Keynote presenters: Speed and sustainability win in global logistics

The shorter, more direct route to meeting customer demands is prevailing in global logistics, said the two executives featured in Monday morning’s keynote, “Shipping Trends for Global Supply Chains.”

The session featured William L. Strang, president of the Americas Operations Group for TOTO USA, and Gil West, EVP and COO with Delta Airlines.
Strang explained how reshoring and near shoring have shortened the supply chain and improved sustainability for TOTO, a plumbing products manufacturer with worldwide operations. Ten years ago, Strang said, TOTO North America sourced about 70% of its products from Asia, but today, 73% is made in the Americas, cutting logistics time and its carbon footprint while also avoiding trade disruption risks involved in longer in overseas routes. “We want to make sure we can mitigate those risks as much as possible,” he said.

Delta uses a “speed wins” philosophy for its operations, said West, including keeping better track of baggage to improve handling performance to an industry-leading position within the last five years, and proactively rerouting customers when flights are canceled, using text alerts and mobile apps to keep customers informed. “We’re leveraging the data we have in back-end systems through mobile technologies,” West said.

Modex 2014 is scheduled to be held March 17-20, 2014 in Atlanta’s Georgia World Conference Center. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the material handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete Modex 2014 coverage.