The Amazon effect, ecommerce growth, multichannel/omnichannel retailing: These are all trends pushing retailers and distributors to rethink their global supply chains. If you’re among this group, one of the considerations you may be weighing is whether or not to outsource some or all of your fulfillment operations to a third-party logistics (3PL) company. Here are a few benefits that third-party fulfillment could provide to your operations:
Do you have questions or need help with your fulfillment challenges? Logistics Plus specializes in a variety third-party warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment solutions. We invite you to click the button below and contact our fulfillment experts to get started.
International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day in some places, is an international celebration of laborers and the working classes. The May 1st date (which falls on a Sunday this year) is celebrated as May Day in most countries around the world. In the United Kingdom and Ireland the holiday isn’t fixed at May 1st, but instead is observed on the first Monday of May. Curiously (given the origin of the May 1st date), the United States celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September (May 1st is Loyalty Day, a legal but not widely recognized holiday in the United States). Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands also celebrate Labour Day on different dates; though that has to do with how the holiday originated in those countries.
There are many online sources where you can learn more about this international holiday. The website OfficeHolidays.com has a good overview with links to the various countries that observe this holiday. Depending upon the country, local observance may impact your shipping schedules if operations are closed. As an example, the Logistics Plus China offices will be closed May 1 and May 2. If you have any questions, please contact your local Logistics Plus office or representative for more details.
Are you curious about drayage and transloading services for your imported goods? Do you need drayage service for your imports? What is transloading and how can it help you save money on transportation? Logistics Plus drayage and port services help address these questions and any many more.
What is drayage? The word drayage is specifically used for trucking short distances. Without being a part of the transportation and logistics industry, the word drayage might be a foreign word. The term is most often used in the container shipping industry. For those of us in international shipping, the term means the trucking of containerized cargo. This may be trucking from one port to another port, it may be trucking from a port to the rail yard for further transport, it could be trucking to the final destination, or it could be trucking from a port to a transloading facility.
What is transloading? Transloading refers to the transfer of container cargo from one load unit to another. When a container is transloaded, it usually occurs at a facility that is close to a port terminal. A container will be taken into a facility and transferred to a domestic container or truckload. During the transload process, the product is often palletized at the facility since many of the 20-foot or 40-foot ocean containers are floor loaded. Inventory and transportation cost savings are achieved by switching to a truck from a container because containers must always be returned to the ports no matter how far your shipment must deliver. That means without transloading, you could be paying for the additional truck miles it takes to return your empty container to the origin port.
Speed to market is a key ingredient to an efficient supply chain. Transloading services deliver this benefit by consolidating products and shipping directly to the final customer, without incurring the costs and delays associated with storing product at a warehouse. Some product customization, such as labeling and kitting, can also occur, if needed, at the transloading facility.
Drayage, transloading and other port services all play a critical role in international moves, and selecting the right logistics partner for this domestic trucking portion of the puzzle goes well beyond the lowest rate. Once you move past monetary considerations, examine the total service offering to ensure your drayage and port services provider is the perfect fit. Here are a few good tips to consider.
To learn more about Logistics Plus drayage and port services, or to request more information or a quote, please click the button below. You can also email us at drayage@logisticsplus.com for more information.
As in past years, Logistics Plus global HQ employees will Bowl for Kids Sake this Friday, April 29, at 8:00 pm. Logistics Plus will have two teams this year, and each needs to raise $250.00, through local pledges, for the community Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.
This is a wonderful program. The funds are used to create mentoring opportunities that will have a positive impact on the children they serve by offering a professionally supported relationship between a caring adult and a child. They also provide monthly activities, education, supplies, and much more for the children in the program. All kids need a positive support system in their lives – especially when so many of them aren’t getting it from their homes as they should. Logistics Plus employees love doing this event and they always have a great time. Local support is encouraged and appreciated!
Click the image to the right to visit the event website.
A couple of weeks ago, Logistics Plus representatives attended Intermodal South America. This year’s annual conference was held April 4-6 at the Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil, and featured more than 48,000 qualified professionals from the logistics, cargo transportation and foreign trade industries.
Latin America is one of the fastest growing regions for the logistics, cargo transportation and foreign trade industry worldwide. Brazil alone accounts for more than 350 billion dollars of the region logistics revenue and more than doubled its activities during the last decade. Some interesting facts about the Brazilian market:
Representing Logistics Plus at this year’s conference were Francisco Tijerina, Nohora Gonzalez, Jose Francisco Garza, and Gabriela Garza. The animated GIF image shown above showcases a few photographs taken by the LP staff at the event.
