadline. If the goods aren’t in hand by the end of business on Dec. 24, you can mark it as a failure.

For the last couple of decades, retailers have worked hard to hone their supply chain operations to ensure their customers can meet that deadline. But a new study by Capgemini reveals what most observers already understand: Many retailers still struggle to meet peak time demands, and that means lost sales both today and in the future.

According to the survey by Capgemini, a major provider of consulting, technology, and outsourcing services, 83 percent of U.S. supply chain managers admit it is challenging to plan supply chain capacity to address peak requirements or fluctuations in demand. A mere 21 percent of the managers surveyed say their systems do an excellent job of providing them with accurate real-time insights into supply chain performance.

The “Supply Chain Impact” study was based on the
results of an online survey of 1,000 consumers and 150 sen-
ior supply chain managers at retail, consumer products, and
distribution companies with at least $1 billion in revenue.
The survey, conducted for Capgemini by KRC Research,
revealed:

▪ 89 percent of U.S. consumers say they are likely to shop with another retailer in the future if an item is delivered late;

▪ 73 percent would purchase from a different store than originally intended if they were unable to find an item they wanted in stock, and 29 percent would decide not to purchase the item at all; and

▪ 54 percent of the supply chain managers admit supply chain issues have had a negative impact on their company’s revenue or profitability over the past few years.

The challenges to running a seamless supply chain identified by the managers will come as no surprise. About 86 percent of respondents said one of their main challenges was having the right processes in place to respond to volatile demand flows. Most cited the difficulty of finding and retaining employees with appropriate analytical skills or functional knowledge. ;