The geographic sourcing diversification movement away from China is already underway, confirms QIMA’s year-end survey of 100+ businesses across the globe. Seventy-five percent of respondents report they are already sourcing suppliers in new markets or plan to do so soon.

The markets seeing more activity include those with less developed manufacturing industries and infrastructure than China, such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Vietnam. These are all markets where factory compliance, workers’ rights, safety, waste management, and quality control issues persist, according to the report.

For instance, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Turkey saw their average factory scores deteriorate by -5.1 percent, -3.2 percent, and -3.1 percent in 2018, respectively, QIMA reports.

On a more positive note, many global brands are taking action to mitigate the risks of shifting sourcing markets, with QIMA handling an uptick in requests for inspections and audits in most of these emerging markets. For example, the demand for inspections and audits expanded by more than 50 percent in Indonesia and Cambodia.

QIMA audit data going as far back as 2016 shows a slow yet steady upward climb of ethical scores in the textile and apparel sector. That trend—coupled with the fact that this industry has faced high levels of consumer-driven ethical accountability—validates the argument that increased demands for transparency in supply chains result in better sourcing ethics down the line.

To sort through emerging and existing technology, a recent survey by global trade management software provider Amber Road and the Association of American Exporters and Importers provides insight into what technology companies are using, the challenges these systems are expected to solve, and how companies are implementing them.

Here are some key statistics from the survey of more than 120 supply chain executives in a cross-cut of industries and roles.

• While 77 percent of respondents state tariffs and duties top their list of concerns for 2019, 57 percent are looking to reduce supply chain costs (see chart above).
• More than 50 percent are looking to solve sourcing and quality issues using technology (see chart above).
• Only 40 percent are leveraging a Global Trade Management system for supply chain execution.
• Even then, not all processes are automated, indicating continued reliance on manual processes.
• Blockchain is being considered at 30 percent of responding companies; probably the same 33 percent that consider their companies as leaders in technology adoption.

The report gives guidance on how to build the "right" technology stack. Although finding the right stack might sound daunting at first, this task should be seen as a way to spark your company’s innovativeness in finding new ways to compete and win.

Download the report at: bit.ly/TradeTrendsInbound

— Gary M. Barraco, Product Evangelist, Amber Road

Virgin and Delta aligned their cargo operations under one roof in the UK in June 2016, and the carriers now share cargo facilities at major U.S. gateways, notably Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York, Orlando, and Washington Dulles.

The move to the new facility—scheduled for the second half of 2019—will ultimately increase the size of Virgin and Delta’s cargo operation at Heathrow to 335,000 square feet and help shippers benefit from greater automation and faster truck and cargo handling times.

Inside the warehouse, technology investments will enable staff using handheld devices to efficiently manage the flow of cargo, while the double-train ETV system will increase storage to 245 positions for pallets and containers. Customer trucks arriving at the facility will benefit from a new door management system, which enables drivers to complete paperwork at the gatehouse on arrival without leaving their vehicles and to then be immediately assigned to one of the facility’s 18 cargo doors.

The new location will also provide further benefits for shippers using Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo services to move temperature-controlled healthcare and life science products, as well as offering a dedicated perishables zone and an enlarged AVI center for live animals.

Compared to 37.6 percent of global retailers offering BOPIS, 31 percent of Canadian retailers offer the service. Despite falling behind other countries analyzed in the study, including the UK, Australia, France, Germany, and Austria, Canada has made significant progress in developing omni-channel retail capabilities.

Based on data collected from 281 retail chains in Canada with a minimum of 10 store locations, other key findings include:

• 82.9 percent offer some form of free shipping.
• 34.5 percent offer basic, active inventory visibility.
• 13.9 percent of all retailers provide free return deliveries.
• 74.7 percent of omnichannel retailers offer Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS).
• 71.2 percent of retailers have a mobile-responsive site.
• 19.5 percent of omnichannel retailers have an active Instagram shop.

Pegged as a country in the omnichannel development phase, Canada has seen improvements since the Omni-1000 report conducted in 2017. Compared to previous research, Canada now has 70 percent more retailers offering e-commerce and more than 50 percent more retailers offering free shipping. The average minimum basket value for free shipping has also decreased, moving from $60.87 to $48.89, making this option more accessible to consumers.

