IWLA Unveils Expanded Political and Government Education/Advocacy Effort

IWLA is pleased to announce the launch of an expanded political education effort by establishing the IWLA Corporate Political Education Fund (CPEF). CPEF was created to help support IWLA's advocacy efforts. IWLA recently talked to Mark DeFabis of Integrated Distribution Services about the program and its importance to all IWLA members. Mark, with Doug Sibila of Peoples Services, co-chairs IWLA’s Government Affairs Steering Committee.

Click here to read more.

Inbound Logistics Names Jacobson to 2010 Top 100 3PL List

Des Moines, IA – Jacobson Companies has recently been named to the 2010 Top 100 3PL list by Inbound Logistics, a leading publication for demand-driven logistics.

Felecia Stratton, Editor of Inbound Logistics quotes, "How do today's leading business logistics managers face the challenges of demand volatility, compliance with complex customer requirements, and achieving the lean operational process so fundamental to success? By relying on a world-class logistics partner like those found on the Inbound Logistics Top 100 3PL Providers list. Inbound Logistics selected Jacobson Companies as a 2010 Top 100 3PL Provider because of its successful track record in acting as a business change agent for its customers, while delivering the operational efficiency needed to be globally competitive."

TOP 100 SELECTION METHODOLOGY
Inbound Logistics' Top 100 3PL Provider's list serves as a qualitative assessment of service providers we feel are best equipped to meet and surpass readers’ evolving outsourcing needs. Distilling the Top 100 is never an easy task, and the process becomes increasingly difficult as more 3PLs enter the market and service providers from other functional areas develop value-added logistics capabilities. Each year, Inbound Logistics editors select the best logistics solutions providers by carefully evaluating submitted information, conducting personal interviews and online research, and comparing that data to our readers’ burgeoning global supply chain and logistics challenges. IL editors selected this year's class of Top 100 3PLs from a pool of more than 300 companies. The service providers we selected are companies that, in the opinion of IL editors, offer the diverse operational capabilities and experience to meet readers' unique supply chain and logistics needs.

About Inbound Logistics
Inbound Logistics the leading trade magazine targeted toward business logistics and supply chain managers. The magazine's editorial mission is to help companies of all sizes better manage corporate resources by speeding and reducing inventory and supporting infrastructure, and better matching demand signals to supply lines. More information is available at http://www.inboundlogistics.com/.

About Jacobson Companies
Founded in 1968, Jacobson Companies is a leading third-party logistics (“3PL”) company, providing value-added warehousing, contract packaging & manufacturing, staffing, freight management, and international air & ocean freight forwarding services. As of today, Jacobson has more than 35 million square feet of warehouse space in 35 major markets across the United States with approximately 7,000 employees. Jacobson maintains a website at http://www.jacobsonco.com/.

Georgia Adopts IWLA Proposal to Bring Warehouse Law Into the High Tech Era

August 2, 2010 (DES PLAINES, IL) – The International Warehouse Logistics Association made more progress in its campaign to get states to adopt changes to the Uniform Commercial Code when Georgia became the latest state to do so.

The Georgia state legislature passed legislation adopting the changes, which was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue on May 27 and went onto effect on July 1.

The UCC was established in 1952 and is one of a number of uniform acts that have been created to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states. Article 7 of the code pertains to warehouse receipts, bills of lading and other documents of title. In 2003, IWLA began an effort to get the states to adopt a revised Article 7 that allows for many of these documents to be in electronic form.

The new Georgia law also deletes obsolete references to tariffs, classifications and regulations that no longer track modern commercial practices. In addition, it deals with permissible contractual limitations of liability; negotiation and transfer; lien of the carrier or warehousemen on the goods and right to enforce lien in a commercially reasonable manner; altered, lost and stolen instruments; and the effects on holders resulting from insolvency of the warehouse customer.

Continue reading about the IWLA's campaign here.

IWLA Asks FDA to Maintain 3PL Warehouse Responsibility Over Recalled Food Products

July 28, 2010 (DES PLAINES, IL) – Joel D. Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Warehouse Logistics Association, asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clarify a recently issued draft regulatory guidance regarding the reporting of adulterated food product by third-party logistics providers.

The FDA guidance document implements the requirements of the Reportable Food Registry and the reporting of adulterated food products. IWLA’s letter specifically responds to FDA’s request for recommendations for determining when a food product has been transferred in the supply chain.

"Whether or not an article of food has been transferred from customer to the 3PL warehouse is a significant issue for the 3PL industry," Mr. Anderson said in a July 26 letter to FDA. He urged the agency to make clear in its written guidance that a transfer of product occurs upon transfer of ownership, not upon transfer of possession.

You can read the rest of Joel Anderson's letter to the FDA here.

China’s Chokehold on High-Tech Supply Chains

We’re all familiar with the supply-chain risks posed by this country’s heavy dependence on imported oil. We’ve seen what happens when big producers like Saudi Arabia temporarily turn off the spigot that feeds our insatiable appetite for petroleum-based products. But there’s another looming crisis of supply for manufacturers, one that is just beginning to get the attention of major media. It’s the issue of so-called rare earth minerals.

Read the rest of this article on SupplyChainBrain.com here.

Trucking should be back to normal today

Trucking officials said they may be hampered now by flooding concerns, but expect to be back at 100 percent capacity within days or — at least in one case — even by tomorrow...

...Nashville-based M&W Logistics Group should have its transportation side back to normal shortly, but warehousing operations may lag behind, according to Jason Pitt, M&W's manager of warehousing.

"We had some drivers that did get out, so we’ll be back to normal from a transportation standpoint," Pitt said.

