Electronic Logistics - The Money Saving Solutions

The concept of conventional logistics covers all activities relating to the procurement, transport, transhipment and storage of goods. Logistics as generally understood is concerned particularly with material flow (raw materials, interim and final products), but also involves providing companies with services and information.

Nowadays the development of electronic information and communication technologies affects all spheres of life. Naturally, it influences significantly...

Keywords:

freight, e-logistics, shipping, trucking, freight companies, freightage rates, carriers, freightage

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The concept of conventional logistics covers all activities relating to the procurement, transport, transhipment and storage of goods. Logistics as generally understood is concerned particularly with material flow (raw materials, interim and final products), but also involves providing companies with services and information.

Nowadays the development of electronic information and communication technologies affects all spheres of life. Naturally, it influences significantly economic life, including logistics. As a result, nowadays it is possible to speak about electronic logistics as extremely perspective field for further development.

On researching the problem of electronic logistics, it is primarily necessary to dwell upon the methods that are traditionally used in the related researches. Basically, it is possible to use phone inquiry, face-to-face interviews with companies implementing electronic logistics in their business. Also it is possible to interview management consultants and IT suppliers.

Obviously, nowadays electronic information and communication technologies are widely used in the field of logistics. As a rule, it is widely used in buying and selling transactions, as well as material follow transactions. It is necessary to point out that logistics services providers use electronic logistics wider than companies operating in the field of manufacturing and trade.

In the current a situation, the advantages of electronic logistics are evident since it creates new operating models that provides a company with a competitive advantage compared to the companies using conventional logistics. It also permits to develop efficient management of larger entities and correct information in constantly changing market situation.

Nonetheless, it is necessary to emphasize that electronic logistics is a relatively new field and it makes its first steps in the contemporary business. In such a situation, certain obstacles and challenges, the companies implementing electronic logistics face, are quite natural. Among these obstacles and challenges may be singled out the following: scarce financial resources for investments, lack of capabilities of network parties, lack of standards, challenges in integrating inter-company information systems.

However, electronic logistics is still quite popular due to the perspective of business process re-engineering skills, since it provides the possibility to use technologies to support business processes.

Thus, electronic logistics is a very perspective field that needs further research in order to provide better opportunities to its proper implementing and wide use.

Freight Containers Transformed Logistics

Freight containers are standardized shipping containers. Shipping containers have standard dimensions, typically 20'x8'x8.5' or 40'x8'x8.5' or 45'x8'x9.5'. They have to be constructed to certain minimum standards of sturdiness to withstand the rigors of long ocean voyages and transfer from one mode of transport to another. Shipping containers meeting the standards can get CSC - Convention for Safe Containers - certification, a must for use in international shipping.

Keywords:

Bullmans, Bullman, container storage, container, storage, shipping containers, shipping, containers, container sales, sales container, container hire

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Freight containers are standardized shipping containers. Shipping containers have standard dimensions, typically 20'x8'x8.5' or 40'x8'x8.5' or 45'x8'x9.5'. They have to be constructed to certain minimum standards of sturdiness to withstand the rigors of long ocean voyages and transfer from one mode of transport to another. Shipping containers meeting the standards can get CSC - Convention for Safe Containers - certification, a must for use in international shipping.

Specialized trucks, railcars and handling equipment have been designed to accommodate these standard sized containers. The containers fit neatly into these vehicles (as well ships' cargo holds) and the handling equipment can easily transfer the containers from trucks to railcars to ships and in the reverse direction. The freight containers themselves might have forklift pockets (typically available only for 20' or shorter containers) that facilitate forklift handling.

Standardized freight containers enhanced the speed and efficiency of cargo movement, and expanded world trade. The easy and quick transshipment of the containers from one mode of transport to another - inter-modal transport - is the main factor that makes the efficiency possible. The multi-modal transport facility also enables carrying goods across terrains like water, rail track, road and air to get from origin to destination without any disruption.

Freight Container Ships

Freight containers are typically shipped in "cellular" container ships, so called because the ships' cargo area is segmented into standard cells to accommodate containers, resembling a honeycomb.

The cargo capacity of ships is expressed in TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units. The space occupied by a 20-foot standard freight container is one TEU, and that occupied by a 40-foot container is 2 TEUs. Container ships these days can carry nearly 5000 TEUs.

Freight Containers and Security

Freight containers are designed in a vandal proof manner. They also typically incorporate sturdy locking in the form of one double door that is secured by four locking bars extending to the whole height of the container. The locking bars have additional lockable handles that can be secured by padlocks and sealed.

Packing and locking the whole container at the shipper's premises and thereafter opening it only at the consignee's premises can further increase security. Any required customs inspection and certification are done at the shipper's and consignee's premises.

Considering the security, container-based shipments incur less expense for insurance against theft, pilferage and damage.

Packing Freight Containers

Cartons can come in different odd sizes, and the internal dimensions of containers are less than the outer dimensions. Hence dividing the outer volume of the containers into the carton volumes will not give a correct idea of the number of cartons the container can carry. For example, dividing the outer volume of a 20'x8'x8.5' container (1360 cubic feet) into the volume of a 1.5'x1'x1' carton (1.5 cubit feet) might give the misleading idea that we can pack 906 cartons into the container.

The standard internal dimensions of a 20-foot container is about 19.35'x7.71'x7.83' giving an internal volume of 1168 cubic feet. Dividing this volume into the carton volume of 1.5 cubic feet gives the number 778. Even this figure is wrong because the size of the carton is an odd one.

