BlogOnLog

10 TIPS FOR A SAFER WAREHOUSE

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:49:00 +0000

10 STEPS FOR A SAFER WAREHOUSE
Injury prevention starts with leadership, training, communication, risk assessments, and metrics.

1. START AT THE TOP
While everyone is responsible for their individual safe behavior, the company's leadership team must own, lead, and participate in safety management. It's not enough for leadership to merely support safety; they must exhibit behavior that clearly demonstrates to all associates that safety is critical to the success of the organization.

2. TRAINING IS PARAMOUNT
From the first day of an employee's tenure with a company, training is key to safer warehouse operations. Educate all associates on safety-related practices, requirements, and responsibilities. Once the organization's vision and safety requirements are explained, the groundwork has been laid for continuous training.

3. OBSERVE ASSOCIATES IN ACTION
After associates receive basic safety training, reinforcing workplace safety behavior is ongoing. Managers should observe, for example, how an employee drives a forklift during the first few days following forklift training, and be prepared to offer immediate and meaningful feedback. Good managers point out the positives of safe behavior, and coach areas that need improvement, often on an ongoing basis.

4. GET EMPLOYEES INVOLVED
Create cross-functional, in-house safety teams that meet at least monthly to focus on preventing accidents and injuries by identifying hazards and unsafe conditions in the warehouse, and ensuring proper controls are in place to bring all hazards within acceptable levels of risk. Teams should include warehouse workers, forklift drivers, supervisors, vendors, and customer liaisons.

5. WORK SCHEDULES TO MATCH DUTIES
It is important for employees to be safe, and for employers to create a reasonable workday and safe workplace to facilitate their duties. To avoid unsafe behaviors caused by fatigue, consider implementing ergonomic improvements; rotating job assignments; supplementing shifts with temporary or part-time employees; adding a shift; and providing adequate rest and beverage breaks, especially in hot and humid conditions.

6. ASSESS RISK
Identify individual job activities, the potential hazards associated with each activity, and their existing controls. Then assign a risk rating to each activity by using a numeric formula that considers the probability of loss, the severity of loss, and the frequency of each activity. The risk rating will determine if additional controls are needed

7. PERFORM SITE ASSESSMENTS
A group of health and safety professionals should work hand-in-hand with site management to seek out unsafe conditions and hazards, and create action plans to bring risk within acceptable levels before employees are injured or property is damaged.

8. INVESTIGATE ACCIDENTS
After an incident, identify immediate and upstream root causes, and implement better controls to prevent a repeat occurrence.

9. COMMUNICATE
Frequent and consistent communication between all levels of management and associates regarding safety processes, performance, and expectations is critical to building an effective safety culture and successful safety performance.

10. GATHER MEANINGFUL AND TIMELY METRICS
Create metrics that reflect the presence of safety (leading indicators), not just the absence of safety (trailing indicators). Metrics must also be designed based on their intended audience. For example, metrics for safety managers will need to be very detailed and facilitate analysis of correlations and trends. Metrics for operating managers need to be at a higher level and help identify deficiencies the team can address.

A tip of the hat to Inbound Logistics and thank you!

Looking Beyond Rates: Fundamentals of good contract negotiations go far beyond mere pricing

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Pure data can provide valuable insight, but it doesn’t tell a complete story.

Hiding behind pure numbers will only create a one-sided, noncompetitive, zero-sum contract winner — and doom the negotiations, to failure.

The recovery is here, and not a moment’s too soon. Shippers and carriers across all transportation modes that have struggled through the Great Recession, suffering billions of dollars in losses and setting back their business by years, are feeling better about the economy and trade environment than at any point in the past two years. Retail sales are surging, and dramatically depleted inventories are being rebuilt.

And, after a rare high-profile public eruption over winter cargo backlogs wrought by capacity constraints resulting from carriers’ survivalist mentality, shippers and carriers appear to have found middle ground in attempting to resolve their differences instead of bickering about them.

It is, indeed, a new world order — or appears to be. But the true test of how both sides react will come in the next several weeks, as shippers and carriers wrap up what could be the most important contract negotiations in years, if not more.

Will carriers be true to their word and end the slash-and-burn rate-cutting wrought by their pursuit for market share? Will shippers become true partners in a market where success and speed to market can be determined by the success of their transportation providers?

Will the empathy and collaboration that both sides have long pursued but seldom achieved finally have staying power, or will both sides retreat into their business-as-usual mentality when the inevitable recovery picks up steam?

It is this last point that should be the start of the healing process, and the starting point in the negotiation process, because in an ever more complex supply chain, a good contract goes far beyond mere price.

Why? Because to be successful in this new economy, empathy and collaboration need to ride on the same vessel toward the mutual destination of profitability. Collaborating creates value, and executive empathy makes money for both.

To a certain degree, almost everything in business has become data-driven. It’s common practice today that if you can’t measure it, it doesn’t impact the bottom line. Pure data can provide valuable insight, but it doesn’t tell a complete story. The news is filled with businesses that have used numbers — real or manufactured — to justify prices and volumes that are no longer with us.

From my perspective, I’ve noticed some cracks in this data-driven, numbers-only foundation on which our industry used to build and expand profits. Carriers, importers, exporters and freight intermediaries no longer can base their relationships solely on slot commitments, no-roll clauses, general rate increases, “no show fees” and local charges. Vested collaboration, empathy for both partners’ profitability and efficiency is tantamount to long-term success.

We are moving into the “conceptual age” of business, where the right price is not necessarily the lowest price. It’s no longer enough to be a great numbers person. We now expect more of our leaders, and empathy and collaboration are among those qualities.

Understanding the feelings of others is good behavior, but empathy particularly pays off when organizations — that is, the executives who represent companies — understand what their customers and partners are feeling during the decision-making process.

How does empathy and collaboration impact the success of organizations during negotiations? The strongest point to be made is that both qualities involve focusing less on purely statistical internal issues, and more on a collective way to gain mutual benefit. The opposite of collaborative behavior is internally competitive, command-and-control behavior. This is a form of corporate self-absorption that remains from the Enron days of blind selfishness.

It is easy to hide behind pure numbers and cold-hard metrics, but hiding now will only create a one-sided, noncompetitive, zero-sum contract winner — and doom the negotiations to failure in 2010.

Too often, business leaders focus their attention on rate structures during carrier-contract negotiations while ignoring other important facets of a business relationship. Failure to address the entire scope of the relationship can cause a business to fall short when trying to meet certain goals. Empathy and collaboration will bring to light these more subtle issues that should be addressed to create mutual profits. The following are numerous strategies your business should employ to achieve success in contract negotiations for this year and beyond.

1. Pickup Performance.
How can your delivery be on time if your pickup isn’t? Late pickups cost you more money, sometimes at overtime rates. Before agreeing to a contract, you should know your partner’s on-time pickup percentage and how the carrier calculates that measurement on a customer-specific basis. On-time delivery statistics are calculated in a similar way and should be readily available on customer reports — by customer and/or terminal.

2. Invoicing Accuracy.
This important metric is often overlooked but can be the key to saving a company time and money. Companies that invest in an imaging system allowing them to use information directly from a customer’s bill of lading can ensure accuracy while improving invoicing efficiency. If this isn’t one of the measurements you expect to receive from your carrier, it should be.

3. Claims Structure and Response Time.
Getting a shipment to its destination on time doesn’t matter much if it doesn't get there in one piece. How quickly are claims settled? What is the percentage of claims-free service? What is the claims ratio of the terminal that will serve your customers? Partners should make these performance statistics available for individual customers and terminals.

