Category: Blog

4 Essential Qualities of a Top-Tier Chemical Logistics Provider

Between 2020 and 2024, the chemical logistics market is projected to grow by $24.7 billion. As demands increase, so do the number of companies who claim to be able to handle your chemical logistics needs. Chemical logistics is different from regular logistics. With unique HAZMAT requirements, permits, regional and regulatory knowledge, and industry expertise. To effectively tackle these challenges, you have to have an experienced chemical logistics specialist in your corner.

To help you find the right industry partner, we’re looking at 4 essential qualities of a top-tier chemical logistics provider. 

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Stop Bleeding Money with Outdated Freight Bidding Strategies

Let’s look at the facts – the percentage of supply chain managers using new analytics tools and services to develop better bidding strategies has increased from 17% in 2017 to more than 30% in 2020.1 As the ability to strategize bidding continues to improve and keep shippers competitive, that number will continue to grow. Soon, it’ll almost be a guarantee that if you’re not leveraging modern data analytics properly, you’re losing money or leaving it on the table. So, what are your competitors getting from modern data and analytics solutions that you’re missing out on?

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Does Your TMS Carry its Weight? Take Steps Towards Improvement

Choosing the right TMS is a critical part of every chemical shipper’s transportation network. Modern TMS provides advanced visibility into your day-to-day transportation operations and documentation that ensures your chemical freight gets to your customers on time. The right TMS makes it easier, more efficient, and cost-effective to track, manage, and optimize logistics operations across all modes and provide the right level of visibility to all parties.

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4 Benefits of 4PL & Managed Transportation Services

You’re likely familiar with a 2PL or 3PL, but now, we often see the term 4PL used throughout the industry. Sometimes you’ll see both 4PL and Managed Transportation Services used together or interchangeably to describe similar services. Even here at CLX Logistics, we provide 4PL services to many of our clients. So, what does it mean, exactly?

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Solve Chemical Logistics Challenges with Intermodal Transportation

In the world of transportation and logistics, the chemical industry is a bit unique. The biggest differences come from the need for highly specialized containers to safely transport chemical freight, and the extensive regulations chemicals must comply with for transportation. Fortunately, these challenges can be solved with a combination of tools and techniques that not only address the problem but introduce significant potential to save time and money across your supply chain. The strategy as a whole revolves around intermodal transportation and the use of BulkTainer™ ISO tanks.

This blog looks at the key challenges of chemical logistics, leveraging intermodal transportation, and how BulkTainer™ ISO tanks fit in to streamline the whole process.

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How Big Data Analytics Can Help Optimize Your Supply Chain

Big data and predictive transportation analytics are transforming the supply chain industry in incredible ways. More and more, transportation companies are considering predictive analytics a crucial component of doing business. As the global transportation and logistics market continues to grow, new complexities such as health-related closures, capacity issues, global regulatory changes, and other factors drive shippers to seek better solutions.

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ISO Tank Capacity Guide

Our intermodal shipping containers specialize in bulk ISO tanks and our large fleet is ready to transport your bulk liquid chemicals. We provide this intermodal transportation solution from the shipper’s plant to the consignee—with comprehensive tracking and monitoring—all on a single bill of lading. As the leader in global chemical supply chain management, CLX Logistics knows what it takes to safely transport large quantities of liquid chemical products. Our global fluency and international presence enable us to optimize the transportation of chemical products and compositions to locations around the world quickly and safely. With extensive international transportation management and logistics experience and state-of-the-art strategies and equipment, we simplify processes, enhance supply chain efficiency, and reduce costs for our partners. To help our customers, we have created an ISO Tank Capacity Guide to help with your Intermodal needs.

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Your Guide to HAZMAT Classes in Transportation

The transportation of chemicals comes with significant financial, environmental, and health-related risks. That’s why the US and other countries have robust laws and regulations in place to ensure proper safety precautions and regulations are strictly followed. Around the world, hazardous materials regulations change frequently, and experienced 4PLs have to be diligent about staying up to date on those changes. Our Infographic: Achieve Chemical Compliance Quickly & Effectively  is an excellent resource for chemical manufacturers to learn how to keep up!

It’s critical for chemical manufacturers to partner with a 4PL that specializes in, understands, and complies with the regulations and responsibilities set by the federal government. Today, we’re going back to the basics with a quick look at the various types of HAZMAT Classes defined by the FMCSA.

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Strengthening Supply Chain Performance During Divestiture

When companies increase focus and resources on core capabilities to improve their service offerings and increase shareholder value, divestitures can often occur as a result. Divestitures are major transitions that impact all areas of a business, including supply chain reliability and efficiency.

With today’s increased regulations, unstable market conditions, and capacity concerns affecting shippers, it can be challenging for a newly divested company to sustain supply chain performance.

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TMS Strategy in Volatile Times: Where You Should Be & How to Get There

By Mike Skinner, VP, CLX Logistics

We’re currently in one of the most volatile freight markets in the past 20 years. 2018 was brutal for shippers with the demand/supply equation heavily favoring carriers. 2019 brought a dramatic swing back in favor of shippers as capacity loosened. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, dry van capacity was at a premium. As of this writing, carriers are actively looking to deploy idle trucks. By early 2021 as the economy rebounds and carriers have departed a depressed market, under-prepared shippers will again have trouble getting loads covered.

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