Logistics Matters with DC VELOCITY

In this episode, guest Chris Jones, executive vice president at Decartes, discusses supply chain vulnerabilities. The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything in our lives, including the way goods are delivered to us. But the pandemic also exposed weak areas of our supply chains and revealed vulnerabilities for sourcing many critical goods, such as PPE, pharmaceuticals, batteries, and electronic components. How can we assure that suppliers address these vulnerabilities as we begin to recover?

As businesses begin the process of restoring their operations to pre-pandemic levels, they need to be aware of the many threats that still loom. A recent report highlights five risks for businesses to track as they recover their operations in 2021 and beyond.

Before the onslaught of Covid-19, most consumers did not have a clue as to what was meant by "the supply chain" and how supply chains actually operated. Now, they have a greater awareness of them, mostly due to shortages they have experienced during the past year. How should manufacturers, retailers, and e-commerce providers react to both the real and perceived conceptions that consumers have about the supply chains upon which they depend?

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Descartes
• Risk report lists five trends rocking pandemic recovery
• Consumers identify supply chain pain points
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by Honeywell Intelligrated

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Johnathan Foster, principal consultant at Proxima, discusses the ripple effects of that huge container ship, The Ever Given, that was stuck for a week in the Suez Canal. The ship has been re-floated and the canal is open again, but it has caused supply chain backlogs all over the world. This is on top of already congested ports. What will the overall impacts be to the movement of the world's goods?

The huge spike in e-commerce brings with it enormous surges in home deliveries. Logistics professionals call that final leg of the delivery process "the last mile." Placing smaller microfulfillment distribution centers closer to these customers  can reduce the environmental impact of making those last-mile deliveries. What steps are being done to be kinder to the earth when we get goods delivered to our doorsteps?

As the nation begins to emerge from the pandemic, are there enough truck drivers to handle demands of a resurgent economy? We look at what is being done to address the driver shortage and to make certain trucks can keep rolling.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Proxima
• Supply chains brace for ripple effects of Suez Canal blockage
• Developing a greener last mile
• Flatbed truckload capacity tightens as construction and manufacturing loads rise
• Freight hauler hiring 100 extra truckers to manage West Coast port surge
• Truck driver turnover held steady in fourth quarter ATA says
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by Honeywell Intelligrated

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Hanko Kiessner, CEO of Packsize, discusses sustainable packaging. Sustainable packaging means more than just choosing materials that can be easily recycled. It also includes shipping products in the right-sized box best suited for them. Sustainable packaging can have ripple effects throughout our supply chains that not only are good for the earth, but bring savings to shippers' bottom lines.

We all know that the United States Postal Service has struggled for years financially. Customer habits have changed in the internet age, which puts pressure on a model developed around daily first-class mail service. This week, the USPS announced a 10-year plan aimed at solving some of its financial woes. Can it achieve the needed changes and successfully pivot to better compete on package deliveries?

The utilization of warehouse and distribution center space has grown tremendously over the span of the pandemic, as shoppers continue to order more of their goods through e-commerce. What is the outlook for the foreseeable future, and is there enough capacity in the industrial real estate market to meet surging demand?

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Packsize
• DeJoy says postal service overall will expand parcel service for business customers
• Booming logistics market drives demand for large warehouses and DCs
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by MHS

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, joins us to discuss how the shortage of ocean containers is having a devastating effect on the export of agricultural products. Farmers and other producers can't get the containers they need to export their goods. That's because ocean carriers find they can make more money returning in-demand empty containers more quickly to Asia, rather than sending them to the Midwest to be filled with agricultural products.

Washington is talking again about infrastructure, and the Biden administration has promised to deliver a workable bill to repair our nation's crumbling roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, and more. Is there the political will to finally pass a bill, and how will it be funded? Are there alternatives to the federal gas tax to pay for repairs?

Last month's winter storms caused chaos and destruction in the South, especially in Texas. Beyond the human suffering in that part of the country, the storms also disrupted our nation's supply chains. New figures show just how bad it was.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Agriculture Transportation Coalition
• ATRI calls for tweaks to VMT Tax as infrastructure bill gains steam
• Texas storms battered on-time delivery rates
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by MHS

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Bindiya Vakil, CEO of Resilinc, discusses vulnerabilities within our worldwide supply chains. Many U.S. manufacturers have experienced shortages in critical goods needed to keep production moving. President Biden is proposing plans to fix broken supply chains for critical goods, such as semiconductors and PPE. Vakil talks about our complex supply chains and the difficulties of simply decoupling from foreign markets.