4. Interactive Web Presence.
Examining your partner’s Web site can help you determine the availability of customer service when you need it. Is the Web site interactive in a number of ways to provide the information you need? The site should allow you to enter pickup requests and download imaged documents and customized reports. It also should offer a variety of track-and-trace capabilities, rate quotes, transit times, and terminal information.

5. Solid Communication and Open Dialogue.
Determining how much customers are involved in their partner’s decision-making process indicates the level of interest a company has in delivering quality service. Initiating a good communications program and creating collaboration with customers is essential. The open dialogue will reveal positive and negative qualities of each organization.

6. Responsiveness.
You should be able to talk with experts in each of your partner’s departments when you need them. Is the line of communication open and results-oriented? Maintaining a strong communication link goes hand-in-hand with developing a strong, effective partnership.

7. Customer Service.
A quick and readily available information resource is invaluable to you and your customers. This resource should provide an answer to any question you or your customers might have about transporting or tracing your shipments. The debate can rage about whether the customer service presence should be “in the market” and the costs associated with same, or if a centralized approach is more consistent, and less costly. The mutual goal, however, must be that the core of a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership is excellent customer service.

8. Empathy and Proactive Account Management.
A partner should know when and why a service failure occurred. If it delivers its shipments on time 98 percent of the time, your partner should be able to elaborate and explain what went wrong with the other 2 percent. Organizations should follow up on every service failure, not only to find out what went wrong, but also to initiate corrective action plans to ensure the same problem does not happen again. Taking this stance will make the company a better partner, and, in turn, provide you with better performance. Ask your supply chain organizations how they analyze service defects.

9. Continuous Improvement Mentality and Training.
The kind of training available to your partner’s employees, how often they are trained and the degree to which they are trained should be part of any organization’s strategy in providing superior service to its customers. Asking questions about the training process will give you an indication of the company’s emphasis on quality performance. Does the carrier have an operations training program in place that emphasizes freight handling? Are its drivers trained? Does the carrier offer hazardous materials training to its employees? What about general safety training measures? In addition to these training processes, an organization should have accountability procedures in place at each facility to help reduce costs and waste.

10. Multiyear contracts.

More industries are moving toward multiyear contracts, just as the major third-party logistics providers have over the years via “open book” forecasting, budgeting and costing. A multiyear deal will create an even playing field for each organization to drive out costs (through continuous improvement plans), and increase mutual, long-term profitability. Week-to-week capacity, no rolling, peak-season surcharges, local charges, no-show or dead freight charges become archaic terms of the past, and these tired phrases will become non-issues when looking at the long-term picture of growth, efficiency and profitability.

11. Vested collaboration.
Does your partner organization promote an open, sharing environment or is it merely a transactional workplace? How much does it share with customers via popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, or through business-focused networks such as LinkedIn? Creating an atmosphere that has an “open-source” mentality will allow for new ideas to be shared freely and will present an attractive corporate culture to experience. Vested collaboration creates empathy, empathy ensures mutual understanding, and mutual understanding will generate a collective beneficial result.

If you take the time to think critically about these often-ignored aspects of the collaboration process, your company will be equipped with the knowledge and trust it needs to achieve the best possible results far into the future. Consistency, preparation, collaboration and common sense should be your guiding principles when negotiating with your partners.

Successful partner organizations that build mutual empathy and vested collaboration need to establish a committed leadership structure — creating insight, foresight and trust, not just oversight of the annual negotiations. By consistently collaborating on budgets, forecasts and modeling scenarios, with all of the above points taken into consideration, your organization will enjoy long-term fiscal success by being prepared for the best of situations, and to forestall the worst. Empathy will create a collaborative atmosphere during the negotiation phase and will chart a course for a lasting, mutually beneficial business platform into the future.

Michael Stolarczyk is president of Kontane Logistics in Charleston, S.C., and has held various supply chain management roles with Exel and A.P. Moller-Maersk. He can be contacted at michael@kontanelogistics.com.

You can follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/mjstolarczyk

Register for the EyeForTransport's 3pl Summit in Atlanta - Save a 100 bucks!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:18:00 +0000

I just registered for the 8th Annual 3pl summit in Atlanta, from June 21st to June 23rd. If you use the code "MIKES100" you can get an additional $100 off your registration fee. I hope to see you there in June! It is my goal to start talking about locative logistics with many of the participants. Additionally, let's create some platforms for future collaboration with Kontane Logistics.

Registration Link: 8th Annual 3pl Summit

DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA SIGNS MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT WITH KONTANE LOGISTICS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Carolina-Based Third Party Logistics Leader to Perform Sub-Assembly and Sequencing Services for Freightliner Manufacturing Facilities

STATESVILLE, N.C.—March 1, 2010— Kontane Logistics, an industry leader in Third Party Logistics with offices in North and South Carolina, has signed a multi-year contract to perform wheel and tire assemblies for Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner Group, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of medium-duty and specialized commercial vehicles. The Kontane facility in Statesville, NC, will support Freightliner locations in Cleveland and Mt. Holly, NC, and Gaffney, SC. Activities included in the contract subsist of the mounting, balancing, and sequencing of over 200,000 tires per year for Freightliner models such as the Argosy, Columbia, and Cascadia class trucks, as well as Freightliner-made school buses and recreational vehicles.

In February, Kontane Logistics, in collaboration with Daimler Trucks North America and Freightliner, took over operations at the existing Alcoa Subassembly Logistics (ASL) plant in Salisbury, NC. Prior to the take-over, ASL was in the midst of a company-wide consolidation and potential relocation to Ohio. As a result of Kontane’s ability to meet the Freightliner service level requirements, the company will be able to ensure a smooth transition, retain long-term business in NC, and maintain employment for existing staff of ASL. Full sub-assembly and sequencing production is scheduled to begin in April 2010.

“The opportunity for Kontane Logistics to create a long-term, vested partnership with Daimler and Freightliner will poise our organizations for growth and profitability in this evolving economy,” said Michael J. Stolarczyk, President of Kontane Logistics. Ed Byrd, CEO and owner of Kontane, Inc. and NC resident, went on to say, "Kontane continues to make local investments in response to a resurgent commercial vehicle market. Our investment in Iredell County will maintain opportunities for the local community, such as sales to state and local vendors as well as an expansion of the state and local tax base. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to keep this vibrant operation in North Carolina.”

The new facility will add to Kontane's presence in the Carolinas, where the company has locations in the cities of Hickory, Troutman, and Statesville, NC, along with a large distribution center and Foreign Trade Zone in Charleston, SC.

Kontane Logistics
Kontane Logistics was established in 1995 as a separate operating division of Kontane Inc., the southeast’s premier packaging design and builder based in Hickory, NC. The Logistics division was originally formed as a dedicated third party logistics provider involved with packaging and exporting to several countries around the globe. Since 1997, Kontane Logistics has expanded to include warehousing and distribution, cross-docking, freight consolidation, import material receipt, line sequencing, parts distribution, development of logistics information systems, sub-assembly, and foreign trade zones services. Kontane Logistics currently has four locations in throughout NC and in Charleston, S.C. For more information, visit www.kontanelogistics.com or call 843-352-0011.

Containership Company Launches in April

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:00:00 +0000

A startup container shipping line based out of Norway said Friday it will launch a direct service from the Chinese port of Taicang to Southern California in April.

The service will be operated with five vessels, ranging in size from 2,600 TEUs to 2,900 TEUs, said Franck Kayser, chief operating office of the new line, The Containership Company. Transit time will be 16 days from Taicang to Southern California.

Kayser said in an interview with American Shipper that the idea to base the service out of Taicang was to reduce costs for shippers in China’s Jiangsu province. Taicang sits on the Yangtze River about 30 miles upriver from Shanghai. Kayser said calling directly at Taicang would reduce $150 to $200 in trucking costs shippers generally have to pay to move containers to Shanghai.

“It’s the first direct service from Taicang, so it gives us first mover’s advantage,” he said.

To emphasize the potential uniqueness of the service, American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data has no listing for Taicang for any direct services to North America. However, Taicang is a growing port with more than 1 million TEUs of volume and a diverse base of shippers, including BP, DuPont, Unilever and Nike.

Reports of the emergence of The Containership Company surfaced in 2009 amidst the worst crisis in the history of container shipping. The idea for the company was reportedly born out of the idea of taking chartered tonnage at attractive rates in a depressed market, then passing the savings on to shippers.

Kayser said the five vessels for the service have been chartered for three to four years.

“Of course, when you take them on a longer-term basis, you pay a little bit over the market rate, but we have got a reasonable rate,” he said.

Kayser said it has yet to be decided whether the service will call in Los Angeles or Long Beach, and that the line is in negotiations on where to call. He also said The Containership Company will launch a service between China and northern Europe at some point in 2010.

The company is backed by a group of 30 investors, none of which own a “significant part,” Kayser said. The company will be based in Norway, with startup capital of $25 million.

Note: This is a great opportunity...good luck to Captain Franck and the whole Containership team! God speed!

10 Fundamentals Beyond Price in Contract Negotiations

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Michael J. Stolarczyk

Kontane Logistics
www.kontanelogistics.com

It’s that time of year again — time to negotiate carrier contracts! Too often, business leaders focus their attention on rate structures during carrier-contract negotiations while ignoring other important facets of the carrier process. Failure to address the entire scope of the carrier process can cause a business to fall short when trying to meet certain goals. Below are tips your business should employ to achieve success as it dives into its carrier-contract negotiations in 2010 and beyond.

1. Pickup performance.
How can your delivery be on time if your pickup isn't? Late pickups cost you more money, sometimes at overtime rates. Before agreeing to a carrier contract, you should know the carrier’s on-time pickup percentage and how the carrier calculates that measurement on a customer-specific basis. On-time delivery statistics are calculated in a similar way and should be readily available on customer reports — by customer and/or terminal.

2. Invoicing accuracy.
This important metric is often overlooked but can be the key to saving a company time and money. Carriers that invest in an imaging system that allows them to use information directly from a customer’s bill of lading can ensure accuracy while improving invoicing efficiency. If this isn’t one of the measurements you expect to receive from your carrier, it should be.

3. Claims structure and response time.
Getting a shipment to its destination on time doesn’t matter much if it doesn't get there in one piece. How quickly are the carrier’s claims settled? What is the percentage of claims-free service? What is the claims ratio of the terminal that will service your customers? Carriers should make these performance statistics available for individual customers and terminals.

4. Interactive Web presence.
Examining your carrier’s Web site can help you determine the availability of customer service when you need it. Is the Web site interactive in a number of ways to provide you with the information you need? The site should allow you to enter pickup requests and download imaged documents and customized reports. It also should offer a variety of tracking and tracing capabilities, rate quotes, transit times, and terminal information.

5. Good communication and collaboration.
Determining how much customers are involved in a carrier’s decision-making process indicates the level of interest a carrier has in delivering quality service. Initiating a good communications program and creating collaboration with customers is essential.

6. Responsiveness.
You should be able to talk with experts in each of your carrier’s departments when you need them. Is the carrier’s line of communication open and results-oriented? Maintaining a strong communication link goes hand-in-hand with developing a strong, effective partnership.

7. Centralized customer service.
A quick and readily available information resource is invaluable to you and your customers. This resource should provide you with an answer to any question you or your customers might have about transporting or tracing your shipments.

8. Empathy and proactive account management.
A carrier should know when and why a service failure occurred. If it delivers its shipments on time 98 percent of the time, a carrier should be able to tell you what went wrong with the other 2 percent. Carriers should follow up on every service failure, not only to find out what went wrong, but also to correct the problem so it doesn’t happen again. Taking this action will make the carrier a better company, and, in turn, provide you with better performance. Ask your carrier how it analyzes service defects.

9. Continuous improvement mentality and training.
The kind of training available to your carrier’s employees, how often they are trained and the degree to which they are trained should be part of the company’s strategy in providing superior service to its customers. Asking questions about a carrier’s training process will give you an indication of the company’s emphasis on quality performance. Does the carrier have an operations training program in place that emphasizes freight handling? Are its drivers trained? Does the carrier offer hazardous material training to its employees? What about general safety training measures? In addition to these training processes, a carrier should have accountability procedures in place at each facility to help reduce costs and waste.

10. Vested collaboration.
Does your carrier promote an open, sharing environment or is it merely a transactional organization? How much does it share with customers via popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, or through business-focused networks such as LinkedIn? Creating an atmosphere that has an “open-source” mentality will allow for new ideas to be shared freely and will present the carrier as an attractive corporate culture to experience.

If you take the time to think critically about these often-ignored aspects of the carrier process, your company will be equipped with the knowledge and trust it needs to achieve the best possible results for the year to come. Consistency, preparation and common sense should be your guiding principles when negotiating with your carrier partners. Revisit these tips in the years to come to ensure that all of your company’s requirements are covered. Good luck this year!

This is being featured on the JoC website... http://www.joc.com/node/416514.

Thanks to Marsha from the JoC and to LP for a great assist on the edit!

Kontane Logistics Initiates Daimler 3pl Sequencing Project

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:24:00 +0000

We started the Daimler Truck North America tire sequencing project today, February 1, 2010. Our first truck was loaded around 10:15 with tires going to the Freightliner plant in Cleveland, NC. We will be mounting, sequencing roughly 800 tires per day, bound for the three Freightliner truck manufacturing plants in the Carolina's (Gaffney, Mt. Holly, and Clevelend). Kontane Logistics and DTNA have collaborated for over 12 years, but this new program will define the long-term rapport we have shared, and will share in the future. Nice work!

KONTANE LOGISTICS IN CHARLESTON NAMES NEW COMPANY PRESIDENT, MICHAEL J. STOLARCZYK

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C.—December 21, 2009— Kontane Logistics, an industry leader in Third Party Logistics located at 1000 Charleston Regional Pkwy, is pleased to announce the addition of industry veteran, Michael J. Stolarczyk, to its leadership team. Stolarczyk has joined the company as President and will be based in the company’s Charleston, S.C., location. Kontane Logistics currently operates in four locations within North and South Carolina and is a division of Hickory, N.C., based Kontane Inc.

“We are extremely excited to have a dynamic leader like Mike as part of our growing team,” said Kontane Inc. CEO Ed Byrd. “His wealth of experience will help us maintain our leadership in providing client-aligned supply chain solutions for our various clients throughout the world.”

Prior to joining Kontane Logistics, Stolarczyk served as CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority in Toledo, Ohio. Stolarczyk’s past work experiences include serving as Senior Director at Exel Logistics in Westerville, Ohio, and holding various management positions within the A.P. Moller/Maersk Group, including Maersk Hong Kong Limited and Maersk Agency Sro, in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2002, Stolarczyk was named to Fast Company magazine’s debut list of “Fast 50: Global Innovators Whose Achievements Helped Change Their Company or Society.”

“I am honored to join the Kontane organization and to have the chance to work with the Byrd family,” said Stolarczyk. “Collaboratively, we are going to continue to provide logistic solutions and build upon our local, regional reputation as a client-focused supply chain partner. I think the right time to take some aggressive steps is when the economy is in flux, so when the new economy bounces back, Kontane and our customers will be ahead of the curve.”

Stolarczyk received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from West Virginia University, and has studied at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. For more information about Kontane Logistics or to contact Stolarczyk, visit www.kontanelogistics.com or call 843-352-0011.

Kontane Logistics
Kontane Logistics was established in 1995 as a separate operating division of Kontane Inc., the southeast’s premier packaging design and builder based in Hickory, NC. The Logistics division was originally formed as a dedicated third party logistics provider involved with packaging and exporting to several countries around the globe. Since 1997, Kontane Logistics has expanded to include warehousing and distribution, cross-docking, freight consolidation, import material receipt, line sequencing, parts distribution, development of logistics information systems, sub-assembly, and foreign trade zones services. Kontane Logistics currently has four locations in throughout North Carolina and in and Charleston, S.C. For more information, visit www.kontanelogistics.com or call 843-352-0011.

Port Authority Board Selects Michael J. Stolarczyk as New President and CEO

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:52:00 +0000

TOLEDO, Ohio, March 26, 2009 – The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Board of Directors approved a contract with Michael J. Stolarczyk, selecting him as the new President and CEO for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority at their board meeting held today.

A news conference with Michael J. Stolarczyk and members of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority offices, located at One Maritime Plaza.

Mr. Stolarczyk will begin his employment on April 1, 2009. “Mike has an impeccable background and brings a new perspective and the cohesive management skills and expertise that our board sought after in a new leader”, says William J. Carroll, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Chairman. “The opportunity that lies within the Port Authority is remarkable and the board expects Mike to not only embrace this but to create an environment of synergy among our staff, our partners and our community to allow us to capitalize on our past success and achieve a new level accomplishments.”

Michael Stolarczyk was most recently employed by Exel Inc., (www.exel.com) a contract logistics provider in the Americas with over 500 sites throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America. He resigned from his position as Senior Director, Business Development – Americas to take the position with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

In his role with Exel, Mr. Stolarczyk helped create client alligned solutions, from warehousing through to distribution. The bulk of his career was spent with the A.P. Moller Group (Maersk Line) where he served in various positions in the U.S. and spent five years managing their operations in Prague, Czech Republic. While in the Czech Republic he focused on public/private partnership projects in Eastern Europe and created an inland multimodal terminal that handles 150,000 loads per year.

He has experience in building strong organizations and driving growth and business development. He has a background in transportation, shipping and ocean transport and port operations and has experience with international and multimodal operations. Mr. Stolarczyk and his family will be relocating from Upper Arlington, Ohio

Launching VisibleLogistics, the on-line solution for demanding customers

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:39:00 +0000

Where is my stuff?

Isn't it all to often the question? If you have a small business shipping what it sells, or if you buy from one, this is happening all the time: once a shipment has left your premises, it is most of the time completely invisible for you or your customers. You are depending on the efficiency and good will of a transporter with whom you often have no direct communication, should anything go wrong. Your customer is just as left in the dark as you are. But it is not better for the party
organising the transport: it has no way of making sure that the delivery address is correct, that there will be someone to receive the package or simply to warn that his trucker is blocked in a trafic jam.

This was the first idea behind VisibleLogistics. For people running small businesses, keeping tracks of orders and shipments is vital but it can also be very time consuming. Phone calls, sending email and faxes are all important for managing communication with suppliers, transporters or customers.

And very often, these people have to copy all these exchanges of information in spreadsheets again.

This requires duplication of efforts and it takes precious time. The ideal tool for small and medium businesses.

With VisibleLogistics, smaller business can save themselves these tedious aspects and unreliable ways of communicating. VisibleLogistics merges in one on-line and on-demand application all the processes linked to orders, deliveries, inventory and communication with the other partners of the supply chain. It monitors orders and shipments status, and automatically sends e-mails to the relevant parties when important changes occur.

Unlike the track and trace systems provided by the express carriers and large shipping companies, VisibleLogistics monitors orders and shipments across different carriers and transport modes. This can be useful if agents are moving shipments with a variety of different carriers. Indeed VisibleLogistics is being used by some small forwarders to provide shipment monitoring and status updates to their customers, enabling them to provide service levels that match those of their larger competitors.

Sell it, Ship it, See it.

The benefits of VisibleLogistics are improved accuracy, round the clock availability of information for customers and a single view of all order and shipment activity.
VisibleLogistics is designed to support small businesses by:

- Managing orders using an easy to use application controlled through any standard web browser

- Giving buyers and carriers on-line access to information about orders, status and catalogues

- Notifying business partners by e-mail or SMS when orders are created and when statuses change

- Adding comments to orders, communicating with business partners and vice-versa

The basic features of VisibleLogistics are free to use and can be found at www.visiblelogistics.com.

I love it..."where is my stuff?"

Don't we always ask this of ourselves, and plenty of times during our daily work life...this is an awesome tool for you gonzo supply chain executives out there...

Ken Lyon and crew are onto something here...give it a try...tell me what you think.

youship.com - powered by Maersk Line

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:01:00 +0000

A.P. Moller - Maersk affiliate www.youship.com, an online site through which shippers can directly book cargo, is in the midst of a publicity drive in which it offers shippers freight rates for as little as $1.

The company said for the second week in a row, it would offer the $1 freight rates to a limited number of customers on Monday and Tuesday as part of its "Week of Fortune" promotion.

The rate is on 20-foot containers moving from Hong Kong to Japan, Australia and Rotterdam as well as from Antwerp to Turkey and Rotterdam to Morocco.
The company said it would offer the rate on "a number of bookings both Monday and Tuesday, but it is first come, first served."

The site, which is using consumer marketing techniques to sell freight also offers "to send flowers to your loved one" for shippers who book freight on Wednesday.

Got questions about the site? The company said those who register at its site in advance can participate in a teleconference on Jan. 23 with the site's director, Lars Jensen, and other executives.

Thursday and Friday? That's Happy Hour High Cube day, youship said.

But the selection is limited -- you can only get boxes that are dry, and nothing on the rocks -- youship doesn't do reefers!

Okay, okay, maybe I am a little too APM focused this month, but lets give credit where credit is due. 20 years, and I never thought they would be this forward thinking...but damn. Here it is. I just registered on youship.com, and suggest you do the same. You never know when you might need to ship a 20 footer of Palm beer from Belgium to Turkey!

Aldridge Joins CEVA, Creates Biz Unit Under International Logistics Solutions Moniker

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:43:00 +0000

CEVA Logistics said it has appointed Bill Aldridge as executive vice president for its newly created business unit, International Logistics Solutions.

ILS aims to provide end-to-end supply chain services from purchase order to point of sale, focusing in the Asian and other emerging markets.

Aldridge, who is based in New Jersey, was international supply chain president at DHL/Exel Supply Chain and served as managing and regional director for companies including American President Lines and Hapag-Lloyd (America).

“He has a unique understanding of the complexities of this business, and has had remarkable success in managing trade between Asia and the West,” said Vittorio Favati, CEVA’s chief operating officer for the Asia Pacific, in a statement.

Bill will have this new biz cooking in no time...look for an aggressive growth strategy. In this unstable market, a strong leader, presence in China could sway many clients to finally outsource their origin needs, and then some, across the full supply chain.

ShipsandBoxes.com Launched

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:34:00 +0000

Two-dozen container shipping companies on Thursday launched a publicity drive to showcase the industry's crucial role on the global economy to a wider audience.

The Container Shipping Information Service initiative was unveiled in London by Maersk Line Chief Executive Officer Eivind Kolding and Adolf Adrion, Hapag-Lloyd's executive board member.

