DC Velocity - December 2015

If the past several years have taught us anything, it’s that

international supply chains can thrive; even amid extremely volatile market conditions at home and abroad.

Getting from point A to point B, however, isn’t always a straight line. And in more cases than not, it’s the proactive importers and exporters that will succeed as others stumble.

PLAN BEYOND THE HORIZON

In a moment’s notice, there is only so much that shippers and their service providers actually have control over. That’s why it’s important to always be thinking ahead and to ensure that you have backup plans.

Many shippers learned this the
hard way when containers
began to stack up at West
Coast ports during the labor
crisis this year. The disruptions
to supply chains that resulted
forced many shippers to either
turn to more costly expedited
services, try out previously
untested circuitous routes, or to
wait out the delays.

Additionally, the growing number of mega-ships poses new logistical challenges. And with the expansion of the Panama Canal, ports on both coasts are finding themselves having to quickly scale their infrastructure in order to handle these larger vessels and the growing volume of containers they can carry.

Throw in the increasing labor and manufacturing costs of traditional Asian economies and the impact of new trade agreements between nations, today’s efficient supply chain may not resemble that of next year.

IS YOUR IMPORT/EXPORT
STRATEGY DIVERSIFIED?

With all of the different factors that are helping to change the landscape of international trade,

supply chains are becoming more diversified.

Shippers, for instance, are sending more cargo through ports on the East and Gulf Coasts than ever before. While a multi-port plan or switching coasts altogether can prove to be beneficial, these changes may result in shippers having

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Charlie McGee
VP, International Solutions

to reorganize their distribution models. This can involve new intermodal services, longer haul regional drayage, and even setting up a network of pool distribution points to serve various markets.

STREAMLINE YOUR COURSE

One way to improve the efficiency of your international supply and minimize the complexity is to narrow down the number of parties involved.

By utilizing logistics partners that can leverage their own capabilities, infrastructure and technology—rather than depending on countless third parties—supply chains will have better oversight and visibility.