For chemical logistics practitioners, 2020 is proving to be an especially interesting year for managing transportation spend, performance, and market capacity. The global challenges introduced by the spread of COVID-19, including shutdowns, workplace adjustments, and political and social tensions, demand that logistics experts are more flexible and knowledgeable than ever before. With the right global chemical logistics strategies, the right 4PL partner can find effective solutions that keep your shipping lanes fully functional without breaking the bank.

In this blog, we’re exploring 7 ways chemical logistics practitioners can keep their transportation spend under control. 

Continue reading “7 Ways to Control Transportation Spend” →

For chemical manufacturers, knowing what you don’t know about your transportation process can be your greatest asset. With every US state and many countries around the world implementing work and travel restrictions, it’s more vital than ever to minimize unknowns and gain complete control over your chemical logistics process, essential data, and your decision points.

Chemical companies have to partner with third-party logistics providers that can develop customized programs tailored to their industry.

We’ve identified 5 best practices for chemical logistics success with some updates for 2020. Learn about these best practices, and then get expert tips for putting them into action.

Continue reading “5 Best Practices for Chemical Logistics Success in Times of Crisis” →

At CLX Logistics, the health of our employees remains our top focus. Our dedicated team is in full operation under our Business Continuity Plan to provide our customers with complete support throughout this unprecedented time. Leveraging our technological capabilities and state-of-the-art systems, all of our employees are working from home without missing a beat in any mode of transport.

Our Rail Fleet Management and Operations department in the Global Transport division has been particularly successful amidst current challenges, as all major rail lines continue to operate fluidly. Rail transportation volumes haven’t been impacted as severely as other modes of transportation, but there are some decreases in usage due to the shutdown of many nonessential manufacturers and industries.

Continue reading “Rail Transport Service Update: CN Railway & Union Pacific – 5/18/2020” →

As the world becomes more interconnected than ever, companies will need to adopt effective international logistics and supply chain strategies. But shipping internationally is an entirely different beast compared to domestic shipping. International logistics services involve shipping cargo through a variety of mediums between countries without the cargo being directly affected at any point in its journey. CLX Logistics has forged solid partnerships around the globe to offer unprecedented safety, speed, and dependability for our planning and logistics solutions for international trade.

In this blog, we’re taking a closer look at the key elements of logistics in international trade and supply chain management.
Continue reading “Exploring the Intricacies of Logistics in International Trade” →

There are a lot of questions about the U.S. economy right now, as different trade and tariff bills are proposed, and laws are set in motion. The most recent data from the Institute for Supply Chain Management, show that manufacturing production, including chemical manufacturing, is slowing down. The Purchasing Managers’ Index is currently at 52.1%, which is slightly down from what it was in April.

As this number nears closer to 50, red flags of a possible recession are beginning to raise. It’s important at times like this, for manufacturers and supply chain executives alike, to understand the factors that are impacting production—because we’ve seen this before: when the winds change, companies either prevail as leaders or fail as laggards. So, in this blog, we’ll discuss the factors contributing to slowed manufacturing production and their impact on transportation and logistics.

Continue reading “Manufacturing is Slowing Down: Will Your Supply Chain Lead or Lag?” →

As we navigate ongoing supply chain complexities, the transport sector continues to face challenges shaped by many factors. Things like evolving capacity constraints, increased emphasis on expedited delivery, a push for heightened supply chain visibility, and the acceleration of digital transformation have made innovation a crucial element for shippers and carriers across industries, including chemicals.

However, with challenges come opportunities. In this climate, new and improved strategies for managing transportation operations are emerging, aiming to enhance efficiency and drive continuous improvement across entire supply chains. For companies ready to seize these opportunities, here are your top five transportation procurement and benchmarking trends to keep costs down.

Continue reading “5 Transportation Procurement & Benchmarking Trends to Keep Costs Down” →

A freight broker is very different from a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that offers freight brokerage services. In more ways than one, a 3PL can offer a speedier and more reliable route for solving urgent shipping issues than a broker and support you through a trusted network of high-quality carriers. Understanding the difference between 3PL freight brokerage services and freight broker services will help you make a more educated choice when you need something shipped fast.