While the specific mechanics of Brexit separation remain unclear, what is clear is that it will impact EU and UK logistics workers; regulatory issues will create new production, packaging, and distribution standards/norms; potential trade tariffs will impact the bottom line due to tax structures and duties; and challenges to the free movement of goods, along with demand and supply issues, will arise.

In addition, potential areas that will be affected by Brexit include:

• Tariffs—shippers may pay more on raw materials or finished/intermediate goods, based on EU and UK negotiations.
• Forex currency—any depreciation of the pound due to Brexit will create more opportunity for exports from the UK. But, import costs will go up.
• Supply chain delays—the imposition of new customs requirements and additional documentation will likely cause clearance delays and additional labeling.
• Taxation—the UK could reduce corporate taxation to maintain and grow its share in trading activity, leading to enhanced logistics needs.

Even though answers to many of these questions are still unknown, it is important that businesses do not wait for concrete answers or policies, but begin to work through potential scenarios and plan their responses now. Strategies include:

• Analyze the business supply chain and set future goals.
• Standardize data on all aspects of logistics.
• Assess and model scenarios to identify the likely impacts of Brexit and how to manage them.
• Run a cost-benefit and risk assessment.
• Run pilot projects and review the results.

Further big ideas to balance the Brexit impact include:

Faster digitization. It’s time to digitize and standardize internal, external, and intra-company processes to bring in transparency, documentation handling, and price discovery.

Market platforms. Multimodal capabilities for handling e-commerce platforms are the norm of the future. They provide an opportunity to both optimize on cost and find models to benefit from the opportunities Brexit creates.

Businesses can find creative ways to reap the benefits of Brexit and reduce their liabilities and risks with a well-designed logistics strategy.

— Ruchi Dogra, CoFounder and Director, FreightCrate Technologies

The service ultimately impacts clinical trial patients, as temperature-sensitive biological products and new patient-specific treatments will be in the right hands exactly when needed.

With its medical express service, DHL Express can manage the export and regulatory requirements for urgent shipments with specific temperature needs from several major cities in Brazil to most U.S. destinations in 24 to 48 hours. DHL has upgraded and validated its WMX service points in Brazil to meet several Brazilian federal, state, and city regulations around Ministry of Health and Sanitary controls and licensing requirements.

The successful implementation of the DHL WMX clinical trial platform at DHL Express Brazil includes a dedicated customer service center with bilingual staff and an onboarding team to support investigator sites. The WMX service includes dry ice supplies and temperature-controlled packaging fulfillment, online tools for placing bookings and ordering supplies, and a web-based interface—Express Logistics Platform (ELP)—that connects sites. The DHL customer service team and all the operational back office systems reside within the DHL operation and are also integrated into ELP.

Qualified customers receive a choice of temperature options—ambient, chilled, or frozen—through specialized thermal packaging. Pre-determined contingencies circumvent delays, and DHL quality control centers monitor the shipments 24/7.

The service is capable of transporting laboratory kits and medical devices, biological samples (blood, saliva, urine, tissues), research products, vaccines, drugs for commercial and non-commercial use, and medical devices.

"No other single container terminal in North America has the ability to expand berth capacity at this rate," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch at the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference, where he unveiled the program. Currently, Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is equipped to handle two of these vessels and by April 2019 that number will increase to three.

Over the next five years, the GPA plans to add another 21 Neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, replacing 14 of its older models to bring the total fleet to 37. Dock upgrades are already underway to support the new, larger cranes.

The Savannah market is also seeing significant private development. Over the past two years, private investors have added 9 million square feet of available space, bringing Savannah’s total industrial real estate market to 60.6 million square feet. The rate of construction has since accelerated, with another 9.2 million square feet of industrial space currently under construction.

In addition to the ship-to-shore cranes, GPA is adding one dozen new rubber-tired gantry cranes, which will bring the number of Garden City Terminal’s container handling cranes to 158. Phase I of the Mason Mega Rail project will be complete in October 2019. Full completion one year later will double the Port of Savannah’s rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year.

In late 2021, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is slated for completion, delivering the deeper water necessary to better accommodate the larger vessels now calling on the U.S. East Coast.