by Jennifer Hart Yim | Dec 7, 2017 | Blog, Logistics, Manufacturing & Distribution, Supply Chain
Within the month, the electronic logging device mandate will take effect. While shippers have known about the mandate for two years, truckers, shippers and carriers are still concerned about how it will impact capacity.
This post comes to us from Adam Robinson of Cerasis, a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker.
Paired with soaring manufacturing and tightening capacity within the last month, the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate could cause the capacity crunch to worsen. In addition, other regulations, like changing attitudes and backlash at the environmental protection agency (EPA) and struggling infrastructure in Hurricane-affected areas, could cause further capacity problems. To help prevent the worsening of the capacity crunch, let’s take a closer look at how the ELD mandate and other regulations may affect capacity.
What Is the ELD Mandate?
The ELD mandate is a portion of the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” bill, which was passed by the United States Congress in 2012, explains ELDFacts.com. The bill outlines criteria for highway funding and the use of ELDs for use in a trucker’s Record of Duty Status. Today, the record of duty status is used to record compliance with an existing hours of service (HOS) requirements. Although the ELD mandate is a means to tracking HOS requirements, the two laws are completely different. As a result, but the ELD mandate and HOS regulations may have separate impacts on the capacity crunch.
When Does It Take Effect?
The ELD mandate is set to take effect December 18, 2017, and unfortunately, many owner-operator, truckers have not yet completed the installation of ELDs or found an appropriately authorized and licensed ELD vendor, says Jeff Berman of Supply Chain 24/7. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will not begin requiring inspectors to place commercial motor vehicle drivers without and installed ELD out of service until April 1, 2018.
Even truckers with prior ELDs installed, which may have been installed before 2012, the upcoming ELD deadline has stringent requirements for what type of ELD may be used and who may install it. Truckers with existing ELDs from the pre-ELD mandate period will be automatically grandfathered into the existing list of ELDs at the end of 2019. Therefore, truckers looking to continue driving for the next two years need to have a new, approved ELD installed no later than the April deadline, if not the preferred December deadline. In the interim, politicians are still in debate about if the costs of installing new ELDs is justified under existing regulations, reports Supply Chain Dive. However, part of the reason the FMSCA has not yet rescinded or pushed back implementation revolves around HOS requirements.
What About HOS Regulations and the Capacity Crunch?
The capacity crunch revolves around how much available capacity is being used at any given time in the trucking industry. As a result, capacity is directly tied to the number of drivers which may be operating at any given time simultaneously. According to the FMCSA, the HOS rules are quite specific for property-carrying drivers. These include the following:
- Truckers have an 11-hour driving limit, and truckers may only drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Considering the amount of time required to park a truck, take breaks and other activities, it is nearly impossible for drivers to get in a full, 11 hours of daily driving while still obtaining the 10 required, consecutive hours off duty.
- Drivers now also have a 14-hour absolute driving limit for driving after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours of off-duty.
- Drivers must also take breaks and may only drive if eight hours or less have passed since the end of the drivers last off-duty.
- Perhaps the biggest impact for the HOS regulation is its specification of how many hours a driver may work within an eight-day period. If the driver drives for seven consecutive days, a trucker may not drive more than 60 hours on duty in the same period. Similarly, driver may not drive more than 70 hours with it in eight consecutive days. This consecutive. Can only restart after a driver takes 34 or more hours off duty.
Considering the HOS requirements, think about what this means for driver completing a two-way trip that requires 10 hours each way. The driver may now be limited to only making 14 total roundtrips within a seven-day period. Prior to the HOS requirement implementation, the same driver could have successfully completed an extra two trips by adding 2.5 hours to the daily driving schedule. Under the new HOS guidelines, the number of trips drivers may make is severely limited.
The Big Picture
The HOS requirements directly revolve around the ELD implementation and vice versa. The ELD will be used to track and monitor drivers existing adherence to HOS regulations, so regulations may adversely affect existing trucking capacity. Shippers need to consider how the ELD mandate and HOS regulations will result in a tightening of the existing capacity upon implementation, and even if the impact is not immediate, it will come to fruition within the next year. Shippers forgoing implementation of the ELD mandate within their fleets could face stiff penalties and other setbacks due to enforcement actions taken by the FMSCA.