Freight has taken a bumpy ride over the past year, mainly due to the ongoing pandemic. It's been more of a roller coaster ride than a consistent level of goods movement. How is the industry coping with such highs and lows in capacity and demand?

We have continuously reported on problems of congestion at America's ocean ports. But congestion is not a problem facing just U.S. ports; it is a concern elsewhere in the world, slowing down the movement of goods and causing supply chain delays.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Resilinc
• Freight statistics stumble in January from pandemic recovery
• UK ports suffer post Brexit logjams
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by MHS

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Bill Brooks, vice president of North America Transportation Portfolio at Capgemini, discusses the current state of the Covid-19 vaccine programs. Logistics plays a major role in getting people vaccinated. Where are the bottlenecks, and can anything be done to assure that vaccines are distributed more quickly to both urban and rural areas?

The logistics industry continued its expansion in February, as the pandemic-induced growth of e-commerce stresses existing supply chains. Capacity is limited and prices are continuing to increase due to rising demand. What is the outlook for logistics for the foreseeable future?

Investments are growing at supply chain vendor companies. Two in particular made major investments this week to better serve demand for new systems and material handling equipment.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Capgemini
• Logistics industry expansion continues in February
• Project44 acquires German ocean freight tracking firm
• Conveyor company fought time and weather to open new factory
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by MHS

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Craig Hoskins, chair of the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) discusses the challenges that the food delivery industry has endured during restaurant, schools, and institutional facility closures  during the Covid-19 pandemic. What will it take to get back to normal? He also suggests ways to address the truck driver shortages that affect food deliveries and the need for greater support for our restaurants.

New research from IBM looks at digitalization and how it will affect the trucking industry. New technologies are coming to our nation's trucks. How long will it take before these become standards in the industry?

And the logistics industry has seen its share of cargo thefts during the pandemic , But where and how those thefts are occurring has shifted from previous years and it varies by commodity and region of the world.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• The International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA)
• Survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030
• Report tracks rise in cargo theft from storage facilities.
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored byAptean

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Shawn Winter, vice president of Mobility Solutions at Descartes, talks about the concept of the Super Peak Season and how shippers can prepare for it. With the growth of online shopping, shippers and carriers find that there are times when they struggle to keep up with demand, such as the recent holiday season. Winter discusses some strategies for thriving during peak demand challenges.

The food service industry was especially hard hit at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. With restaurants, schools, and other institutions closed or locked down, business fell off the cliff, forcing many food distributors to lay off drivers. Now that demand volumes are returning, they are having trouble finding enough drivers to fill routes. What can be done to assure their deliveries?

And DHL shares some strategies for dealing with a post-pandemic world. How should businesses plan now for the challenges that will occur this year and next?

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Decartes
• Driver shortage revisits food service industry
• DHL lists four retail hurdles in post-pandemic landscape
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by Aptean

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Dwight Klappich, research vice president at Gartner, discusses the growing interest in robotic goods-to-person systems. Robots are hot right now. What makes them the cool technology to have for distribution operations, and in what ways are they being deployed? Klappich shares the latest research Gartner has done into these fascinating and quickly-evolving technologies.
 
Many companies held on to their cash during the pandemic, and now there is more incentive to move forward on projects that have been kept on hold for the past year. New research predicts how companies will spend their money during the remainder of this year.

And earnings reports came out this past week for the fourth quarter of 2020. Two organizations in particular give us reason to hope that there are better days ahead for the supply chain industry and the overall economy. The United States Postal Service and XPO both showed profits in that quarter, but the challenges for getting back to normal are still enormous.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Gartner
• USPS posts rare quarterly profit after holiday parcel surge
• XPO says strong fourth-quarter results show company has turned a corner
• Outlook calls for gradual improvement in business spending
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by Aptean

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

In this episode, guest Tim Pajak discusses a new initiative from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). Pajak serves as the organization's member engagement manager and shares about the new worldwide partnership between CSCMP and Junior Achievement to bring information to young people about the role of supply chains in our lives. One primary goal is to encourage these young people to consider supply chain careers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted the retail sector and new reports show that many of the changes in shopping habits are here to stay. We talk about the lasting impacts and how some retailers are adapting operations to keep up with changing consumer demands.

And new figures show just how tight warehouse availability is. The rise of e-commerce and a push for faster deliveries in urban areas are expected to keep warehouse capacity tight for the foreseeable future.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
• Email Tim Pakaj at CSCMP
• Cloud tools help retailers cope with new buying patterns as pandemic impacts linger
• Despite mid-year dip, rents for logistics real estate rose worldwide in 2020
• Logistics continues strong growth path in January
• 9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain Report
• DC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverage
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored byAptean

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts