We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » go global or get out of the way
fastlane

go global or get out of the way

July 1, 2004
Clifford F. Lynch
No Comments

For years, the pundits have warned that globalization was upon us. Look beyond the shores, they've urged. The companies that mastered the intricacies of sourcing in Changzhou or exporting to Guadalajara would flourish, they promised. The rest would be left in the dust.

As prophets before them have found, the message often fell on ears that, if not exactly deaf, were at least partially blocked. But that doesn't mean the pundits weren't right. Growth in international business has defied expectations. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. international trade in goods and services has grown to 26.9 percent of GDP today from 10.7 percent in 1970. Today, international trade totals over $2.0 trillion.

That growth is unlikely to stall anytime soon. A survey by the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award revealed that 95 percent of CEO respondents identified "more globalization" as their top challenge over the next three to five years. Eighty percent identified improving their global supply chains as their top challenge. Needless to say, the CEOs' objectives will quickly become the objectives of everyone in their organizations, logistics and supply chain managers included.

As business spins out of its purely domestic orbit, logistics managers will be caught up in the tumult. Their jobs will change; they'll need new tools, new services and new skills. But most importantly, they'll encounter new challenges in managing the business's most basic functions. Here's what they can expect:

  • A revamping of DC networks. Traditionally, importers have held inventories in distribution centers located close to port cities. But that's starting to change. Dismayed by soaring truck rates and everworsening congestion at ports and the surrounding areas, companies are relocating their DCs to places like Memphis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Louisville.
  • A surge in outsourcing. During the past two years, the number of companies hiring outside services to handle freight forwarding, customs brokerage and customs clearance has shot up by 50 percent. Though U.S.-based service providers with global reach have been in short supply, the void has been filled by foreign firms such as Kuehne & Nagel, Deutsche Post,Neptune Orient and Tibbett & Britten that specialize in cutting through the complexities of international trade.
  • Congestion on the roads and rails. A surge in international trade threatens to overwhelm an already overburdened transportation system. In recent months, rising truck rates have prompted managers to shift domestic shipments to cheaper intermodal service. Trouble is, that volume combined with a torrent of international containers could overtax the system, creating more bottlenecks like the ones reported on the Union Pacific Railroad in recent months.
  • A push for more, better technology. The complexity of global logistics will raise the bar where technology's concerned. Shippers charged with overseeing duty management, compliance screening, landed cost calculations, customs clearance and document filing will require systems far more sophisticated than the warehouse and transportation management systems they currently use for domestic activities. These will have to be enhanced, if not replaced.
  • A demand for education. It's estimated that less than half of the logistics executives in the country currently have global responsibilities.And it's hard to imagine that anyone out there could be fully conversant with all of the complexities of managing all aspects of global trade. Education will be a necessity. Given that the Customs regulations for import shipments alone run well over 500 pages, it's clear the training process won't be quick or easy. But it will be necessary. It's the price of living—and thriving—in a global market.
Supply Chain Services Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    The Super Easy Way to Get Fumes Out of Factories & Warehouses

    IronPlanet webinar invitation: "Taking the Heavy out of Heavy-Haul - The Online Way"

    Noted economist waxes bullish on U.S. economy for this year, next as long as Washington 'gets out of the way'

Clifford F. Lynch is principal of C.F. Lynch & Associates, a provider of logistics management advisory services, and author of Logistics Outsourcing ? A Management Guide and co-author of The Role of Transportation in the Supply Chain. He can be reached at cliff@cflynch.com.

Recent Articles by Clifford Lynch

A New Solution for Some Old Problems

The time has come

The continuing saga of driver shortages

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

  • Ports, maritime operators see tide turning as ocean freight tsunami subsides

  • In Person: Steve Beverly of Penske

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Eeafd0c7 0569 4a63 8b31 fdbc5322c7cd

Crown’s DualMode Automated Forklifts Revolutionize the Warehouse

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As part of the company’s ongoing digitization efforts, DHL Supply Chain has deployed Crown’s DualMode automated reach trucks to help ensure resiliency in the supply chain, with reach trucks available 24/7/365. “AGVs provide a better quality of life for our associates on the floor,” says Gordon Hanthorn, Senior...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing