Blog Month: September 2021

Introduction

It is no secret that transport costs have been rising across all different modalities. Carriers must enforce measures such as peak surcharges, and records are being broken regarding transport costs throughput. Inflation puts immense pressure on many businesses and forces them to reevaluate their current transport operations. Keeping up with the latest trends in management, logistics, digitization, and automation is vital for supply chain growth and recovery. 

Many people today are looking at the growing supply chain and market trends and eyeing job and career opportunities. This is why high-paying logistics jobs are increasingly in demand and why the need for skilled and experienced personnel is higher than ever before. Continued growth and recovery of the industry depend on it!

The reasoning for the increase in costs is multivariate and can trace back to several causes. These include the increase in fuel prices, demand for transport services, or the rise of COVID-19. Another contributing factor is the online share of global retail trade, continuing to rise across most countries as omni carrier 360 services gain popularity (Statista, 2020).  It is all about improving supply chain management processes and key supply chain operations.

Understanding Omni 360 Carrier Logistics and Costs Management

Whether you are a smaller business or a large multinational corporation, any company would do well to keep a firm grip on its transport activities and understand how omni 360 carrier logistics and management impacts transport costs. Depending on the type of business, not managing your transport activities effectively could lead to unwanted consequences such as overpaying, decreased customer satisfaction, and inventory management problems.

Overcoming the rising e-commerce challenges related to costs and transport expenses is a critical area of focus for supply chain managers. Inflation and rising costs seen by transport service providers and fleet managers are not expected to become less prevalent anytime soon (Bloomberg, 2021). As you can see in Figure 1, ground transportation prices alone have and are predicted to outpace the Producer Price Index for the foreseeable future (TransportationInsight, 2021). 

Figure 1. PPI v Parcel, LTL and Truckload Price Indices June 2016 – May 2021

The Importance of Supply Chain Visibility – Filling High-Paying Logistics Jobs 

According to Hofman et al. (2019), lacking information and awareness on your current Supply Chain stakeholders and activities causes unnecessary delays and disruption amongst your business activities. If you are an SME that is growing, you understand the struggle of scaling effectively with your growth. Acquiring and allocating the right resources to the right business activities can be a challenge. Reducing transport costs starts with Supply Chain Visibility.

The concept of Supply Chain Visibility essentially means awareness of and control over end-to-end supply chain information. As often said, knowledge is power. Zooming in on the transport/logistics area of the Supply Chain, it is vital for a business to first understand its Shipping profile and current transport activities before aiming to enforce measures that lead to reducing transport costs. This can be done by applying the 2 key steps below.

• Request and analyse your current shipping profile.

Do you currently hold a one-carrier approach, or are you using multiple carriers? Which modalities are you making use of? How much are you shipping, and where to? Are your transport carriers the same for import and export? What is your average weight per shipment? These are all questions to be asked when analysing your shipment profile. A business must first know the exact ins and outs of its Shipping profile before attempting to reduce transport costs. Request the corresponding data/documents from the purchase department or transport stakeholders.

• Maintain a structured and detailed overview of currently incurred costs

Once the Shipping profile has been analysed and the transport activities are clear, you must strive to create a clear overview of all incurred transport costs. This optimizes your awareness of currently spent resources and allows a business to evaluate their current activity by reviewing the performance/resources spent ratio.

Reduce Transport Costs and Utilize Third-Party Services

Now that your current shipping profile and costs are clear, you can start implementing measures to reduce transport costs. There are many ways to achieve transport cost reduction. One important strategic decision concerns the choice of whether to insource or outsource your transport activities.

Insourcing your transport has many benefits such as reducing third-party liability, clear transport activity overview, and eliminating unwanted waste processes. However, keep in mind that transport tariffs are rising and are expected to continue to rise. This essentially minimizes and complicates the benefits gained from insourcing nowadays. 

Companies that are unsure of their current transport activities do well by considering outsourcing to a professional and competent third party that has a deep talent pool to pull from for high-paying logistics jobs. Even as companies look to outsource supply chain operations the need for skilled workers continues to rise.

Transport tariffs are often more expensive the lower your shipment profile. The more shipments you send, the lower the price per shipment, as tariffs are usually charged depending on the number of items or overall volume shipped. 

This means that third-party companies and omni carrier 360 proficiently in handling transport activities maintain and combine high-usage shipping profiles to get surprisingly low rates and reduce transport costs for many participating parties.

Motor and Control Transport Costs With Help From ModusLink

Expert companies such as Moduslink allow businesses to reduce transport costs effectively by providing businesses the opportunity to outsource their end-to-end Supply Chain and transport activities. Get a personalized offer, contact Moduslink today.

