GOODQUESTION
WE NEED TO TAKE A HARD LOOK at port disruptions and labor shortages. These issues won’t go away by conducting business as usual. What’s at the heart of work slow-downs? Why aren’t the jobs we have to offer attractive? Finding answers to tough questions will keep global supply chains moving. –Jason Totah President, International & Alaska Odyssey Logistics CALIFORNIA’S AB5 and CARB decisions are having a significant and deleterious effect on the American economy. They are causing driver shortages, owner-operators to exit, and will massively increase costs by forcing electric truck utilization and slowing the supply chain due to long charging times versus fuel pumping. –Joe Adamski Senior Director, ProcureAbility THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC have ultimately left logistics and procurement in a better place. Yes, they have made for the toughest operating conditions in a generation—but have also shaken up the industry, forced us to embrace innovation and agility, and provided the infrastructure to tackle future challenges. –Matthias Gutzmann CEO and Founder, DPW THE RECENT RISE IN FRAUD IN THE DOMESTIC TRUCKLOAD MARKET will lead to more consolidation of power by large 3PLs and trucking companies that also have large brokerages. • Smaller companies have a higher likelihood of going out of business if they are hit by these schemes. • The costs to ensure compliance will continue to rise, which will more negatively impact providers with smaller shipment counts. • Customers will look to lower the number of carriers they work with to have less exposure to potential fraud schemes that negatively impact their business. –Eric Masotti President, Logistics, Trailer Bridge
Just in Time Is Officially Dead Most companies don’t look at inventory in the right way. I recall reading an article back in the late 1980s entitled J.I.T.–Just in Time or Just
J.I.T.
Inviting Trouble ? I worked for a Japanese consumer giant at the time. That article stuck with me right up to the present day, and the dilemma should resonate with all of us. The answer is not simple, and it can be vastly different depending on the complexity of the supply chain. It’s also important we recognize the following: • The companies hit worst by recent events were the leanest (e.g. automakers; were they “just inviting trouble?”) • These shortages will come again. Demand and supply will forever be at odds. Understanding where the risks are in advance is everything. • OEMs will again panic buy and jam orders for way more than they need. This will cause supply chains all around the world to swell and potentially burst, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem around them. –Andy Pepper VP, Global Supply Chain, Diversified Manufacturing Services (DMS), Jabil
AI-POWERED SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS SHOULD NEVER STRIVE for 100% automation. In the event they do, organizations will fail to uncover new opportunities that are exposed via human interactions, and progress will stagnate. People fuel growth and expansion, AI powers efficiency. –Alyssa Myers VP Technology, RXO
BLAMING THE SUPPLY CHAIN for what ails us is no longer in vogue. It’s a worn-out cliché customers no longer find acceptable. Some would even say it’s insulting. Establishing and maintaining an impactful comeback means better forecasting, demand planning, and multi-sourcing products. –Eric Allais President & CEO PathGuide Technologies
Have a great answer to a good question? Be sure to participate next month. We want to know: What’s one transportation metric shippers should pay more attention to? We’ll publish some answers. Tell us at editorial@inboundlogistics.com or tweet us @ILMAGAZINE #ILGOODQUESTION
August 2023 • Inbound Logistics 7
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