One of the first steps is a new Web site, www.shipsandboxes.com, that contains a history of containerization and highlights its impact on globalization and the environment and security, among other things. The 24 participating companies will invest more than $1 million each year as other projects are being planned to take it "beyond the Web," said Adrion, who is also chairman of a variety of industry groups including the Far Eastern Freight Conference, World Shipping Council and the Box Club.

Adrion and Kolding conceded the liner industry has remained publicly silent for too long and that it generally only registers in the public consciousness when things go wrong such as when a ship is involved in an accident.

"The choice of goods that consumers have and their availability is largely down to the container shipping industry," Adrion said. "However the wider world is not, on the whole, aware of this. So it is important that as an industry we make them aware of this and explain the wider role and impacts that our industry has on the world."

The London event was attended mainly by shipping journalists. But executives from a number of the participating carriers will over the next few days reach out to the mainstream media.

Companies participating in Container Shipping Information Service are: Atlantic Container Line, China Shipping, CMA CGM, COSCO, Crowley Maritime Corp., Compania Sud-Americana de Vapores S.A.(CSAV), Evergreen, Hamburg Sud, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, "K" Line, Maersk Line, MISC Berhad, Mediterranean Shipping Co., MOL, Neptune Orient Lines/APL, NYK, OOCL, Pacific International Lines, United Arab Shipping Co., Wan Hai Lines, Yang Ming and Zim.

Wow...the shipping lines are finally getting into the 21st century! And along with that, they are dealing with a sharp sense of fear...that all those leviathan class size boats could soon be ghost ships. 2008 is going to be a wild year!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 03:56:00 +0000

Joyous Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Thank you for checking out my blog this year!

I going to take a few weeks off to enjoy the holiday season with my family. I hope you all will do the same!

I will start posting again in January 2008!

Many sincere thanks, Michael J. Stolarczyk

Beluga builds first cargo vessel with innovative auxiliary propulsion system

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:42:00 +0000

“You have to have the courage to try out something new,” as Niels Stolberg, CEO of Beluga Shipping GmbH, comments the first application of the innovative SkySails towing kite propulsion system on a cargo vessel worldwide. This courage is based on the certainty that the SkySails system is the only sail system in the maritime shipping sector to date that can be used in commercial operation without any restrictions in vessel use.

The cross-sectoral relevance of this innovation in the field of propulsion technology at sea is also indicated by the social position of the ship’s godmother, Eva Luise Köhler, wife of the Federal German President. She will award the vessel her name, MV “Beluga SkySails”, during the christening ceremony at Überseebrücke in Hamburg on Saturday.

Of all known concepts for effective and sustainable alternative propulsion of merchant vessels, SkySails represents the only suitable model: no bothersome masts on deck, no restriction of stowage space, no hindrances to loading and discharging, no risk to the crew, cargo or ship as well as reliable overall performance.

Utilisation of wind energy by means of the towing kite makes it possible to provide relief to the main engine – 10 to 15 percent less bunker consumption is expected in the initial phase of operation. The MV “Beluga SkySails” is equipped with a kite measuring 160 square metres. Later, when the sail is scaled up to 320 square metres in the course of the coming year in order to increase efficiency on the high seas, potential savings of 20 to 30 percent are definitely feasible and realistic. Beluga Shipping GmbH initially reckons with a reduction in the existing bunker costs for the vessels diesel fuel within a low four-digit US dollar range per day of operation of the towing kite system.

In the case of two larger multi purpose heavy lift project carriers of the Beluga P1- series, which are to be equipped with SkySails systems in the near future, too, and are currently under construction, kites having a sail area of as much as 600 square metres will then be used. On this basis, fuel savings in the dimension of up to ten tons daily can be anticipated according to present-day estimates, corresponding to a reduction in ship voyage expenses of over 6,000 US dollars.

Application of the innovative auxiliary propulsion technology is a response to the constantly increasing oil prices, which have been climbing from one record high to another for some time now. According to world economic experts in the field, further price increases can be expected in the future and will have to be coped with in the course of the growing volume of world trade. The former threshold of 100 US dollars will soon be surpassed in all likelihood.

Application of the towing kite propulsion system points to a sustainable way out of direct dependence on the oil price. Furthermore, the MV “Beluga SkySails” even combines ecology and economy on the high seas. The carrier serves as an up-to-date link between economic efficiency and preservation protection of resources. The maritime sector numbers among the most important and most advanced branches of industry, especially in Germany. On the other hand, shipping contributes greatly to pollution of the environment worldwide. The first multipurpose heavy-lift project carrier to draw propulsion power from wind energy is almost revolutionary.

Even before her maiden voyage from Bremen to Venezuela with project cargo on board the MV “Beluga SkySails” opens a new chapter in shipping history. The new vessel will be practical proof that the hybrid propulsion system is possible on water and is able to achieve what many felt was absurd in this combination, i.e. reducing emission and at the same time lowering the voyage costs. The MV “Beluga SkySails” is the visible result of a pioneering spirit that creates innovations, promoting economy and ecology. You just have to have the courage to try out something new.

I met Niels a few times while posted in Europe, and upon my return to the USA. The dude is simply a visionary. To think he is going back to "original technology" to create an innovative, environmentally aware form of fuel conservation in the shipping business is no suprise. Wow, this is just great stuff.

CSI and SS/L Will Create NASA COTS Proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:41:00 +0000

CONSTELLATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL AND SPACE SYSTEMS LORAL TEAM ON NASA COTS PROPOSAL USING A U.S. VERSION OF CSI’S LEO EXPRESSSM CARGO SYSTEM

Laguna Woods, CA, December 11, 2007 — Constellation Services International, Inc. (CSI) is collaborating with Space Systems Loral (SS/L) to pursue a funded Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The two companies are working together, with SS/L as the prime, to produce a commercial cargo system to re-supply NASA’s International Space Station (ISS), and to create new commercial space services and applications.

Charles Miller, CSI’s Chief Executive Officer stated “CSI is pleased to announce that Space Systems/Loral has baselined our space transportation intermodal approach for the current COTS competition. We are very excited by this relationship”. Bill Nations, SS/L Vice President added, “SS/L is the market leader in the GEO commercial satellite business and CSI has a unique, patented system for delivering cargo to the ISS. Together we bring NASA a flexible, low-cost solution based on highly
reliable existing technology and a commercial business approach.”

The SS/L version of CSI’s LEO ExpressSM cargo system uses the SS/L 1300 satellite bus as a tug, while retaining most of the original intermodal spacetug advantages. SS/L is currently the world leader in commercial GEO comsats with 40% of the world market for satellites of 8 kW or higher.

Forty-eight spacecraft based on the SS/L 1300 satellite bus are currently operating on orbit, four are awaiting launch and fourteen more are in production. SS/L has also produced 129 Orbital Replacement Units for the ISS to date, including Batteries, Battery Charge/Discharge Units and Sequential Shunt Units.

According to Miller, “Because of recent problems with generating private capital for ISS cargo servicing projects, the question on everybody’s mind now is ‘Can any company really raise all the money needed to complete a high-risk commercial space project in partnership with NASA?’” Miller continued “As a well-established company that is known for its technical and commercial excellence as well as its entrepreneurial approach, Loral is probably better positioned to achieve the COTS goals than any other bidder in the competition.”

SS/L publicly announced the details of its COTS proposal at the Space Investment Summit 3 on December 6th in San Jose, California. SS/L distributed a “SS/L COTS Fact Sheet” that summarized the SS/L COTS concept, and which can be found at http://www.constellationservices.com.

