Up Front
Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2001
-
Will supply chain management become a household word? With Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and CNF (parent of Emery Worldwide, Menlo Logistics, and Con-Way Transportation) all running commercials touting their supply chain management capabilities on prime-time television, that's a real possibility. One of our favorites is CNF's commercial featuring a father having a heart-to-heart talk with his young son. In a moment reminiscent of the famous "plastics" scene fromThe Graduate, Dad tells junior that the key to his future personal success is "supply chain management."
-
The aircargo industry got a public-relations boost from the recent "spy plane" incident between the United States and China. News coverage of efforts to retrieve the U.S. Navy's EP-3 surveillance aircraft from Hainan Island introduced millions to the concept of aircraft charters and the various options for moving oversized cargo. Dallas-based Tailwind International got the job; the company arranged the charter of an Antonov An-124 freighter and obtained necessary government permissions, flew U.S. technicians to Hainan Island to disassemble the aircraft, and supervised the flight to Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Ga., via Manila and Honolulu.
-
Cummins Inc. is making a significant investment in an unusual public-private partnership that hopes to demonstrate the benefits of retrofitting diesel engines to reduce emissions. The company has donated $400,000 to the Seattle Diesel Solutions Program, which will modify nearly 800 Cummins engines in municipal fleet vehicles. When fully implemented, the program should reduce particulate emissions by Seattle city and county trucks by nearly 90 percent. Other participants in the program include the Boeing Co., Tosco Refining, the Manufacturers of Emissions Controls Association, the Diesel Technology Forum, and several federal, city, and regional government agencies. For more on how emissions controls will affect fleet operations, see "The high cost of clean air," in Logistics' June 2001 issue.
-
The University of Tennessee has launched a new integrated supply chain management certification program for managers in logistics, engineering, production, finance, sales, and marketing. The two-year program, which consists of six two-and-one-half day courses, awards the title of Certified Supply Chain Manager to participants. Attendees will be required to demonstrate competency in demand management, logistics, lean manufacturing operations, and resource management as well as in integrating these components across the supply chain. Course content includes a focus on strategic and operational analysis. For more information about the certification program, contact UT's Center for Executive Education at (865) 974-5001.
-
New regulations affecting wooden packing materials for shipments to Europe take effect Oct. 1. Emergency measures designed to prevent an infestation of the pinewood nematode require all non-manufactured wood products used in packing to be heat treated or kiln dried to kill the pest. EU customs authorities will reject any shipment containing untreated wood products. The program also requires on-site inspections of packing material manufacturers to verify compliance with the treatment standards. For more information about the regulations, contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or visit www.aphis.usda.gov.
-
Rail shippers can now use a single Web site to send shipping instructions to more than two dozen North American railroads. The Steelroads industry consortium has developed an online bill of lading for non-hazardous commodities, which allows shippers to create and transmit shipping instructions electronically through the group's Web site (www.steelroads.com). Other Steelroads offerings include shipment tracking and tracing, route and pricing data, equipment specifications, and a variety of reference tools. Participating railroads include Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific; Mexico's Ferromex, Ferrosur, and TFM; and members of the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association and the Railway Association of Canada. For more information, visit www.steelroads.com or call (877) 471-6883.
-
NYK Line is offering shippers an unusual information service. The company's Logistics Technology Institute in Tokyo, which conducts research on environmental conditions in ocean transportation and develops technology to prevent cargo damage, has collected historical data about temperatures, shocks and vibration, humidity, and other conditions affecting containerized cargo. This information is available at no charge to shippers through the Container Environment Measurement Service (www.nyklti.co.jp/ces). After registering, users can obtain data by condition, trade lane, or port pair. The institute is also able to conduct research for individual customers.
-
Two useful directories of interest to exporters and importers are now available. The National Customs Brokers&Forwarders Association of America's2001 National Membership Directory provides information about the organization as well as alphabetical and geographic lists of members, a buyers guide to products and services, and a directory of U.S. Customs Service offices. It is available to members for $12 and to non-members for $25; call (202) 466-0222 or e-mail staff@ncbfaa.org to order.Seaports of the Americas 2001, published by the American Association of Port Authorities, is a guide to seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere. In addition to detailed profiles of ports in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, the 208-page book offers a wealth of statistical information about ports in those regions. The guidebook is available for $95 plus shipping and handling for single copies or $79 dollars plus S&H for two or more copies. To order online, visit www.seaportsoftheamericas.com or call (305) 758-0949.
-
A new feature on the Surface Transportation Board's Web site provides information on transportation-related environmental issues. Included are information on agency rules implementing federal environmental law in the area of transportation, significant transportation cases before the board involving environmental issues, a glossary of transportation and environmental terms, third-party contracting information on the preparation of environmental documentation, and a list of Web sites for other agencies involved in environmental matters. The STB's Web site is www.stb.dot.gov.
-
So you think shipping via air freight is fast? Think again, says SITA, the global provider of information and telecommunications solutions to the air transport industry. The organization's recent study of the processes involved in air transportation found that the average cycle time for air shipments was 8 to 12 days, but goods were actually in transit for just 5 to 10 percent of that time. Paperwork is partly to blame, the researchers conclude. The average international shipment generates about 40 copies of various documents or forms. A full 73 percent of the data on those documents and forms represents duplicate information that initially is recorded on three documents: the commercial invoice, the shipper's letter of instruction, and the air waybill.
View All On-Demand Webcasts