Continue reading “The 3PL Freight Brokerage Basics” →

By Cosmas Hoefnagels for Talking Logistics

As digitization continues to modify the global supply chain landscape, its unprecedented data sources and solutions will lead to not only the demise of disparate information systems, but to the rise of true, end-to-end, supply chain visibility. For suppliers and mid- to large-sized companies, supply chain visibility serves as the foundation for strategic decisions and tactical improvements across the entire transportation network. It is through the establishment of supply chain visibility that supply chain insights, outside the four walls, will be garnered and leveraged as actionable data that supports supply chain optimization.

Today, companies have varied interpretations of “visibility,” largely due to evolving business demands and globalization trends. To an international 3PL in 2016 however, supply chain visibility (SVC) is known as the capability to monitor and register movements through a transportation network. This functionality then leads to supply chain insight which allows companies to learn about operational performance, strengths and weaknesses of a supply chain configuration, changes in supply or demand and customer service capabilities and cost.

While some industries have already achieved this ideal state of transparency, businesses in the chemical industry for example, that are better known for well-developed IT infrastructures or plant operations and less for the adoption of advanced supply chain concepts and optimization, are begetting one key question: how do we approach and achieve end-to-end supply chain visibility, and ultimately benefit from the network-wide insights it will offer? To these companies we say, follow these five steps.

1. Define Your Unique Corporate Goals and Objectives

Much like any other strategic initiative or company-wide process change, leadership must start with the end in mind. Consider the ways rich data collection can help shape your supply chain towards lower cost and optimal performance. The most common goals of supply chain visibility include the following, but as your company completes this exercise, be sure to include quantifiable metrics:

• Reduce business and supply chain risk
• Improve lead times and performance
• Identify shortage and quality problems along the supply chain

2. Augment and Set Visibility Tools In Place

The first tangible step towards achieving SCV is to get the basic visibility tools in place. These tools include sophisticated IT platforms such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software; electronic data interchange (EDI); or transportation management systems (TMS). For companies with existing supply chain technology, it is likely not necessary to collect new data, but to take a fresh look into a data warehouse through unused add-on and field functionalities. For international companies with multiple locations or scarce technology, it is often a best practice to seek the expertise of an experienced 3PL provider to recommend and integrate the ideal platform into your supply chain.

3. Track, Trace and Collect Data from Key Partners

Configure your visibility tools to establish data collection among key partners, such as suppliers, service providers, contract manufacturers and customers – all of which are focused namely on supply chain logistics functions. As data is collected from these primary and secondary parties, be sure to also integrate it with your global track and trace strategies to deliver cross-functional insights that can deliver return-on-investment.

4. Analyze Performance and Manage Expectations

With your data collection and visibility needs aligned, your company should leverage dashboards and scoreboards to not only monitor KPIs, but the bigger picture which includes enterprise-wide and outside the four walls workflows. For example, leverage your technology to track workflow events from purchase order to fulfillment and provide access to people beyond the primary addressees, such as trading partners and suppliers. This expanded accessibility is the key to fostering outside the four walls visibility, allowing data to be analyzed from myriad perspectives. The outcomes of knowledge-sharing at this level will strengthen relationships, drive new applications, improve contract negotiations, mitigate bottlenecks and uncover additional, unforeseen improvement areas.

5. Optimize from End-to-End with Business Intelligence

Upon analyzing the performance of your supply chain against different perspectives, your company will gain usable intelligence to improve basic operational measures and develop alternative supply chain strategies. This actionable data can be used to not only anticipate changes to supply and demand, but to remodel the supply chain and calculate alternative configurations and delivery networks, including inbound shipments and consolidation opportunities. Furthermore, once a well-fitted information system has been established, it is time to develop and adhere to regular evaluations and reviews to ensure continuous improvement and optimization is firing, and integrating, on all cylinders.

In a recent Kewill survey, more than one-third of organizations indicated they are planning to broaden workflow visibility outside the four walls. With almost half of the organizations surveyed seeking greater visibility and insight, it is palpable that digitization is not just challenging businesses to progress, but inspiring companies to adopt alternative approaches to supply chain optimization. So, while leaders may “start with the end in mind” to set their organization up for success, there are just as many organizations discussing the benefits of “first things first”— and that is supply chain visibility.

Read full article here.

