GOODQUESTION
NEW E-COMMERCE MODELS AND MORE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC SUPPLY CHAINS . Companies will need to locate their suppliers closer to where their customers are located and bolster their transportation networks to increase speed to market. –Tony Pelli Practice Director, Security and Resilience, BSI TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES IT EASIER TO CONDUCT BUSINESS FROM ANYWHERE , at any time. From moving operations to the cloud to adopting self-service solutions so customers can manage their own shipments online, these innovations are making businesses more resilient. –Gary Nemmers CEO, Magaya THE INCREASED DIGITIZATION OF DRIVER CHECK INS AND OUTS is here to stay. The need to limit face-to- face interactions between drivers and dock workers helped to drive a long- term efficiency gain. –Nick Shroeger Chief Solutions Officer Coyote Logistics THE FLEXIBILITY IMPORTERS HAVE BUILT into their supply chains will last post-pandemic. The increased demand for crossdocking at port markets will also live on—steamship lines have found a recipe for profit that currently limits or makes inland point intermodal shipments more costly. –Dale Young VP, Warehousing & Distribution World Distribution Services CONTINGENCY PLANNING. When thinking about your supply chain operations, get creative. Have a Plan B and a Plan C. Consider the disruption effects and think about the impacts on cost, revenue, and clients. Consider pivoting from fringe market products and focus on your core. –Brendan Heegan CEO, Boxzooka Fulfillment & Global Ecommerce THE SHIFT IN PRIMARY CUSTOMER DECISION CRITERIA from price to more focus on service and capacity.
Diversifying to Increase Resilience
Diversify your supply chain. The biggest lesson from the pandemic is the urgent need to improve supply chain resiliency to mitigate business risks. Merchants should seek to diversify supply sources and seek partners that offer solutions to reduce reliance on single supply lines and that help navigate risks in the new model. –Mark Robinson President, UPS Capital Diversification is key moving forward. The pandemic underscored: 1) the value of building relationships with several ocean carriers, trucking, and warehouse partners, 2) the necessity of establishing strength in multiple markets and 3) the importance of incorporating various options into your transport strategy, ranging from charters to traditional ocean to air. –Michael Van Hagen Senior VP, Supply Chain, UWL Vendor diversification. During the height of the pandemic, we saw many of the major carriers decide they were at capacity—and suddenly would not be picking up orders from several businesses. This taught many a tough lesson in the need for vendor diversification. I believe this lesson has been learned and very few businesses will depend solely on one provider any more. –Josh Dunham Co-founder and CEO, Reveel
Customers still want competitive pricing, but now they diversify their carriers, are more willing to use 3PLs and NVOs, and more open to brokerage to ensure capacity. –Mike Williams Executive VP, Commercial & Logistics ContainerPort Group SUPPLY CHAIN SUCCESS DEPENDS ON FLEXIBILITY —the pandemic made that clear. This focus is
driving technology adoption, as merchants demand more visibility and orchestration. Relying on technology enables quicker pivots when disruption inevitably occurs—shifting inventory to new cities, leveraging new ports, or redirecting orders to another warehouse. –Steve Denton CEO Ware2Go, a UPS Company
Have a great answer to a good question? Be sure to participate next month. We want to know: Has the pandemic accelerated logistics outsourcing? Why or why not? We’ll publish some answers. Tell us at editorial@inboundlogistics.com or tweet us @ILMAGAZINE #ILGOODQUESTION
June 2022 • Inbound Logistics 7
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