Tom Moser, CSI’s Vice President for Government Programs and a former NASA Space Station program director stated “Space Systems/Loral is trusted and respected in the commercial space industry, and has been involved in several successful NASA programs. SS/L provided eight GOES weather satellites and was awarded the Goddard Contractor Excellence Award in the process”.

Moser continued “Tommy Holloway, another former NASA Space Station program manager, recently testified to Congress that ‘If a proven logistics support system is not available, I would commit to the future capability that is determined by engineering analysis to have the highest chance of success’.

Based on sound engineering and business analysis, SS/L probably has the highest chance of success among all of the current COTS competitors.”

Constellation Services International, Inc. is an entrepreneurial orbital spaceflight services company that is focused on commercial opportunities in Earth orbit. CSI has raised over two million dollars in private investment, and has received over three million dollars from three NASA contracts to further develop the patented LEO ExpressSM Space Cargo System, including its role as prime contractor for
the NASA Alternate Access to Space program (AAS). The LEO ExpressSM Space Cargo System completed a NASA System Design Review in July 2003. NASA’s AAS program concluded “CSI provided convincing evidence that both designs were feasible.”

For more information on CSI or CSI’s LEO ExpressSM Space Cargo Service, visit
http://www.constellationservices.com.

"LEO Express" is a trademark and service mark of Constellation Services International, Inc.

Retail Container Traffic Is Falling...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:35:00 +0000

As discussed previously, within this blog...we have plenty of big ships...but the market will not have the space/container demands matching the the past few years...

Traffic at U.S. ports that handle most of the nation's retail traffic fell below last year's levels for the fourth month in a row in November, estimates the National Retail Federation and the economic consulting firm Global Insight.

They produce the monthly "Port Tracker" report, and attribute the decrease to careful management of inventories by retailers in anticipation of a restrained holiday shopping season.

"The slow pace of container traffic growth is forecast to continue due to weakness in the U.S. economy," said Paul Bingham, Global Insight economist. "All covered U.S. ports are operating without congestion from the harbors to the gates and are rated low for congestion through spring."

"Retailers are carefully managing their inventories so that they won't be forced into unplanned discounts," said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. "Matching supply to demand is a basic principle of sound business practices."

The ports surveyed handled 1.46 million TEU of container traffic in October, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That's down 1.3 percent from September's 1.48 million TEU, and 3.5 percent from the record high 1.51 million TEU set in October 2006.

October is traditionally the peak month of the year as retailers stock up for the holiday season, but the figures left September as the peak month for 2007.

November was estimated at 1.36 million TEU, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. If the estimate holds true when actual numbers come in, it will mark the fourth month in a row that cargo failed to meet last year's levels. (August was down 1.4 percent from August 2006 and September was down 1.9 percent from September 2006.)

Ports covered by Port Tracker are Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast; New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; and Houston in the Gulf. All the ports are rated "low" for congestion, the same as last month.

CMA-CGM To Purchase U.S.Lines

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:11:00 +0000

U.S. Lines is set to become the latest small-scale carrier to join France's CMA CGM Group after the Marseilles company announced today that a takeover agreement has been reached. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

U.S. Lines was established in November 2003 after Ed Aldridge, a former APL and Sea-Land executive, and other managers bought the famous brand. The original U.S. Lines run by Malcolm McLean ceased trading in 1986.

The company has an estimated annual turnover of $145 million, employs 113 staff and moves about 100,000 TEUs each year on a U.S. West Coast/Australasia/Hong Kong triangular service in partnership with CMA CGM subsidiary ANL.

U.S. Lines also has seven chartered vessels, mostly in the 1,100-TEU range and one of 1,350 TEUs, a leased container fleet of 23,600 TEUs and offices in Los Angeles, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

CMA CGM said U.S. Lines would continue to operate under the same name and be managed by its existing global management team.

Earlier this year, CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container line, acquired Taiwanese Intra-Asia carrier Cheng Lie Navigation Co. Ltd. (CNC) and Moroccan state-owned Compagnie Maroccaine de Navigation (Comanav) to continue its strategy of buying strong regional players such as Delmas and ANL.

"The acquisition of U.S. Lines is in line with the aim of reinforcing the position of the ANL offer. The complementarity of U.S. Lines with ANL allows a more global solution on the triangular trade connecting the U.S. West Coast, Australia, New Zealand and Southern China," CMA CGM said in a statement.

Hmmmm...I knew Ed Aldridge liked French food...but not the management style. This is kind of shocking news. I thought it was really cool that Ed resurrected the brand made famous by Mr. McLean...and he and his crew did a great job of building the brand and operation. I'm kind of bummed that it will go to one of the big carriers as a "small-carrier" acquisition. Old school thinking I guess...which I still share, respect...as homage to the dwindling cast of characters from the ocean carrier days of yore.

West Liberty State College Board Post

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:52:00 +0000

November 30, 2007

Michael J. Stolarczyk Appointed to the West Liberty State College Board of Governors

West Liberty State College recently welcomed Michael J. Stolarczyk to serve as a member of its Board of Governors. Stolarczyk is a senior director for Exel, the North American leader in supply chain management and contract logistics. The company is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio.

“I am honored to have been chosen to serve on the board of West Liberty State College. My parents attended West Liberty and talk so fondly of their time here, as well as speak eloquently of the education they received. It is my hope to support the college in its continued effort to offer an affordable, quality education, such as the ones my parents enjoyed. As this wonderful institution achieves university status in the near future, I know this memorable student experience will be preserved for generations to come. It is an honor and pleasure to serve Governor Manchin, the State of West Virginia, and the students of West Liberty,” said Stolarczyk.

In addition to his work at Exel, Stolarczyk is a member of the Board of Advisors for the West Virginia University’s School of Business and has held board positions with Ceske Pristavy, Maersk Logistic Czech Republic and Maersk Intermodal Europe. In February of 2002, Mr. Stolarczyk was named on Fast Company magazine's inaugural "Fast 50" global innovators list, which honors individuals whose achievements helped change their companies or society.

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Michael Stolarczyk to the West Liberty State College Board of Governors. Stolarczyk has strong family ties to the college, as both of his parents graduated from WLSC. Although he lives a distance away, he is very eager to be an active member of the governing board and we look forward to working with him in the future,” said Lynne Exley, chair of the WLSC Board of Governors.

The West Liberty State College Board of Governors, consisting of representatives from the campus and surrounding communities, was established to provide oversight and direction on policy issues of the college.

This is a great honor for me...with both my parents being WLSC grads...also, by next year West Liberty will move up to University status. This is a great step forward for the campus and the region in general.

Samskip Buys Reefer Company Icepak

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:59:00 +0000

Samskip agains makes an acquisition that finds one more puzzle piece to finish their long-term vision...Hassing, Winther, and the Icelandic crew continue to tactically evolve the Samskip brand...

Samskip has acquired the reefer logistics company Icepak, which has offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Jersey and Seattle in the United States. Financial details were not disclosed.

Icepak has been operating for 15 years under the primary ownership of Debbie Woodliffe, Holly Coble and Paul Dean. All three will stay with the business and on the company’s board, which will now also include Peder Winther, chief executive officer of Samskip Reefer and Forwarding Logistics, and Simon Dwyer, managing director of Samskip U.K. Woodliffe will join the Samskip Reefer and Forwarding Logistics board based in Rotterdam.

“The Icepak business, its staff and shareholders will bring considerable experience and knowledge to our expanding global reefer logistics product," Winther said.
"Icepak will strengthen our global footprint and assist with our overall development plans, particularly within the U.S., Australia, Asian, South American and U.K. markets.”

