World Trade - January 2009 - (Page 28)

SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION transportation management terns in food and retail distrisystem (TMS) to make the bution networks,” McKenna Tom McKenna, Senior Vice President for reconﬁguration under the new, explained. Logistics Engineering and Technology at cross-dock system—what goes Often companies, particuPenske Logistics, offered the following through the cross-dock and larly those that go through breakout of tools Penske, and many 4PLs, what goes direct—on a daily mergers and acquisitions, are use to design, plan, measure, execute and basis,” he explained. left with fragmented supply control logistics activities, along with WebTheir SaaS-based techchains, said Covert. One based visibility tools to track inventory nology, which Transplace UPS customer was left with moving through customer supply chains: manages, includes business redundant operations after a • Design tools include supply chain network intelligence and optimization buyout. UPS Global Solutions modeling, transportation modeling, route services. According to Harding, deployed network optimization planning and optimization, distribution it provides planning and design software to help “deﬁne a more center design/layout, etc. solutions that can be utilized optimal network and (deter• Planning tools include route planning for executing a wide number mine) what their supply chain and optimization, resource scheduling, of logistics functions, including should look like.” A “decision labor standards, etc. cross-dock and routing designs matrix” was created to help • Execution tools include order manageand strategic carrier assignthe customer determine “how ment systems, transportation and ﬂeet ments, and others, that allows to ship products to meet varimanagement systems, warehouse mancustomers to “adapt quickly to ous service levels and where to agement systems, supply chain event and a new environment.” position them,” said Covert. inventory visibility tools, etc. LeanLogistics, Inc. in HolUPS commonly uses tac• Measurement and control tools include land, Michigan, conducts a lot tical execution software to business intelligence and data wareof benchmarking work for cusaddress issues like selecting the houses, dashboards, data/statistical anatomers in areas such as pickup best inventory locations to ﬁll lytics, etc. and delivery performance and orders or to determine which transportation rate comparitransportation mode is most son, according to Tim Hinson, appropriate. Advanced anavice president of operations. lytic tools are used for planning Through their “on-demand TMS,” which is available via whatever a customer needs, with a focus on dynamic not an Internet-based platform, LeanLogistics has access to static approaches, says Covert. accumulative customer data that include ﬁve million moves Jeff Jones, applications manager in the UPS Shared IT a year and a transportation spend of over $4 billion. Services group, says route network optimization is another Hinson cited the example of a customer who wanted common area of customer concern, particularly with ﬂuc99 percent “on-time service.” After conducting a study to tuating fuel costs. “We’ll take all of their transportation determine their current performance they assessed the cus- data and come up with a model speciﬁc to that customer, tomer’s transportation rates, measuring “the delta between indicating what lanes and routes are affected and setting up what this customer was spending versus their level of ser- a proposed network complete with diagrams, maps and vice,” then comparing that data against a customer with costs. We’ll generate one or more transportation models to higher service levels and their spending. ﬁgure out at the end of the day what’s the most effective. So “We were able to provide them with quantitative exam- they may source closer to the end consumer, for example,” ples of what we believe it would take to increase a couple he explained. percentage points, how you would need to change your Ultimately, McKenna points out, it’s how 4PLs apply the operation and the potential incremental costs associated information they generate, store, report and analyze with the with improving that level of service,” he said. assistance of technology tools that counts. “It’s this inforTom McKenna, senior vice president for Logistics Engi- mation and the knowledge and expertise of our associates, neering and Technology, based in Penske Logistics’ Cleve- in collaboration with our customers and other business, land, Ohio Technology and Engineering Center, says his and their inherent knowledge and expertise, that Penske team works a lot with design tools, sometimes engaging in customers have come to rely on to continuously improve, what he calls “blue-sky studies to identify larger opportuni- adjust and ﬁne-tune their supply chains,” he said. ties that may be more difﬁcult to implement without proAs for the future, Bentz believes that Web-based technolcess and system changes.” ogy, which is getting better “at an increasingly rapid pace,” For example, a recent study for a customer, which was is going to rule. The Web, he said, “has really changed the ultimately approved and implemented, looked at “segment- way we do business, particularly in freight forwarding by ing the fast-moving and slow-moving products into sepa- providing global outreach almost instantly.” WT rate ﬂows and warehouses within the network, resulting in working capital savings over and above the logistics costs.” Massachusetts-based Contributing Editor Amy Zuckerman specializes in Penske provides “both static route planning and opti- technology. mization for more stable networks supporting automotive For reprints of this article, please contact Cindy Williams OEM material ﬂows into assembly plants, for example, as at williamsc@bnpmedia.com or 610-436-4220 ext. 8516. well as dynamic routing for more variable demand pat28 WORLD TRADE JANUARY 2009 A Breakout of Major 4PL Technology Tools

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - January 2009

World Trade - January 2009 Contents Supply Chain Finance Conference: The Right Stuff at the Right Time! Is the Dollar's 'Exorbitant Privelege' as the Global Standard at Risk? Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds The Rise of the 4PL An Evolving Tech Backbone Makes 4PL Service More Effective The Changing Landscape of U.S. Railroads Intermodal Grows Up Port of Hamburg Grows as Distribution Point to Eastern Europe Outsourcing Without Fear Measuring the Carbon Footprint

World Trade - January 2009

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