Devoted to you...(page 2)

-- Logistics Management, 2/1/2006

Page 2 of 3 -- That's why Periship's first priority is to protect the product, says Managing Partner, Logistics and Customer Service Luciano Morra. For Periship, that means making sure customers use the right protective packaging, providing them with high-visibility labels for time- and temperature-sensitive packages, monitoring weather conditions, sending nightly pre-shipment alerts to FedEx (Periship's exclusive carrier) and early-morning updates to shippers, and electronically monitoring the progress of each shipment. "We don't go home at night until every single proof of delivery is in the system or we have projected resolutions for delays," Morra says.

When problems do arise, immediate intervention is a must. If a restaurant is closed when FedEx arrives, Periship directs the courier to refrigerate the shipment and then contacts the recipient to arrange redelivery. If a shipment won't arrive in time for a scheduled event, the forwarder notifies both shipper and consignee, giving them time to change a menu or find an alternate source.

The forwarder's proactive style and strategic alignment with FedEx prompted Robert George to become a customer. His business, The Crab Broker, buys seafood from processors and delivers it "directly to the chef's back door" in 150 cities. When George's previous carrier couldn't handle his shipments while it reconfigured its sorting hubs, 12,000 pounds of fresh fish and crab were put at risk, he recalls. He called Periship for help, and the forwarder got all of those shipments underway and delivered on time, he says.

The broker also is realizing longer-term benefits from working with the seafood specialist. For one thing, George no longer has to dedicate a full-time position to tracking shipments and solving transportation problems. He and his suppliers now can create shipping documents in record time, and they receive prompt notification if anything should go awry. That means the world to him, George says. "I can sell the greatest, freshest seafood in the world, but if I can't get it to the customer on time and in perfect shape, I'm out of business."

Beer kegs: Deliver 'em, drain 'em, return 'em. Simple, right?

Not according to Kevin Brady, president and owner of Houston-based Satellite Logistics Group (SLG). Since 1984, Brady's company has been helping brewers and distributors deliver, track, and return the costly containers. He founded the third-party logistics company (3PL) after realizing that the industry lacked a standard, cost-effective process for tracking and managing kegs.

Brady says his company's trademarked Kegspediter software has solved that problem. The program is a customizable planning tool that allows SLG's customers to forecast keg utilization, automate reporting of receipts and returns, and manage credits for returned assets. The software also helps reduce transportation and inventory costs.

But Satellite Logistics didn't get where it is today by technology alone. SLG must ensure that its distribution facilities are in full compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. Adding to the 3PL's challenges are regulations requiring that outdated or unusable alcoholic beverages be destroyed and that the disposal be documented. To keep transportation costs low, the 3PL has truckers pick up full trailerloads of empty kegs from wholesalers. The kegs are taken to a regional consolidation center, where they are sorted by brand and shipped back to their owners. To better manage returns to foreign brewers, Satellite Logistics has formed its own ocean consolidator (NVOCC) and is a licensed international freight forwarder.

Another of SLG's responsibilities is to ensure that motor carriers comply with state and federal regulations governing licensing of parties taking custody of alcoholic beverages. That capability is built into SLG's transportation management software, which profiles carriers' licenses, insurance, and bonds. "Having that information lets us tender shipments to a wider range of carriers, increasing the availability of capacity," Brady says.

Not every logistics company can handle a commodity with so many regulatory restrictions. How does SLG stay on top of its game? Says Brady: "We've become very involved in industry associations so we can be very close to the issues. We get our expertise by listening to our customers." Continued...

Previous   1   2   3   Next