Read more: Trucking should be back to normal Tuesday - Nashville Business Journal

Massive flooding hits Nashville

Thousands of Middle Tennessee homeowners and business owners will spend this week — and in some cases much longer — working to recover from a weekend of widespread flooding that came as the result of two days of record-setting rainfall in Nashville.

Read more: Massive flooding hits Nashville - Nashville Business Journal

Has you personally been effected by the flooding? Are you associated with a 3PL company that has been effected?

Is Supply Chain Mangement Emerging from the Clouds?

By 2012, research firm IDC estimates that $7.7 billion will be spent worldwide on cloud services, but the lion’s share of it will go to ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) cloud services providers, not to supply chain management. Supply chain cloud solutions lag the marketplace, but there are signs now that initial enterprise trepidation about outsourcing supply chains is starting to fade.

Read the rest of Mary Shacklett's article on WorldTrade.

Economic Recovery Tops Supply Chain Agenda

Economic recovery has surpassed economic downturn in the list of business drivers for 2010, according to results of Capgemini Consulting’s new study of 300 leading companies across Europe, US, Asia-pacific and Latin America.

Specifically, the study found that:

• Over 58 percent of the supply chain managers say their main business driver for 2010 is “Meeting (changing) customer requirements”.

• More than 50 percent of the participating companies indicate they will start up or continue with operational excellence / LEAN.

• 37 percent of the participating companies plan to centralize supply chain organizational functions.

• On average, supply chain IT projects (e.g. TMS and WMS implementations) increased by 3 to 12 percent, compared with the results of Capgemini’s 2009 study.

• Sustainability is the second most important business driver for 2010 — up 16 percent over last year. However, the survey results suggest that this has not yet directly translated into a significant increase in supply chain sustainability projects.

Read the rest of the article on @Risk.com

Public Warehousing Facilities

Whether you need short or long-term storage solutions, a2b Fulfillment's public warehousing facilities in Georgia can house a wide array of products and arrangements.

a2b Fulfillment offers complete flexibility with both short and long term storage solutions. Their GA warehousing space is configured to accommodate a variety of product configurations, including standard pallet racking, bulk/high cube, and bin locations, with a capacity of approximately 20,000 pallet positions and 7,500 picking bins.

The entire space incorporates Radio Frequency coverage to support best-of-breed, system-directed warehousing activities. Security, Fire Prevention, and Surveillance systems protect the facilities at all times. All warehouse personnel doors are self-locking and access to the buildings are tightly controlled with keypad access.

Why Desert Empire

"Desert Empire is centered on service, responsiveness and flexibility. We are obsessed with perfection and innovating ways to provide the highest level of service to our customers. This commitment to perfection results in the avoidance of costly errors that save you and your customers aggravation, time and money.

Desert Empire is owner managed and has owner involvement in daily operations. This gives our customers immediate access and interaction with ownership so that decisions are not delayed and service can be expedited."

For more information on why to choose Desert Empire, please visit our California Value added services and Los Angeles supply chain solution.

2010 IWLA Annual Convention Offered Industry Insights and Education

March 9, 2010 (San Diego) – The International Warehouse Logistics Association offered members unique opportunities to learn how to better manage their companies and deal with a rapidly changing political environment at the 119th IWLA Annual Convention.

Expert speakers provided insights into trends in world trade and supply chain management, how the changing political scene in the U.S. is impacting logistics providers, management techniques that have been proven to improve the bottom line performance of organizations, and how to deal with a host of specific challenges facing warehouse operators, such as food safety regulation.

Among the breakout session topics were data driven management; your Web presence as a marketing tool; safety as a competitive profit center; managing supervisors; key elements of an effective insurance program; the bankruptcy enforcement process and goods disposition; and more ideas from associate members on how warehouses can grow revenues and improve margins using different technology, employment, systems and collections solutions.

Attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to learn about leading-edge products and services at the convention trade show and were able to network among their colleagues during daily social activities.

The 7 Principles of Supply Chain Management

The most requested article in the 10-year history of Supply Chain Management Review was one that appeared in our very first issue in the spring of 1997. Written by experts from the respected Logistics practice of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), "The Seven Principles of Supply Chain Management," layed out a clear and compelling case for excellence in supply chain management. The insights provided here remain remarkably fresh ten years later.

By David L. Anderson, Frank F. Britt, and Donavon J. Favre -- Supply Chain Management Review, 4/1/2007

*Principle 1: Segment customers based on the service needs of distinct groups and adapt the supply chain to serve these segments profitably.

*Principle 2: Customize the logistics network to the service requirements and profitability of customer segments.

*Principle 3: Listen to market signals and align demand planning accordingly across the supply chain, ensuring consistent forecasts and optimal resource allocation.

*Principle 4: Differentiate product closer to the customer and speed conversion across the supply chain.

*Principle 5: Manage sources of supply strategically to reduce the total cost of owning materials and services.

*Principle 6: Develop a supply chain-wide technology strategy that supports multiple levels of decision making and gives a clear view of the flow of products, services, and information.

*Principle 7: Adopt channel-spanning performance measures to gauge collective success in reaching the end-user effectively and efficiently.

Bonded Logistics Blog

Bonded Logistics has been focused on warehousing and distribution in the Charlotte, N.C., market since 1972. Since modest beginnings in a 15,000-square-foot, two-story brick facility, Bonded has steadily grown to become one of the largest distribution entities in the area. The scope of operations currently includes nine locations and about 1 million square feet of warehousing, distribution, packaging and transportation-related space.

Bonded Logistics opened a new warehousing facility on June 3rd, 2005. The new facility has a capacity of 97,500 square feet and has temperature control as well as ambient storage to meet variable customers needs. The new facility manager is Bob Siezaga and the facility is located in Charlotte, NC.

Find out more on the Bonded Logistics blog.