Category Archives: Strategy

Quote

Flexport access to SF Airlines’ Hangzhou-New York route

This article from the Loadstar indicates that supply chain firms such as Flexport are struggling to align themselves for the volatile tariff situation we have now.  Some firms are leaving China but others are staying in and look for an alternate shipment method with more speed and smaller inventory.

SF Airlines (Wikipedia) is a Chinese cargo airline with headquarters in Shenzen, Guangdong Province. They have about 55 aircraft. SF submitted an application to the USDOT last week for a 3x per week service on the Hangzhou-New York route.  We will see if approval is granted.

Flexport indicated they are seeing a dropoff in trade with China.  But 3PLs like Flexport work to help companies transport goods from anywhere.  Rearrangement of transport becomes the norm, and their business depends on success for their customers.

logo  via Flexport confirms access to SF Airlines’ services between Hangzhou and New York – The Loadstar

2 Comments

Posted on May 22, 2019 by in Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains

Tagged , , , ,

Quote

The Dawn of the Deep Tech Ecosystem

This Boston Consulting Group report by  Massimo Portincaso, Arnaud de la Tour, and Philippe Soussan,  discusses seven categories of so-called deep-tech areas of research that are likely to yield new disruptions for businesses of all types.   They believe that deep-tech industries are no longer dominated by larger companies doing incremental research, but ratherby small, nimble enterpreneurial firms finding and developing solutions for novel use cases.

They claim we are moving into a phase in which truly new types of infrastructure for business uses is emerging.  And the development of these new uses requires a whole ecosystem–  a band of cooperating players, including technicians, investors large and small, and firms who have use cases–  rather than simply a firm, some financing, and a product.   This differs from the ‘maker’ approach to innovation, which believes we can just set people working with some simple tools, and they will come up with the products the world needs.

I support this ecosystem approach, not the more limited one. As an example I call your attention to NYMIC, the New York Maritime Innovation Center, started by my colleague Dr Chris Clott of SUNY Maritime.  It fits exactly into the role of helping create a good ecosystem for innovation in the maritime field, one which greatly needs stimulants to produce service improvements.  Its motto is “Convene, Connect, Catalyze”, which exactly expresses what BCG’s discussion here is saying.

BCG has a full report entitled The Dawn of the Deep Tech Ecosystem.  Much can be learned by studying how it is evolving in the different deep tech areas they believe are a part of it. Link to PDF.

screenshot-BCG-2019-05-10

via The Dawn of the Deep Tech Ecosystem

1 Comment

Posted on May 10, 2019 by in Advanced Computing, entrepreneurship, Investing, Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Strategy, Supply Chains

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Quote

Globalization in transition

This is a fascinating report about global trade, with many interesting statistics, and with points of view not often presented so cogently.

Authors Susan Lund, James Manyika, Jonathan Woetzel, Jacques Bughin, Mekala Krishnan, Jeongmin Seong, and Mac Muir point out that global trade in services already probably exceeds that for goods. If a fair value is placed on it, we would see the US trade deficit, for example,wiped out and replaced by a larger surplus.  They also point out that labor is a declining factor both in the value of production, and in labor cost’s ability to determine where products get made.  The intellectual property value is much higher, and often moves in reverse fashion to the goods. But it is hard to price into conventional labor statistics.

I can’t wait to read the whole document!

mckinsey-logo1  via Globalization in transition: The future of trade and global value chains | McKinsey  

Here is the full document link.

3 Comments

Posted on February 9, 2019 by in Logistics, Ports, Production Operations, Strategy, Supply Chains

Tagged , , ,