Category Archives: Supply Chains

Last-mile electrification – electrification’s best use case

Posted on August 21, 2020 by | 1 comment

Amazon has lit on the very best use case for electric vehicles. Last mile delivery generates lots of rips and lots of air pollution. It looks like they are going to invest big in improving their carbon footprint in the last mile delivery.

I believe it makes strategic sense and well as driving long-term cost reduction for Amazon. And it’s a lot more eco-friendly. Fleets like Amazon uses, with traveling-salesman-type routes from a depot or distribution center, are best positioned to mitigate the problems with electric vehicles– shorter distances before fuel-up, and longer time to refuel.

Linda Baker, Senior Environment and Technology Reporter Friday, August 21, 2020

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/in-last-mile-electrification-amazon-sees-another-opportunity-to-dominate

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains, Sustainability

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‘Data sharing is nice, but cooperation is key’ to ending congestion

Posted on July 13, 2020 by | 1 comment

The speaker, Stefan Pieters of Jan de Rijk, was speaking of the relation between road hauliers and airport stakeholders. I believe most hauliers at ports, warehouses, inland terminals, and any cargo transfer points would be saying the same thing. And so far there has been little effort on this score.

Truckers are the low person on the pole, and are not connected to the facilities they must rely on for service. They have no leverage. So their problems go ignored.

There is a lot of money to be made by coordinating this aspect of the trucking business, if anyone will step up and do it.

And as the interview claims, data takes you only so far. There has to be a willingness to act and change procedures, rather than just send data. Facilities don’t want to recognize that; it requires workers with the power to make decisions on behalf of the cargo owner, and that would erode ‘profits’, meaning costs. You’d have to pay workers more for the ability to make decisions.

It makes a stronger case for end-to-end coordination by the same vendor, such as Amazon or Wal-Mart. But truckers would still often be left out.

By Alex Lennane 13/07/2020

‘Data sharing is nice, but cooperation is key’ to ending congestion, says Jan de Rijk – The Loadstar

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Posted in Logistics, Service Management, Strategy, Supply Chains, Trucking

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Shippers ‘held to ransom’ from blanked sailings and feeder problems

Posted on June 29, 2020 by | 1 comment

The constant stream of blanked sailings is predictably disrupting many supply chains and networks. Shippers are not getting the message, and it’s costing them extra, unplanned expense. That will percolate down to their customers as well, both in reliability and costs.

And shippers are complaining. No wonder!! The carriers are bringing it on. They are not considering ultimate customer needs.

Anyone wanting to create a disruption in maritime and hinterland supply chains will pay attention and try to do something about this.

By Mike Wackett 29/06/2020

Shippers being ‘held to ransom’ as blanked sailings and feeder problems bite

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Posted in Logistics, Service Management, Shipping, Strategy, Supply Chains

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