Bon voyage! Pieter Jan De Smedt, a very close friend of Frederik Geirnaert (global project manager for the Logistics Plus Project Cargo Division) is embarking on a one (1) year sailing adventure around the world in a Catana 401 named Vite & Rêves. The crew, a family of five, departed Lavrion, Greece late September with the intentions of ending their journey in Darwin, Australia next July.
To help the crew track its progress around the world, Logistics Plus has provided one of its Roambee global tracking devices. Now, thanks to GPS ocean tracking, the boat and crew can be followed along its route in near real-time at https://vite-et-reves.com/static/route/ as shown here:
You can also visit vite-et-reves.com to read regular “Captain’s Log” updates from Pieter and his crew. What an awesome adventure!
In case you missed it, Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus, presented our very own Kelly Dempsey with an LP Hero Award yesterday. Last week, Kelly – an international manager for imports – selflessly donated one of her kidneys to her father in order to save his life. Kelly is a true hero and inspiration to all of us!
Jim Berlin said, “Kelly is truly selfless, noble, and an inspiration to all. A true hero. We are all proud of you Kelly, you are amazing.”
You can watch a brief video of the LP Hero award being presented to Kelly below or on the Logistics Plus YouTube Channel.
In early September, President Trump announced that he was delaying plans to impose an additional 5 percent duty on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. The section 301 China tariffs is now scheduled to increase from 25% to 30% on October 15th. The increase in tariffs is for lists 1-3 only.
The delay in tariff increases was due to the fact that the People’s Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th anniversary on October 1st. Furthermore, the China tariff exclusions remain valid until September 17th, 2020.
Julie Shafer, an Erie, PA-based business development manager for Logistics Plus, recently attended the First Annual Women in Logistics Leadership (WiLL) Conference sponsored by the University of Houston and hosted by Fluor Corporation at their corporate office in Sugarland, TX.
The platform was founded by several women at logistics companies who have a passion for what they do. Logistics Plus, as a company that also has a Passion For Excellence™, provided additional support to the event by donating copies of its Logistics Careers Plus More For Dummies® books for its students and to use as door prizes for attendees. Julie has also been recommended to champion a new “Northeast” chapter for WiLL. Congratulations Julie!
Here is a copy of the thank you letter provided by Diana Davila, the Founder of Women in Logistics Leadership:
The 2020 24th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study, which was released last week at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Edge Conference in Anaheim, Calif. by Infosys Consulting, Penn State University, and Penske Logistics. Dr. C. John Langley initiated this study in the mid-nineties as to capture the evolution of the third-party logistics providers as they worked to transition from vendors of individual services to logistics partners offering integrated services and building meaningful, collaborative relationships with their customers.
Today, the capabilities of both shippers and 3PLs have improved significantly. The Annual 3PL Study has grown as well, becoming a widely anticipated, heavily referenced index on the state of the 3PL industry. In addition to expanding to become a year-round process, the study’s evolution includes steadily expanding global reach, increased accessibility, expansion to include perspectives from both shippers and 3PLs, and the addition of supporting sponsors. The study now includes four streams of research: surveys, desk research, focus interviews and intensive, one-day facilitated shipper workshops. Each year the study examines special topics more closely.
Key trends in the 2020 study include:
Total logistics expenditures as a percentage of sales revenues are a reported 11% in the current year, which is equal to the results reported in the previous two years’ studies.
The percentage of transportation spend managed by third parties was 55%, and the percentage of warehouse operations spend managed by third parties was 43%.
Shippers outsource a wide range of logistics services (see chart), with the most prevalent being domestic transportation (73%), warehousing (73%), international transportation (65%), customs brokerage (54%) and freight forwarding (52%).
Current study results document the percentages of shippers outsourcing the following activities: order management and fulfillment (21%), information technology services (15%), LLP (lead logistics provider)/4PL services (15%) and customer service (11%).
Recent history suggests that the use of analytics—the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions—is gaining significantly in terms of frequency of use, levels of sophistication and utilization of available computational capabilities.
The study also identified some key challenges facing shippers and 3PLs in today’s business world:
Growth of e-commerce. Closely related to the “Amazon effect,” the introduction and expansion of multi-channels for distribution has been a game-changing factor in the planning and operations of many supply chains.
Economic uncertainty. Domestic and global economic changes have resulted in heavy pressure on supply chains to adapt to new economic circumstances.
Driver availability. Of great concern, but not unique to the U.S., is the lack of trained and capable truck drivers.
Disruptive technologies. Some of the disruptive technologies impacting supply chains include use of drones, autonomous vehicles, cloud-based capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI), internet-of-things (IOT), etc.
Relationship necessities. Examples include: effective collaboration of people, processes and technologies in shipper-3PL relationships; structured approaches to achieving alignment between these organizations; effective use of techniques such as gain-sharing; and the development of joint strategies that can be of value to both parties and also to the overall supply chain.
Competitive challenges. In addition to the factors included above, shipper and 3PL organizations recognize the need to deal with new entrants into their lines of business.
You can visit www.3plstudy.com to download and read the complete report. Need help with your own logistics challenges? Logistics Plus is always here to help.
In case you missed it, Gretchen Blough and Adam Mook, Managers of the Customs and Compliance division at Logistics Plus, were featured in a recent airing of Business Spotlight on WPSE AM 1450/FM 107.1 Radio. Business Spotlight is a 30-minute program airing Fridays at noon. Each segment focuses on a business or organization that is making an impact across the region.
In this segment, Gretchen and Adam discuss the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, how tariffs effect consumers, the services that Logistics Plus offers, and more. You can listen to a replay of the interview on the Logistics Plus YouTube Channel below.
Bon voyage! Pieter Jan De Smedt, a very close friend of Frederik Geirnaert (global project manager for the Logistics Plus Project Cargo Division) is embarking on a one (1) year sailing adventure around the world in a Catana 401 named Vite & Rêves. The crew, a family of five, departed Lavrion, Greece late September with the intentions of ending their journey in Darwin, Australia next July.
In case you missed it, 