Bibliography:

Bloomberg. (2021, April). Higher Shipping Costs Are Here to Stay, Sparking Price Increases. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-12/higher-shipping-costs-are-here-to-stay-sparking-price-increases

Campbell, S., Phillips, D., & Campbell-phillips, S. (2020, July). Lack of Communication between Management and Employees. Researchgate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342796387_Lack_of_Communication_between_Management_and_Employees

Hofman, W., Dalmolen, S., & TNO, The Hague, The Netherlands. (2019, August). Supply Chain visibility ledger. Researchgate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334883753_Supply_Chain_Visibility_Ledger

Statista. (2021, July 7). Online share of retail trade in selected countries 2014–2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/281241/online-share-of-retail-trade-in-european-countries/

A little over a year has passed and Brexit is still causing many disruptions amongst industries. Virtually any company that must maintain a streamlined Supply Chain cannot deny the strong effects Brexit has had within the industry. Companies must deal with rising issues such as changing Import/Export regulations, restrictions concerning the free movement of people and managing supplier relations. One of the most predominant effects faced by companies concerns the increase in complexity in cross border customs/tax regulation. This is especially relevant in the Transport and Logistics sector.

The new customs/tax regulations force companies that conduct trade between the UK/EU to reassess their strategic decision-making regarding the clearance of goods and paying VAT (this includes any additional tariffs when selling to EU customers). Doing so is necessary, but will result in increased transport costs, extensive paperwork, and prolonged delivery times. Companies can also choose to regain control by acquiring warehouse space within the EU to function as a fulfillment center and vice versa. This decision will, however, implicate high opportunity costs (Williams, 2021).

In addition to the increase in complexity concerning customs/tax regulations, UK regulatory compliance now exists separate from EU regulatory compliance. The most essential requirements in terms of environmental issues, safety, and health will not change substantially. However, there are most certainly some major changes applicable to UK/EU product compliance regime (Grist & Erasmus, 2021). Two of the most significantly changing instances are:

• The introduction of a UKCA mark and a UK Declaration of conformity for market entering products.
• A shift in obligations and duties between ‘manufacturers’, ‘importers’, and ‘distributors’

Brexit has caused many Supply Chains to have their weaknesses exposed as a result from the above stated effects. This does not mean, however, that there are no opportunities for the sector. Experienced businesses know that problems create opportunities for improvements.  Organizations are adapting by reassessing their current Supply Chain operational processes. This is vital for improving post Brexit. Companies must reevaluate their current transport activities and adjust their strategies in accordance with the Brexit effects and regulations. One of the ways of doing so is Outsourcing.

According to Investopedia (2021), the definition of outsourcing is defined as: ‘the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services and create goods that traditionally were performed in-house by the company’s own employees and staff.’.

In essence, companies that outsource elements of their Supply Chain can achieve benefits such as:

• Reducing Operational Costs
• Increasing Flexibility
• Mitigating risks
• Creating opportunity for innovation
• Streamlining operational processess

Working with experienced professionals that deal with outsourcing daily is an effective way to quickly increase your company’s efficiency. Some organizations outsource their entire Supply Chain to expert companies that are up to date with the latest knowledge. This allows them to tackle the complex issues concerning customs/tax changes resulting from Brexit. Others merely outsource elements of their Supply Chain to increase their proficiency in that specific area. For both cases, Moduslink is  your partner of choice and can provide you with customized solutions that fit to your needs, increasing your needs and allowing you to anticipate growth, streamlining your costs, increasing your revenue, and building brand loyalty.

If you are a company that is struggling to effectively resume your business between the UK and EU, allow Moduslink to relieve you of your worry by offering a wide variety of outsourcing solutions backed by industry experts. Our solutions allow you to improve your Supply Chain by implementing:

• Packaging, Kitting & Assembly
• B2B and B2C Fulfillment
• Reverse Logistics
• Warehousing and Distribution
• Delivery and Logistics
• Location optimization

Gain control over your Supply Chain and experience the benefits from Outsourcing through Industry experts.

Sources:

Supply Chain Statistics – 18 Key Figures of 2022, Accessed 25 October 2022 From

https://procurementtactics.com/supply-chain-statistics/

KPMG International. (2017, February). Brexit: The impact on sectors. https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/uk/pdf/2017/03/brexit-the-sector-impact.pdf

Investopedia. (2021, May 2). Why Companies Use Outsourcing. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/outsourcing.asp

SchoenHerr, T. S. (2010, January). Outsourcing Decisions in Global Supply Chains: An Exploratory Multi-Country Survey. International Journal of Production Research. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247162714_Outsourcing_Decisions_in_Global_Supply_Chains_An_Exploratory_Multi-Country_Survey

Williams, C. W. (2021, March 26). How is cross-border e-commerce and distribution adapting to Brexit? KnightFrank. https://www.knightfrank.com/research/article/2021-03-26-how-is-crossborder-ecommerce-and-distribution-adapting-to-brexit

Grist, E. G., & Erasmus, P. E. (2021, January 1). Brexit: Product Compliance and Liability implications. Bird & Bird. https://www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2016/uk/brexit-product-compliance-and-liability-implications