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by Elizabeth Hines | Dec 5, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Companies in the supply chain and logistics industries should take note of these 4 trends that are gaining traction as we move into 2018.
Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute recently revealed his predictions for the biggest trends in content marketing for 2018. As the founder of CMI, Pulizzi dedicates his time discussing how content marketing has evolved with leading marketers from around the world and keeps his finger on the pulse of content marketing trends.
Most of the predications we discussed for 2017 are still holding true as we roll into another calendar year. Supply chain and logistics companies are still working overtime to nail down a true content marketing strategy. Native advertising is still the “gateway drug” to content marketing. And the growing dependence on mobile devices has continued to skyrocket.
What does this mean for 2018?
The key trends from 2017 continue to highlight the importance of good content. With over one million new-data-producing social media users each day, high-quality content is the only way to stand out from the masses. As you start to strategize for next year, and beyond, be sure to consider these trends in your supply chain marketing plans.
4 content marketing trends for 2018
1. Original content is king
A recent report claims that Apple is planning to invest over $1 billion on original content. Why the hefty price tag? As competition in the mobile space continues to heat up, brands need to do more to stay relevant. Valuable, original content can help companies like Apple grow its audience and keep its current customers coming back for more.
What does this mean for you? Pulizzi believes that this trend will offer companies multiple options to monetize their content. Either through direct sales to customers or advertising and sponsorship opportunities, supply chain and logistics companies will be able to cash in on their original content.
Make sure to keep a close eye on your competitor’s content. More and more companies will see the value in original content and look to build loyalty and support from their growing audience.
2. Creating vs. purchasing
For those supply chain and logistics companies that don’t have the time or resources to invest in creating original content, acquisitions will offer a pricey solution. 2018 will see a spike in content marketing brand acquisitions, giving companies full-service content options. Back in August, Netflix acquired Millarworld, a comic book publisher, hoping to gain traction with cutting-edge content in a host of different mediums.
While 62% of companies outsource their content marketing, the rise in acquisitions highlights the value of content creation and distribution. The decision to create content vs. buy will depend on the size of your wallet.
3. Content marketing budgets on the rise
According to Marketingmag.com, content marketing will become a $300 billion industry by 2019. That’s a lot of money being spent on content creation and distribution, which can only mean one thing: content marketing budgets are increasing. 39% of marketers expect their content marketing budgets to increase this year.
More brands are seeing the effectiveness of content marketing over traditional advertising. Moving away from traditional advertising and optimizing your content marketing strategy will make your marketing budget dollars stretch further and work harder in getting your content in front of the right people.
4. Content marketing overlap
Many of us are familiar with Marcus Sheridan’s story about the success of his pool company and starting the Sales Lion. Desperate to save his company, Sheridan threw himself into content marketing and created the most-visited swimming pool website in the world. Sheridan’s biggest take away? Marketing is a team sport. “Want content marketing to work? Involve everybody on your teams,” writes Sheridan.
Content marketing doesn’t work in a silo and without leadership. For content marketing to be most effective, leaders need to give clear ownership to someone over your content marketing strategy. From there, everyone needs to get on board, creating a culture of content. Your sales teams should integrate your content marketing into their sales processes. Your PR team should meet regularly with your social media experts.
“To say you have a culture of content is to say that everyone who works for your company understands the value of the information you provide and participates in making that information useful,” writes Marcia Reifer Johnston.
Overlap is bound to happen in your content marketing endeavors. The key is to have clear leadership over your strategy and regularly communicate your goals and initiatives, so your entire team can be engaged in your efforts.
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by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 28, 2017 | Blog, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Manufacturers who are active and engaged on Facebook are more likely to introduce product innovation than those who are not.
If you’re killing time during business hours on Facebook, you may actually be onto something valuable. Well, no, — scrolling through your sister-in-law’s vacation album is unlikely to help your business. But recent studies show that staying attuned to user feedback on Facebook may actually help manufacturers create better products.