Icepak shareholder Woodliffe said of the sale: “We feel the time is right for our business and the shareholders to have a like-minded partner to enhance our network and provide the necessary platform to complement our future growth plans.”

The acquisition of Icepak follows other recent Samskip purchases including Dutch multimodal transport company Geest North Sea Line, British short sea operator Seawheel and reefer centers from the Netherlands-based Kloosterboer in 2005.

Previously, Samskip had acquired Van Dieren Maritime and a 40 percent share in Silver Sea.

DP World raises $4.9 billion in stock sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:07:00 +0000

DP World, the ship terminal operating company that U.S. politicians shunned, got a warm welcome from investors today as it was able to raise $4.9 billion through a sale of a 23 percent stake to the public.

Far more investors wanted to buy shares in the company than was available – the issue was oversubscribed by 15 times. With that strong demand, the company was able to sell stock for $1.30 per share, the top end of the range that investment bankers had set.

DP World paid $6.8 billion for P&O, the British port operator last year, but was later forced to sell assets in United States after a political firestorm erupted because of security fears raised by an Arab company owning marine terminals in the heart of major American cities.

DP World has 42 existing terminals and 13 new developments across 27 countries and has reportedly said it plans to double its capacity to 90 million containers by 2017.

DP World’s shares are slated to begin trading on the Dubai International Financial Exchange on Monday.

DP world continues to impress...just take this into consideration...

DP World agreed in early October to do a feasibility study to build a $250 million container terminal in Mariel that would start operating in 2012, this is a Havana port! Cuba! Big gamble!

"A deal is in the works. It is moving forward and they have signed various agreements," another person familiar with the plan told many press outlets.

DP World became is the world's third-largest container port business last year when it bought Britain's Peninsular &Oriental Steam Navigation Co. But, as you remember, it was forced to sell P&O's U.S. assets when the Bush administration came under fire for allowing an Arab-owned company to control U.S. ports. (Laughable!)

Critics said the deal involving the ports of New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans posed a threat to U.S. national security. (Weak!)

P&O had planned for several years to rebuild Mariel port, 30 miles west of Havana on the north coast of the Caribbean island, and turn it into a modern container port.

The port of Mariel was the site of a massive boat lift in 1980, when a flotilla of vessels from Florida picked up 125,000 Cubans wanting to leave the Communist-run island.

Its strategic proximity to the United States makes Mariel an attractive investment looking ahead to a time when Cuba is no longer under a U.S. trade embargo, given limited port capacity in the United States, and could give whomever operates it a "first-mover" position in the very near future. Bring the big-ass boats (leviathan class) into Cuba...then feeder the US Gulf and East Coast...great connection for the Suez services I would think...

What would Tony Montana say? "You know what capitalism is? Getting -choose your expletive-!" Maybe that is what the other port operators will be saying about DP World in the very near future!

What do you think?

New JoC.com Section - My JoC Tens post:

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:28:00 +0000

Companies often think their picking operation is efficient as long as products roll out on time and customers are happy. But most picking operations in warehouses across America could use a reorganization, and its all about the process you know ... and training, and people, and systems!

The following are 10 tips to improve your warehouse operation.

1. Profile your orders.
Your most popular SKUs likely change with the seasons, so re-slot your warehouse to accommodate your business model, and review the setup at least once a year. This ensures that your “A” SKUs are in the correct storage media and physical location, reducing unnecessary travel for your order pickers. Your warehouse management system (WMS) should have a dynamic “slotting” module.

2. Analyze your current picking methodology.
Make sure your picking methodology suits your organization. Whether you choose single order, multi-order, batch picking with a single picker, or zone picking, the correct picking methodology is critical for optimizing productivity. Hey, you can always ask a 3PL to analyze it!

3. Use software to sequence orders.
Sequencing your orders by pick path, and batching together single lines, same-zone orders, and difficult picks — such as non-conveyable items — saves tremendous time on the distribution center floor. Again, your WMS software should be able to organize the workflow, and optimize sequence performance.

4. Create a warehouse within a warehouse.
On the one hand, you can gain tremendous efficiency by grouping together the 20 percent of your SKUs that complete 80 percent of your orders. This cuts travel time for your pickers. Be sure, however, that the 80-20 area or zone is properly designed to accommodate high-volume activity. On the other hand, this is kind of old-fashioned thinking; in this day and age of the Long Tail, you may not have the ability to utilize the 80-20 rule, because you may be selling “few of many,” instead of “many of the few!”

5. Evaluate your storage equipment to ensure proper application.
Placing slow-moving, low-cube items in bin shelving and fast-moving items in carton/pallet flow — or other appropriate storage options — improves storage density and picker productivity. This also allows you to better utilize the DC’s cube. Seasonal and other promotions can mess with this idea, so beware.

6. Create “wheelhouse” zones in your picking area.
You can increase picking productivity and improve order picker ergonomics by slotting your fastest-moving SKUs in the waist-to-shoulder or “wheelhouse” area of your storage media.

7. Designate only two or three standard shipping cartons.
With only two or three boxes to choose from — plus a few custom sizes if necessary — pickers will put orders together faster. Cutting down on sizes optimizes freight expenses and reduces corrugated spend. It also makes it easier to support a pick-path methodology.

8. Consider automation.
Order pickers spend about 60 percent of their time walking product or moving product around. Consider an automated solution, such as conveyance, to reduce their extensive travel time. Multi-level pick towers also save travel time and are quite innovative.

9. Understand your technology options.
Plenty of options are available to increase efficiency — including bar codes, radio frequency, pick-to-label, pick-to-light, and voice-activated technologies. These technologies are designed to provide different levels of increased picking productivity and improved accuracy.

10. Implement an incentive program for pickers.
Incentive programs can be extremely valuable to an organization. To ensure your program is effective, you must guarantee that productivity measurements are accurate, fair and equitable. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive productivity.

Finding the right balance between these 10 suggestions is quite a task. Perhaps the best way to accomplish this is to secure the services of 3PL. However, significant strides can be made through consistent, common-sense approaches to your warehouse picking operations.

This is my entry for the new www.joc.com web site. Its called the JoC Tens and I am very proud to me in the first batch of posts. Check it out!

Drewry: Labor costs deflate China's bubble, near-sourcing on the rise

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:38:00 +0000

Hey, I just reviewed this white paper and its pretty interesting...Drewry has always been a subtle shill for the ocean transport industry (and there is nothing wrong with that...the industry needs the support)and they remain bullish on China. I am more skeptical...going back to my "why not outsource in our back yard" posts earlier this year...Check out the link below and read the white paper.

So, the case can be made for "near sourcing" and China's cost structure may become much more expensive than anticipated (plus you have to add risk factors in having such far-flung supply chains). I still believe we are closer to outsourcing in states like West Virginia and Ohio than many people think.

But in the future that shirt stands a better chance of being produced in Mexico as rising labor costs in the Asian superpower are making companies consider shifting the sourcing of men's shirts and other products with short life cycles to countries closer to market, according to Drewry Supply Chain Advisors, a new division of Drewry Shipping Consultants.

A white paper from the London-based firm, Will China's Apparel Supply Chains Become Uncompetitive?, suggests that China has virtually no cost advantage relative to Mexico or Vietnam for the export of men's shirts when factoring in "logistics opportunity costs," such as loss of income from higher inventory, stock outs/lost sales and obsolete stock.

The decision to outsource to low-cost but remote countries has increased supply chain costs and reduced their performance due to longer lead times and greater risk for delays, said Drewry associate David Charlesworth at the white paper's launch in London on Thursday.

