World Trade - February 2009 - (Page 30)

TRANSPORTATION “Optimize” is the UPS watchword, Vickers says. With that in mind, the company works to find the most efficient way to deliver packages. Sometimes that includes motorcycles and even bicycles, Barrett adds. In cities with tight parking or narrow streets—Florence or New York, for example—the package trucks are parked in a central location while the driver delivers small packages by bicycle. Technology To optimize return on investment, David Gulian, president and CEO of InfoLogix, reminds that implementing the right type of enterprise technology properly makes a difference. Automatically uploading the latest identiﬁcation and location information in real time can result in improved order accuracy and increase on-time delivery, he says. 62 miles per hour,” according to For example, remote asset manCole. That, coupled with other agement is credited with reducWeight savings Calculator: energy conservation measures, ing the number of trailers rented http://www.michelintruck.com/ resulted in a 7 percent improveby a trucking ﬂeet by 60 percent michelintruck/toolbox/ ment in miles per gallon when while increasing cargo capacity weightSavCalculator.jsp compared to 2003 ﬁgures. and, according to a recent Skybitz Last year, Kraft reduced miles report, the trailer to tractor ratio Fuel Savings Calculator: driven between manufacturing dropped by 15 percent over a four http://www.michelintruck.com/ and distribution facilities by year period. The reason, accordmichelintruck/toolbox/ more than nine percent by optiing to Skybitz CEO Homaira FuelSavcalculator.jsp mizing routing and its internal Akbari, PhD., is that companies network, consolidating distrinow know where their trailers bution and reducing multiple are, and whether they’re full or stops. Kraft also has pilot programs in place to test partially full. “Companies lose 30 to 60 minutes daily advanced engine oil filtration systems, cetane boost- searching for their trailers,” she says. ers and various types of tires. “We’re also experimentJust adding technology isn’t a solution, however. It ing with tractor side skirts and perforated mud flaps,” must fulﬁll a need. TransLogic Auto Carriers, for examCole adds. ple, had a system that tracked such metrics as whether UPS made headlines a few years ago with its “no left drivers were breaking hard and their average speed. It hand turns” policy for its 94,000 vehicle small package provided some worthwhile information, but, ultimately, ﬂeet. Barrett explains that the policy is just part of its “it didn’t work for us,” Parks says. efforts to optimize delivery routes. “Left hand turns are What did make a difference was working through tractormore dangerous and increase idling time at stop lights,” trailer owner/operators. “You don’t have the cost (of mainshe points out. taining a ﬂeet) and they care for the trucks better than do Reducing idling time is the goal of most commer- hired drivers. They are more concerned about damage-free cial ﬂeets. TransLogic Auto Carriers, for example, uses deliveries, too,” he says. Why? “They’re businessmen.” electric motors to operate the hydraulics needed to load cars, rather than letting its trucks idle, according Management decisions to Russ Parks, Vice President of Operations. UPS, like Before Xerox began working with a ﬂeet management many ﬁrms, staggers delivery times based upon ﬂow into ﬁrm, Rossi recalls, “We had about 35 people doing ﬂeet a facility. Night deliveries are increasingly common. That management at one time. With GE, we avoided that.” practice has helped UPS (which also delivers cars and The move to a ﬂeet management company also keeps trucks) deliver an additional 6,000 vehicles per month, the vehicles off the balance sheet. In terms of day-toaccording to Phil Vickers, director, UPS automotive day operations, GE deals with the drivers for issues like maintenance and repairs, and the Xerox ﬂeet manager industry solutions. 30 WORLD TRADE FEBRUARY 2009 http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/weightSavCalculator.jsp http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/weightSavCalculator.jsp http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/weightSavCalculator.jsp http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/FuelSavcalculator.jsp http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/FuelSavcalculator.jsp http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/FuelSavcalculator.jsp

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

World Trade - February 2009 Contents Taking Stock in America Confronting Corruption in Latin America Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Where's the Goods? Where's the Money? Hope on the Horizon Managing Fleets in Turbulent Times The Impact of China's Economic Slowdown on U.S. Supply Chains The Fuel Volatile Supply Chain Getting the Most from On-the-Fly Transactions Managing Supply Chain Risk by Managing China Sourcing Capacity OECD Global Economic Outlook for 2009 'Natural' Agricultural Monopolies No More

World Trade - February 2009

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