DC Velocity - December 2013

inbound

Though our staff is made up (mostly) of grizzled veterans, we still get a kick out of meeting logistics professionals and discovering interesting facts about the products they handle. Earlier this year, for example, one of our editors met a Kansas City-based 3PL who counts among his clients a European company that makes, among other things, the cheese coating for Cheez-It crackers and the sprinkles for Dunkin’ Donuts. At the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) annual conference in Denver, we broke bread with an executive of a film packaging company that makes, again among other things, the wrapping for each slice of Kraft American cheese and the film used to hold small boxes of packaged cereals together. There, also, we chatted with a lady from the iconic garbage disposal manufacturer InSinkErator (quick, name another one!), who said the company tests the quality and durability of blades by running 35 pounds of some exotic animal’s frozen bones through them.

A special post-CSCMP shout-out to Con-way Inc. for its ubiquitous cell phone charger stations and its handy screen wipes. We’d also like to thank the lovely Latvian-born shoeshine lady who may have worked harder and longer than any of the attendees. ;

You will meet
a tall, dark
logistician …

One of the highlights of the 12th Annual Northeast Cargo Symposium put on by the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) was a farewell speech by Geoff Giovanetti, who is retiring from his longtime gig as managing director of the Wine and Spirits Shippers Association (WSSA). Giovanetti’s jovial manner belies one of the sharpest minds in the business. He has a well-deserved reputation as a tough negotiator and, CONECT Counsel Peter Friedmann said, Giovanetti’s efforts to counter ocean carriers’ opposition to the concept of shippers associations is the main reason the buying co-ops were deemed legal and are thriving today. He was also a vocal and persistent advocate for shippers’ interests as Congress formulated the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998.

Giovanetti was one of two recipients of CONECT’s “Person of the Year” award (the other was U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Tom Winkowski). In his speech, he gave an entertaining account of his career in international trade and the important regulatory changes that have reshaped the ship-per-carrier relationship during that time. He left the stage after offering the follow-

▪ Develop professional friendships with knowledgeable people who have experience in your field.

▪ Always be open to learning new things. International trade is a constantly changing industry, and past experience will only get you so far.

▪ When it comes to service contracts with ocean carriers, everything is negotiable. But treat the boilerplate contract as “untouchable”; use addenda for documenting customized provisions or changes to the contract.

▪ Be respectful, and try to understand the carriers’ point of view. With luck, they will do the same for you.

Alison Leavitt, the head of Albatrans, WSSA’s freight forwarding arm, is the association’s new managing director. ;

Parting words of advice from “jovial Geoff”

A giant distribution center operated by Cardinal Health is the “star” of a new segment of Move It!, the series of “Web TV” shows produced by AGiLE TV Productions, a division of DC VELOCITY’S parent company. Move It!, now entering its third season, takes viewers behind the scenes at warehouses and DCs, logistics and transportation facilities, ports, manufacturing plants, and other segments of the supply chain.

Cardinal Health’s facility in Waukegan, Ill., is one of the largest medical supply warehouses in the world. Each day, four miles of conveyors and sophisticated software keep medical products moving at a healthy pace. From there, the products head to hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other medical facilities throughout the Midwest.