World Trade - October 2008 - (Page 23)

SUPPLY CHAIN SURVIVAL GUIDE I Werner’ Werner’s extensive ﬂeets and contracting assetcom based companies to develop the most cost effective supply chain. “You have to d design supply chains that utilize the most effective routings and transportation mode combinations to reduce miles traveled, optimize shipping container size and utilization, and reduce the amount of handling from source to ﬁnal destination,” explains Stoffel. “We are deﬁnitely seeing more collaborative efforts with our key customers,” says Zasimovich. “We are sharing plans, listening to objectives and identifying problems.” Yet while some areas of trade are contracting, still others are seeing unanticipated growth. The change in the value of the dollar has made American goods more affordable in foreign markets and some businesses are seeing increased demand overseas. As a result, these businesses are ﬁnding themselves shifting their focus from importing, where they typically had invested the bulk of their supply chain technology, finances, and talent. Now businesses that were primarily importers are struggling to bring their export supply chains up to the level of their import ones. “Increased exporting volumes have brought us into a consulting role with many of our customers who are ﬁrst time exporters,” says Stoffel. It’s an opportunity for logistics companies to provide their customers with another level of service. “Many of these ﬁrst-timers are entering these new markets in a fragmented way,” says Zasimovich. “They need to streamline and implement controls” to help identify problems more easily and make the export chain more predictable, a critical element in the supply chain where surprises usually cost money. The renewed focus on exports has led some 3PLs to venture into forwarding and to bolster their international freight services. Recently, C.H. Robinson made a signiﬁcant acquisition in Transera, a non-asset based global project freight forwarder. “Transera extends our global forwarding expertise,” explains Butts who says that the acquisition answered a growing area of customer demand for over- dimensional freight shipping. Having a strong presence in the in-country market can also help customers save money when venturing into a new global arena. APL, says Zasimovich, has a large global footprint that can serve customers in international locations, particularly China and India. Less developed emerging markets tend to have infrastructure, equipment and capacity issues. Where possible, APL addresses this by building their own infrastructure to gain more control and certainty, as they have done in India by securing a license to run trains from New Delhi to the port of Mumbai. In the international trade game, information is key with accurate, real time data saving both time and money. “To maximize efﬁciency, a business must be exercising all options and to do that they need total visibility and systems need to be ﬂuid and dynamic,” explains Butts. Processes are becoming web-based, improving visibility and predictability for all the supply chain partners. This is particularly important when dealing with multiple partners stretching around the globe. Exception management is also an important element of technology systems and can result in signiﬁcant cost sav- Success for Sergeant’s Pet Care Omaha-based Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc. has been a leading supplier of pet supplies since 1868. While the company has been around a long time, it is constantly evolving and growing into new products and new markets, something that has been particularly challenging this year. Mitigating the costs of overseas shipments has been an important element of Sergeant’s cost saving efforts. “With the changing economics for many of our products, we have to continuously look for the most effective supplier who can provide more value for our shipping dollar,” says Nick Gubser, vice president, operations & purchasing, Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc. Gubser says that Werner has helped them analyze shipments, and through the Werner network they have been able to consolidate goods coming from multiple vendors, thus reducing overall freight costs. When times are tough, companies have to be ﬂexible and open to new ideas. Gubser says that Werner has been willing to adapt to Sergeant’s changing needs. “Werner has the ability to provide a completely seamless solution regardless of our needs. If we have Nick Gubser, vice president, operations & purchasing, Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc. situations that require expedited services or unusual handling, they have been able to design efficient and cost effective solutions to meet our needs,” says Gubser. Sergeant’s relies particularly on Werner’s presence in China. “The fact that they have a support system in China allows us to get real time information and quickly develop alternatives that might otherwise take longer and ultimately delay shipments,” says Gubser. And as any shipper knows, a delayed shipment costs money. ings for shippers. Good exception management programs collect data and notify shippers as soon as an expected milestone is not met. This level of monitoring allows them to discover problems early on in the transportation cycle and to come up with alternatives, or perhaps even reroute freight. While models can identify and analyze costs, systems that run scenarios will allow business to see how their decisions are likely play out in reality. These types of exercises are becoming commonplace as companies are weighing the beneﬁts of suppliers in various locations around the globe versus transportation costs and the risk of delays in shipping from remote locations. Although there are deﬁnite signs that the economy has faltered, C.H. Robinson’s Butts is relatively upbeat, saying the businesses are used to working in a challenging environment. “It’s a competitive world and times seem to always be getting tougher,” says Butts, “there is a constant demand for improvement and little room for error.” Challenging economic times just bring this into sharper focus. WT Contributing Editor Andrea MacDonald has recently re-located to Savannah, Georgia. WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc. 23 http://WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - October 2008

World Trade - October 2008 Contents Tune Up Your Supply Chain Globalization: The Real Competitive Threat Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Shippers and Providers Collaborate to Take on a Challenging Economy Tweaking the Supply Chain to Optimize Value and Minimize Cost Supply Chain Software Morphs Into Enterprise Management Can Warehousing Really, Truly Be Strategic? Everybody is Global Between the Devil and the Deep The Hidden Costs of ‘Free’ Translation Blowing Smoke

World Trade - October 2008

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