Author Archives: just2bruce

Nordstrom leverages pack and hold inventory to mitigate supply chain risk

Posted on December 8, 2021 | 1 comment

Nordstrom and a number of other retailers are starting to keep more inventory, by buying larger lots and holding some. The fact that retailers are publicizing this means that they are starting to recognize that inventory shortage is a substantial issue. With sources of supply bottlenecked, stuff can’t be moved to the US as quickly.

Does it make sense to place larger orders earlier? Devotees of the bullwhip effect will say that’s counterproductive. Perhaps, in the long run with perfect coordination with suppliers. But when you have near-disaster conditions in the supply chain for, say, clothing manufactured in Vietnam, and ocean carriers blanking just about every other sailing, you need to take some action. That may mean committing to larger purchases and saving some of it against future demand rather than trying to sell it all at once.

We’ll see if the policy works, and how quickly it damps out. Especially if the ocean supply chain begins to normalize. Inventory is expensive, and the expense is both highly visible and easily tracked, unlike the lost business due to shortages on the floor.

Published Dec. 7, 2021 Max Garland

Nordstrom leverages pack and hold inventory to mitigate supply chain risk | Supply Chain Dive

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Posted in Logistics

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How to sue a carrier for delays, blanked sailings and D&D overcharges

Posted on December 7, 2021 | 1 comment

It’s not going to be easy to sue a carrier for delays and blanked sailings. But whatever your taste, you have to document everything. The author, a lawyer, points to many types of documentation required to substantiate your claim.

I believe that the threat of many suits may well be useful to annoy carriers. They’re less likely to engage in reprehensible behavior like blanking if they know a bunch of shippers are going to be suing them. Those little lawsuits are annoying because each has to be dealt with somehow, and if the plaintiffs (shippers) are persistent, the annoyance may be enough to get the carrier’s attention.

Now there are two ways that attention can go. One way is that the carrier offers to settle and doesn’t complain too much. This may be a sign they care about your future business– at least a bit– or that they are taking a generous attitude toward customer service. The other way is hardball. They may deny everything and threaten you back. That is a sign they don’t want your future business, and just want to dispose of this claim to be able to tell authorities they have dealt with it. In this case, you probably won’t get anything, unless you have deep pockets for the law, and can pursue a case for which you are unlikely to recover your expenses.

And whatever action you take, don’t expect prompt resolution. One thing companies do is try to string out a case hoping the plaintiff loses interest or has a need to move on and not spend the time. That manages to get a lot of complaints off their back.

However, company lawyers are expensive too, and a stream of annoying lawsuits is not how the company wants its lawyers spending their time. So harassing the company with a lawsuit might get you some attention.

By Tiffany Comprés 07/12/2021

How to sue a carrier for delays, blanked sailings and D&D overcharges – The Loadstar

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

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Tracking the speed, dwell and cars of Class I railroads

Posted on December 6, 2021 | 1 comment

This interactive page shows key information about Class I railroads in the US. It displays the average speed of trains while moving, average dwell time in a yard waiting to be switched or unloaded, and the number of cars in service. You can select the figures for each Class I rail, and the time shown on the graphs, start and end.

The data comes from the Surface Transportation Board compilation of data provided by the railroads themselves, and is probably a bit late due to the deadlines for submitting figures.

The graph of speed for BNSF is especially interesting. It shows a recent spectacular jump, from under 25 mph to over 26 mph. Clearly the message is getting through to rails that they’d better move cargo.

Dwell time, spent sitting in yards waiting to be switched on, has for BNSF been rising recently, pointing to a new bottleneck. It had better start working on these problems.

We also don’t see which particular sites or segments of the rail line are contributing to the changes in the figures. That’s for each rail to figure out and make corrections. But seeing an overview of what’s going on will provide motivation for rails to do their part to keep congestion down. And a rail does not want to be perceived as slow-moving, for sure.

I hope we can count on the authors to keep updating this page, so the visibility will provide an incentive for rails to improve.

By Matt Leonard and Nami Sumida Updated December 6, 2021

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/railroad-speed-dwell-carsonline-bnsf-csx-up-cn-cp-kcs-ns/588233/

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Posted in Logistics, Rail

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