The practice in question, social listening, is the process of monitoring social media to identify and assess what users are saying about a company, individual, brand, product, or service. We’ve written about how social listening can help your business — you can gain market intelligence and learn how your company, products, and services are being perceived.
But two researchers from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) have taken things a step farther. They studied data from nearly 3,000 German manufacturing and service firms to analyze the role that Facebook plays in the innovation process. What they found was that the probability that a company introduced a product innovation was significantly determined by firms’ adoption of a Facebook page and by the activity by users, measured by both quantity and quality.
The researchers, Irene Bertschek and Reinhold Kesler, discuss their findings in detail in this article published in the Harvard Business Review. So you can skip to the bottom line, we’ve pulled out a few key takeaways for manufacturers:
Negative comments are your friend…
…if you take them seriously.
While you might cringe when you seed a negative customer comment on Facebook, what the researchers found was encouraging: “Surprisingly, only the share of negative user comments was significantly predictive of innovation, perhaps suggesting that customers were helping to steer companies away from bad ideas.”
To make this work for you, it’s important that you pay attention to negative reviews, actively engage with them, and pass along relevant information to the people within your company who can address the issues. For more ideas, check out this post for tips on dealing with negative customer comments.
Simply being on social media isn’t enough — you need to be actively and intelligently engaging.
The study found that companies who were “using keywords in their posts that encourage users to leave feedback were significantly more likely to release a new or improved product.”
In other words, to gain the kind of valuable feedback that allows your products and services to improve, you need to be intelligent about soliciting it. “When developing social media strategies,” suggest Bertschek and Kesler, “companies should not only focus on marketing aspects, but also consider the potential for the firm’s innovation success.”
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by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 16, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Supply Chain
With the 2017 holidays right around the corner, consumers are digging into their pockets and getting ready to increase sales, especially online.
The National Retail Federation is estimating that holiday sales will be up 3.6-4% from last year, totaling $678.5 billion in holiday spending. What’s more, consumers will be hitting the malls earlier than ever. More and more retailors are forgoing the traditional Thanksgiving dinner to open their stores during the holiday. Major retailers, including Target, Kohls, and Toys “R” Us, will open their doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“[Thanksgiving] was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals. In fact, over one third of shoppers said 100% of their purchases were on sale,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in 2016.
The NRF is estimating that the average consumer will spend $967.13 during the holiday season, almost $300 of which will be spent during Thanksgiving weekend.
Holiday spending can be broken up into three major categories:
- Gifts
- Items such as food, decorations, flowers and greeting cards
- Other non-gift items consumers buy for themselves and their families
For the first time in NRF’s survey history, online shopping has become the most popular shopping destination. In fact, 59% of consumers will head to their computers for holiday spending, where most will benefit from free shipping (94%).
“While many consumers are holding off until November or later to start their holiday shopping, retailers should be prepared for high traffic online and in stores come Thanksgiving weekend,” Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow says. “Although sales will remain an important factor for most consumers, many will lean on convenient locations and easy-to-use websites or mobile apps along with free shipping to complete their purchases.”
2017 holidays supply chain infographic
(Made with Canva)
From all of us at Fronetics, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Nov 15, 2017 | Blog, Supply Chain, Warehousing & Materials Handling
Tracking these logistics metrics can help you identify and tackle issues in your warehouse before they become a problem.
This guest post comes to us from Demetra Mallios at Catch-Up Logistics, a full-service provider of ambient and temperature-controlled food-grade distribution and warehousing services.
The supply chain plays an integral part in maintaining a well-functioning organization. A well-structured and organized warehouse will help you achieve your distribution goals and adequately analyze metrics.
You can think of it like when you are trying to decide what to make for dinner, but cannot remember what food you have in your fridge. If your items are organized and you are aware of what is in your fridge (the warehouse), then you can properly make your dinner decision (packing and preparing for delivery distribution).
While you may be aware of some metrics to track, you might still be missing others. But, that’s where we come in with our list of the top 10 logistics metrics to measure supply chain efficiency in your warehouse.
10 logistics metrics to measure supply chain efficiency in your warehouse
1. On-Time Shipping
A distribution center’s primary objective is clear in its name: It must accurately and efficiently distribute goods that are coming in and out of the warehouse. In other words, the correct product must be placed on the correct transportation method at the appropriate time. In order to complete this task, you must monitor late shipping departures to the warehouse and early completion of freight loading time.
Although it may seem that finishing shipment loads ahead of schedule is a good idea, in reality it could affect the departure and duties of other shipments. So, your business can be sure to monitor these shipment details via a 3PL system. You should also take into account the varying loading and transportation times needed to shift freights before out-bounding product. (Because delaying shipping can be just as bad as receiving the birthday present you ordered for your mom days later, timing matters.)
2. Warehouse Capacity
While there are measures out there to monitor inventory, it is essential that you complete manual observation as well. A distribution center needs to be aware of its ability to increase or decrease its loading times, create more storage space, and accurately track inventory. Currently, many distribution centers incorporate RFID measures to check inventory. However, you should not underestimate the need for manual observation in order to successfully analyze the listed criteria.
3. Accurate Order Fulfillment
Another highly important metric is, of course, the accuracy of the order picking processes. When your employee goes to retrieve a pallet of a specific product, you want to be able to measure how quickly and accurately that task is completed. However, realistically, human error will sometimes occur, which makes the tracking of the picking and moving process vital. A distribution center does not want to be in a situation in which it is unaware of lost, damaged, or misplaced product.
4. Properly Storing Incoming Product
This metric relates to the previous one about order fulfillment, in that it requires a similar tracking process. Accurate inbound storage is essential for accurate outbound deliveries. Without a well-organized inventory in the receiving end, the outbound end will have trouble accurately and efficiently fulfilling orders.
Additionally, the incoming product needs to be recorded correctly, so that inventory capacity can consistently be updated. Furthermore, incoming product and procedures can vary depending on the type of warehouse and storage facility you are operating. For instance, Catch-Up Logistics focuses on food storage. Therefore, it is essential that the product is placed in the correct freezer, cooler, or ambient temperature zone. If this is not done properly, not only will we ruin the product, but we will also lose credibility in our ability to provide high-quality warehousing services.
5. Peaks in Warehouse Capacity
Changes in product demand can, of course, influence the amount of inventory you are willing to hold in your warehouse distribution center. For instance, the holiday season will result in a peak in inventory, as companies need to store more seasonal product. With Catch-Up Logistics, Thanksgiving is a prime example, as our turkey inventory grows and distribution needs to be timely.
6. Total and Individual Cycle Times
In order to be sure that your warehouse is running efficiently, you should be tracking the cycle times. The total cycle time refers to the time needed to properly place the product in inventory from its time of arrival and then ship it from the distribution center. Individually, you can record the dock-to-load time, picking, packing, and preparing the freight for shipping times. This will enable you to see whether or not a certain process is underperforming and can be improved.
7. Damaged Products
You are bound to deal with damaged product at some point while either receiving inventory or moving it. Thus, it is important to record whether or not the product was already damaged upon arrival or if it was due to mishandling in the distribution center. Knowing this data and taking proper action to reduce such mishaps will help improve the efficiency of your warehouse.
8. Employee Turnover Rate
Because working in a distribution center can be exhausting, it is common for employees to search for other job opportunities. However, being able to minimize the turnover with incentives and an improved working environment can benefit the business. It is best to try and maintain employment, instead of consistently searching for new workers and spending the time and resources to train them, only to have them leave in a few months.
9. Accurate Tracking of Trailers
If your warehouse distribution center makes use of trailers for shipping product, it is essential that you are aware of their location at all times. (For instance, Catch-Up Logistics utilizes trailers for shipping.) A great method for tracking this information is through the use of a GPS tracking system.
10. Recording Temperatures
If you have a food storage warehouse facility, it is essential to install a temperature-monitoring system. At Catch-Up Logistics, we monitor the daily temperatures of all the freezers, coolers, and ambient temperature storage spaces to ensure the optimal temperature for proper food storage and health reasons. Additionally, such a system will notify you of any irregular changes in temperature so that you can immediately solve an arising problem before the food product becomes unusable.
There are many aspects to maintaining a well-functioning warehouse distribution system, as demonstrated from the list of metrics above. Although these tracking suggestions may at first appear excessive and time-consuming, they will help you improve the efficiency of your warehouse.
Being aware of potential issues will allow you to tackle the problem before it has a chance to further develop. So, what are you waiting for? If you have not already begun using these metrics, you should consider implementing them as soon as possible!
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Nov 14, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Manufacturing & Distribution, Strategy, Supply Chain
No doubt 3D technology has transformed the world of business. There are numerous inspiring ways by which 3D technology has to reshape the future.
This post comes to us from Adam Robinson of Cerasis, a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker.
If you are also instructed to learn about the impact of this revolutionary technology then you are at the right spot. Here are seven ways in which this new 3D trend will shape the future of manufacturing sector:
1. Boost Local Production
According to a recent survey based report it is come to know that 3D technology will allow the manufacturer to double the mass production level. It will enable the producers to reach their targets without increasing each unit production cost.
It will also reduce the shipment costs as a local manufacturer will no need to bring material from other countries. Instead, they could easily install 3D manufacturing plant in their own factory to cut the extra cost.
This way local business will easily boost their production process as well as reduce the cost of manufacturing.
2. More Customized Products
When you will engage 3D technology in the manufacturing process, you will get a chance to produce customized goods. It means that you could build everything from clothes to cars in a unique way.
According to a report, it is revealed that in coming years mobile users will get the opportunity to use 3D printing app.
In additional professional designers with also use 3D printing techniques to enter into the new age of industrial design. So, if you want to develop customized products to drive more revenue then you should use 3D printing method.
3. Best For Creativity
It is true to say that 3D technology is the best tool for creative lovers. This is because it enables manufacturer to open up new possibilities to grab the attention of more customers,
Many experts have predicted that the introduction of 3D technology will enable the creativity lovers to fulfill their every desire in an innovative manner.
Whether you want to design a phone or furniture mode, 3D technology will soon make it possible for you to accomplish your goals perfectly.
4. Avoid Copyright Issues
We all know the importance of copyrights to safeguard ones intellectual property. This is why businessmen hire lawyers to overcome a number of legal disputes that are rising due to copyright.
It is anticipated that 3D printing will secure the creativity of artists as everyone will hold ownership of their 3D design.
In case, you are also concerned because of the copyright issue then this technology will help you to overcome legal issues quickly.
5. A New Tool For Large-Scale Producers
Suffice to say that 3D technology is best tool for countries which are totally dependent on manufacturing industry. For instance, as China heavily depends on the manufacturing industry, 3D printing will enable China to target a huge domestic market.
In addition, it will also assist countries that are rapidly moving toward manufacturing sector. It gives them the great benefit to switch their operations to mass-manufacturing level all over the world. This strategy will benefit every growing economy to step in the next level in the coming future.
6. Build New Horizons For Every Industry
The 3D technology will revolutionize production process of every industry including the healthcare sector, education sector as well as food industry. The reason behind this is that scientists are working on 3D models that will facilitate every industry so that more people will take benefit from it.
From research, it is come to know that a popular hospital has printed a jawbone by 3D printer. If you also engage in health sectors then you will also find yourself building human body parts in a 3D manner. Many experts have also researched that 3D tools will also help to assemble chemical compounds and printing drugs.
7. Reduce Crime
It is predicted that new 3D technology will reduce the crime level. This is because people can keep guns that are made on 3D printers to secure themselves from criminals.
In addition, people can create CCTV camera and other 3D technology to catch the criminal in an easy manner. Moreover, it will also help in the production process of military equipment and chemical weapons.
Wrap-Up…
Therefore, it could be said now that 3D printing will offer uncountable benefits to small scales as well as the large-scale manufacturing industry to drive more revenue. If you also belong to the manufacturing industry then you should also tap into the potential of this superb technology.
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