"Underestimation of opportunity costs skew the retailers' understanding of the price/reliability of logistics providers. It also leads to incorrect sourcing decisions -- although assessing all these variables is complicated and critically dependent on the specific market and products concerned," said Charlesworth, a former P&O Nedlloyd manager.

Spanish retailer Zara is a famous proponent of "near-sourcing." It makes a high proportion of its clothing in relatively high-wage locations in its home country and across Europe so that it can get a new range onto shelves in less than two weeks from design.

Drewry Research Director Philip Damas said supply chains need to be more responsive as product life cycles get shorter. The life cycle for men's shirts, he said, is on average about three-to-four months long, and importers and shipping lines are seriously underestimating the opportunity costs by not paying more attention to transit times or schedule reliability. The consultant's latest liner shipping schedule reliability study found that about half of all vessels tracked arrived in port later than advertised.

Damas said companies are contemplating sourcing to less remote countries than China because of the weakening of its traditional pillars of low labor costs, favorable exchange rates and low maritime costs. He also highlighted concerns over product quality, the environmental impact of longer transport distances and infrastructure bottlenecks as factors that could see a production shift away from China.

While maritime shipping carries the vast majority of the world's manufactured goods, Drewry's Sourcing/Mode Model assesses alternative transport modes.

A day saved in shipping a China-made shirt into the United States results in an estimated reduction in opportunity costs of about 1.8 cents, or about 0.2 percent of the product value. This is not sufficient, Drewry said, to swing the balance towards air transport, which it estimates carries about 10 percent of U.S. imports of Chinese shirts. Air freight becomes a viable option when the opportunity cost exceeds 5 cents per day.

High-value men's shirts imported into the Unites States from Italy for example have such high opportunity costs they warrant choosing the faster but much more expensive air transport option.

Mexico's combination of relative low wages, geographical position and absence of import duties is resulting in some companies switching production back there, and as such trucking into the United States is becoming more competitive, Drewry said.

Because logistics costs are a tiny fraction of the "delivered to DC" total cost -- Drewry estimates the ocean logistics chain cost for a shirt made in China for the U.S. market at just 1.5 percent of the DC cost, or 12 cents per shirt -- companies will continue lowest-cost sourcing unless they sense a very significant marketing disadvantage.

The consultants added that for big consumer markets like the United States and United Kingdom, foreign production of goods "is a fact of life for generations to come" due to the wide gap in labor costs.

Drewry said that based on information received from manufacturers the labor costs of a mid-priced shirt from China is about 10 percent to 30 percent of the ex-factory price. A 30 percent increase in relative labor costs in China, possibly triggered by a revaluation of the Yuan, would make China less competitive in terms of total product cost for men's shirts than Vietnam and Mexico for U.S. imports, when opportunity costs are taken into account.

"Our analysis shows that supply chains based on vendors located in intermediate offshore countries allow an effective combination of faster delivery times and relatively low labor costs," Damas said.

"We expect this near-sourcing logistics strategy to become more common, although it will not work for all products."

Drewry's white paper on China's apparel supply chains is available for free download by visiting www.drewrysupplychains.com.

CHaINA Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:15:00 +0000

Couple of weeks ago, the China Supply Chain Council presented its CHaINA Awards for the third times to celebrate superior achievements that are enabled by supply chain management in China.

Over 150 supply chain senior executives gathered to give recognition and compliments to five outstanding winners at a prestigious gala dinner held at the Shanghai Regent Hotel on November 8.

Here are some of the winners in this year's gathering:

The Best Supply Chain IT Solution was given to Seeburger for its recent JIT/JIS supply chain solution implemented at Benz Daimler Chrysler in Beijing. Over 150 suppliers are now live and using the system daily giving the manufacturer a competitive advantage in the China Automotive market and it has forced other OEM's to re-evaluate their SCM solutions.

The Award for China's Supply Chain Executive of the Year went to Dr. Dittmar Nerger, Head of Strategic Sourcing Healthcare at Bayer Healthcare for his years of management leadership and recent sourcing achievements in China.

The award for the Best 3PL Supply Chain Provider was presented to Kerry EAS for its innovative distribution solutions provided to Alfred Dunhill all over in China. Alfred Dunhill first started its business in China through 3rd party sales channel without self-owned shops and has now 39 self-owned stores and 27 wholesale stores all over China in less than 2 years.

The Award for Best Supply Chain Consulting Partner in China was awarded for the first time to IBM Global Business Services for the procurement transformation of Haier Group in Qingdao. Through the partnership with IBM, Haier managed to set up infrastructure for procurement innovation such as strategic sourcing, procurement engineering that paved the way for a dramatic cost reduction and supplier base optimization.

Amway China received the top Supply Chain Operational Excellence Award this year for its outstanding supply chain initiatives in China and abroad that resulted in a 20% logistics cost reduction, successful VMI operations between China and overseas factories and the rationalization of the number of logistics service providers.

When are they going to give out Best Supply Chain Blog Award? Who would you vote for? Lately, my vote would go to Eric Joiner...the Dawg is having his day...HA!

53's On The High Seas

noreply@blogger.com (Michael J. Stolarczyk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:05:00 +0000

Big box stores will now be able to ship their goods to the United State in bigger boxes.

APL said that it will begin offering shippers the option to move cargo in 53-foot containers, a move it says could "make a significant difference to the economics of transpacific trade."

The Singapore-based carrier said it will take delivery of what it called the "world's first ocean-capable 53-foot boxes" on Nov. 7. It said the reinforced boxes are 200 pounds heavier and have stronger corner posts than domestic 53-foot boxes.

The boxes will be available to shippers using APL's premier weekly South China to Los Angeles service. The company plans to also look at deploying them elsewhere.

"Our objective is to move big-box economics farther back in the supply chain to the point where products are manufactured in Asia," said Ron Widdows, chief executive officer of APL. "We're responding to customers who want new levels of efficiency in their containerized trade."

While 20- and 40-foot containers are the most common size box used by container carriers, APL and other carriers also offer a variety of other size boxes, including 45-foot and 48-foot ocean containers.

Fifty-three-foot containers, which are the same size as domestic trailers pulled by 18-wheelers, are widely used domestically.

Trailer Bridge, a company that provides container service between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, has used 53-foot containers in its service for a decade.

Importers commonly ship cargo to the U.S. West Coast in 20, 40 or 45-foot boxes, then transload cargo into 53-foot containers or trailers at U.S. ports for truck or rail transport to the final destination in order to take advantage economies of scale of moving freight in bigger boxes.

A 53-foot box has 60 percent more capacity than a standard 40-foot container, and at nine feet, six inches high and 102 inches wide, are six inches wider than standard boxes. Two 53-foot boxes will hold about the same amount of cargo as three 40 foot containers.

Because more cargo can be moved by fewer trucks, APL said 53-foot boxes could reduce transportation costs, road congestion and pollution.

It predicted they "could become the transport method of choice for customers moving cargo to inland U.S. destinations," allowing cargo to be transported in the same container from Asian factory to U.S. stores without transloading.

APL's press release included laudatory comments about the larger boxes from executives at retailer Toys ‘R’ Us and New Balance, the athletic shoemaker.

The benefits touted by APL were familiar to John McCown, chief executive officer of the Puerto Rico carrier Trailer Bridge.

His company began using 53-foot containers in regularly scheduled ocean service to Puerto Rico in 1998, and since then "fundamentally all of our liner freight has moved in 53s and our customers have experienced the various benefits that come with these superior units."

Trailer Bridge has 3,800 53-foot boxes in service, and McCown said they've been specially designed for ocean use. The company also instituted regular service using 53-foot containers to and from the Dominican Republic earlier this year.