Vision - May/June 2008 - (Page 21)

Survey of U.S. Ports Container Trafﬁc (Winter Months) Shipping Isn’t the Only Thing Going Green For decades, plastic clamshell packaging has been a tough-to-open source of anxiety for many consumers who painfully try to pry their products out before they cave in and reach for the scissors. But is the plastic clamshell going the way of the Edsel and the VCR? Probably. The movement to go green and provide sustainable alternatives may be driving plastic clamshell packaging into the history books. “Finally, we’re seeing a move toward more environmental, sustainable packaging taking hold,” said Jeff Kellogg, vice president of Natralock security packaging at MeadWestvaco, a Richmond, Va., packaging company. “People are understanding it and taking it to heart, and that’s really been the thing that’s been pushing people to ﬁnally change.” MeadWestvaco jumped on the trend by introducing its Natralock product, which the company says provides retailers with similar security strengths whole manufacturing process is much more complex. There might be different components manufactured in different countries, so a lot of coordination is needed. You can get your inventory out of sync with shortages in one area that’s causing delays in another.” In January, UPS rolled out a menu of three freight services that give customers options depending on how quickly they need to move product and how important a guaranteed date of delivery is. The services range from door-to-door delivery on the high end, airport-to-airport in the mid-level service, and a three-to-five-day delivery on the lower rung. All three services guarantee delivery dates. “It’s trying to make sure they’re matching their spending to the service they need,” Covert says. Like Maersk, UPS also is upgrading its e-commerce capabilities, putting the new freight services on its website (www.ups. com) and on its UPS WorldShip system, which is installed with its customers. APL says it also offers customers flexibility through its guarantee of a delivery as its traditional, less sustainable plastic counterpart. The product is part tear-resistant paperboard with an unbreakable plastic bubble sealed into it. Natralock reduces plastic by as much as 80 percent compared with typical clamshell packaging, Kellogg says. In turn, the overall weight of the package is cut by as much as 60 percent. The new packaging uses the same sealing equipment as the old style packaging, yet cuts sealing time signiﬁcantly. Because heat from a piece of sealing equipment travels through the board faster than the old packaging, Kellogg adds, the reduction in sealing time cuts energy usage by 50 percent. The move to paperboard packaging products could provide an added bonus for marketers. “Because it’s a board product, it allows much better graphic capabilities,” Kellogg says. date. That may seem a tall order for ships on distant routes that span continents, but APL says it stands by the guarantee under its OceanGuaranteed service as long as customers can put up with longer lead times. The service aims to be more price competitive than air freight, APL’s Wang says. “If you can withstand a 14-day transit, and you don’t need it there in four days, you can use our service,” she says. “Day-definite services are going to become increasingly important because there is so much variability in the global supply chain. There are a lot of disruptions and congestion nowadays, whether it’s at the origin of services or the destination terminals. But these are treated as first priority.” While costs continue to escalate, shipping companies are doing their best to build in new value-added services and flexibility to maintain good customer relations. When choosing a shipping company, don’t just focus on the costs, but see what else the shipper can do for you to help you stay competitive in the quick-changing CE market. • May/June 2008 Month/Year January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 (Forecast) April 2008 (Forecast) Number of TEU* (in Millions) 1.29 1.29 1.27 1.28 1.24 1.18 1.27 1.35 *TEU = Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (Standard containers used on ships and trains) Source: National Retail Federation and Global Insight “Although they work via satellite, they have a back-up system which you can contact via cell phone in some places where you might not have a direct link with the satellite,” Pratt says. “You can still get some of the critical information regardless if it’s on a train, truck or sitting in a warehouse.” Staying Flexible APL’s Wang says her company also recognizes the need for speed. APL customers, she adds, can make itinerary changes even while a ship with cargo is en route to a destination. For example, a CE manufacturer that suddenly has a West Coast buyer for half of a container en route to New York, its original destination, does not first have to send that container all the way to New York to truck it back to the West Coast, Wang says. “We can stop the container at the gate port, which is the West Coast normally, and unload the container at one of our cross-docking facilities,” Wang says. “Instead of the buyer picking up the merchandise, we can deliver that on the customer’s behalf to the end buyer. We also can provide any value-added services, such as labeling or repackaging.” Charlie Covert, vice president of customer solutions for the high-tech sector at the shipping company UPS, says letting customers make in-transit changes is particularly critical for technology and manufacturing companies whose products might face obsolescence faster than in other industries. “The product is depreciating rapidly, so they need to get it onto the shelf as quickly as possible,” Covert says. “But also as the manufacturing base becomes more diverse, the www.ce.org 21 http://www.ups.com http://www.ups.com http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - May/June 2008

Vision - May/June 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Making the Smartphone Truly Intelligent Shipping Strategies for CE Companies IP in BRIC Countries CEA Newsline Tech Speak Eye on Business Tech Policy Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - May/June 2008

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