Let’s face it, IT (the information technology department) is either the enabler or the gate-keeper for all-too-many of our good ideas.  Unfortunately, when it comes to prioritizing IT budgets and resourcing, Logistics all too often takes a back seat to Finance, Sales, Customer Service and Manufacturing – i.e. everybody else. As a result, logistics technology projects such as a Transportation Management System (TMS) are often underfunded and/or understaffed, and therefore prone to project delays and missed go-live dates – which results in greater difficulties delivering ROI.

So what is a logistics/supply chain manager to do in convincing senior management to give us some love – to prioritize and properly fund these projects? Let’s start with, why are logistics projects, say for instance the implementation of a world-class TMS, so important?

Why Specialized Transportation Solutions Matter

It’s pretty simple really: transportation costs account for 3-8 percent of your company’s total revenues, and transportation represents the first and final leg of your ever so important supply chain. Automating and optimizing transportation activities can drive huge savings.  Providing predictability and visibility to shipments both inbound to manufacturing and outbound to customers can drive step changes in the effectiveness of the end-to-end supply chain. This has been proven over and over again by shippers of everything from yogurt to roof-top HVAC systems.  These improvements matter …… a lot…… to nearly every department in your company, to your customers and to bottom lines!

The obstacles that companies tend to encounter in pursuing such improvements stem from the fact that logistics and transportation IT decisions get lumped in with decisions to buy and implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.  ERP solutions from companies like SAP, Oracle and Microsoft offer transportation modules, which are typically sold at a steep discount as part of the whole ERP package.  So in acquiring ERPs, companies are too quick to determine that Transportation’s needs will be met in the course of implementing the ERP.  The problem with this thinking is that transportation activities are a lot more nuanced and complex than companies realize.  During the ERP assessment and deployment, far too little time and consideration are given to addressing the complexities of actives such as: transportation contracts and rates, customer delivery requirements, load planning and optimization, carrier integration/connectivity, and freight cost accounting/settlement.

The result?  Too little attention is paid to whether the ERP can actually address your company’s transportation requirements, and only the bare basics are developed and implemented. More often than not your company’s fancy new ERP might even make your job harder than it was before!

4 IT Challenges Logistics Organizations Face

Now that your company has spent many millions to implement the ERP, and your transportation requirements remain unmet, what next?  Decisions to find and implement the right TMS are going to fall on you.  And, although IT is a critical player in finding and deploying your TMS, IT is now entirely consumed with just keeping the ERP wheels turning for everyone else. You have some major hurdles to overcome, including:

1. Resourcing: The needs of the logistics organization are often deemed lower priority than the needs of other departments, despite Transportation’s cost footprint and important touch points to customers and manufacturing.
2. Business case development: Even though savings and service improvements are often significant, developing a baseline and ROI for IT projects is a complex challenge.
3. Communication: Logistics managers often struggle to get senior management attention and to articulate their needs sufficiently to get attention on logistics projects.
4. Capacity to staff projects: Logistics is often one of the hardest hit departments when it comes to head-count reductions, resulting in understaffed organizations that struggle to man improvement projects.

4 Steps to Getting the Buy-In You Need

So what can you do to better ensure that IT buys into the project and is held accountable for deadlines? And how can IT be made to feel like a strategic partner rather than a service provider? Here are a few ideas:

1. Build a compelling ROI: Remember, over and over again shippers have delivered substantial savings from TMS implementations. Work with a TMS vendor, and engage your finance team to calculate and present the business case. TMS can pay for itself within the year, and pay large ongoing dividends.
2. Engage IT early in the discussion: Once there is a business case, IT needs to be engaged in order to help identify a solution that will work. IT should be closely involved in evaluating the business case, scoping and designing the solution, and selecting the solution provider.
3. Understand the project complexities: To implement a successful project, you need to be realistic about expectations and timelines. These projects are not easy – do not let technology vendors convince you otherwise.  They need proper attention, professional project management, and sufficient resources in Logistics, Operations, Customer Service, Accounting, and IT.
4. Demand sufficient funding and resourcing: Enough said.

The bottom line? Logistics IT projects matter.  They drive big-time improvements.  But they are not easy.  Don’t let yours go underappreciated and underfunded.