If you stack the cartons lengthwise across the container length of 19.35', you can accommodate a maximum of 12 rows. A maximum of 7 rows of such 12-row cartons can be accommodated along with width of the container, giving 84 cartons per layer. 7 such layers can be stacked along the height of the container accommodating a grand total of only 588 cartons.

That leaves a lot wasted space. So you change the arrangement. Cartons are arranged lengthwise across the width of the container. That accommodates 5 cartons across the width. 19 such 5-rows can be accommodated across the container length, accommodating 95 cartons per layer. The number of layers remains the same at 7 and so the total number of cartons that can be packed this way is 665, significantly more than the last arrangement. Even now, there is wasted space that cannot be avoided considering the misfit between carton volume and container volume.

Packing freight containers to full capacity thus needs some advance planning.

Emerging Trends In The 3PL Third Party Logistics Industry

Go Global Logistics offers every tool your company needs to have an efficient and transparent supply chain to make your importing and exporting as easy and error free as possible.

Keywords:

US customs clearance, customs broker, freight forwarding, freight forwarder, freight shipping, supply chain management, international shipping

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The marketplace for third-party logistics is arguably the largest market in the world. Any physical good that comes into or goes out of the United States requires extensive logistics planning and management and must be cleared by U.S. Customs. Because of the complexities of these processes, most businesses choose to hire a 3PL provider to manage the transportation, clearance, warehousing, and distribution of their shipments.

Market Statistics

In 2006, imports to the United States exceeded $2.2 trillion (a 10.5% increase over 2005) and exports exceeded $1.4 trillion (an increase of 12.8%). Each of these goods required a number of shipping and warehousing services and must receive US Customs clearance… this is where Go Global takes over.

In 2006, the total revenue for the 3PL industry was $110.6 billion, representing a total industry growth rate of 11.9%. Datamonitor projects that by 2010, the total 3PL market will exceed $140 billion.

Global trade management is also part of the focus at Go Global Logistics. In 2005, the global trade management segment expanded to $222 million, and is expected to swell to $405 million by 2010, a cumulative annual growth rate of 12.8%.

The Go Global Marketplace is cornering this portion of the market, encouraging small and mid-sized businesses to participate in global trade, under the consultation of Go Global. By using the marketplace to manage our customer’s transactions, Go Global is able to provide FREE transaction management, shipment tracking, trade negotiations, and our “bidding war” reverse auction function, adding value for our clients and strengthening our comparative advantage over the competition.

Many companies entered international markets precipitously and are only now beginning to address the lack of visibility across their supply chains. Only the largest 3PL (third party logistics) providers offer the newest technologies like online tracking, and 90% of enterprises report that their global supply chain technology is inadequate to provide the timely information necessary for budget and cash-flow planning as well as effective management. Go Global Logistics offers every tool your company needs to have an efficient and transparent supply chain to make your importing and exporting as easy and error free as possible.

One of the most counterintuitive aspects of the freight forwarding and third party logistics industry is the lack of a central location for international trade information and services. The industry is extremely

• Us Census. “Annual Trade Highlights.”http://www.census.gov. January 2007.

• Hoffman, William. “3PLs Reach Record Revenue.” Traffic World. 23 Apr. 2007.

• Datamonitor. “Global Air Freight & Logistics.” http://www.datamonitor.com. Apr. 2007.

• Sowinski, Laura. “What Supply Chain Execs are Buying, Where They’re Skimping.” World Trade. Sep. 2006.

fragmented and operates behind the scenes. For this reason, many businesses with a desire to enter international markets have no idea where to begin.

Furthermore, those companies that do provide complete 3PL services are very large and have been focusing on maintaining a small number of larger accounts. Many small and mid-sized businesses who were fortunate enough to find a reliable 3PL provider find themselves being squeezed out and not having their contracts renewed. The smaller third party logistics providers do not offer the newer supply chain technologies, and are characterized by “old school” business practices.

Go Global is involved in many of the fastest growing markets in the world such as Asia and Western Europe where the market is expected to grow 33% over the next five years. It is projected that after five years, 3PLs (third party logistics providers) will handle more than 57% of the sector’s supply chain requirements. This provides tremendous growth opportunities for Go Global.

Go Global is also slowly expanding into the African markets as the infrastructure and problems with governmental corruption improves. Foreign Direct Investment in Africa has been steadily rising, a sign that it will soon be a viable target market for Go Global Logistics. In 2006, FDI increased 26.5% to $38.8 billion. If this trend continues to develop, Africa may be the next China of international trade, and Go Global hopes to be there to ride the wave.

• Sowinski, Laura. “What Supply Chain Execs are Buying, Where They’re Skimping.” World Trade. Sep. 2006.

• Commercial Motor. “Significant Potential for Third-party Logistics.” Reed Business Information. 15 Mar. 2007.

• Panitchpakdi, Supachai. “Investment in Africa: The Challenges Ahead.” International Trade Forum. Issue 1/2007.

Redefining the Market

Most small and mid-sized businesses search for 3PL providers on the internet, where 3PL advertising coverage is abysmal. Upon performing an online search for “customs broker” “3PL” or “logistics,” the results yielded are generally unrelated to the services businesses are seeking. Go Global plans to capitalize on this by establishing a strong online presence with user-friendly information geared towards businesses new to international trade.

By providing innovative features that are valuable to our customers like the Go Global Online Marketplace, we attract a wide range of businesses seeking to or already engaged in international trade. The Go Global Marketplace is redefining the market by creating a centralized online marketplace allowing importers and exporters across the globe to connect and trade in a secure and efficient platform.

By providing low cost, scalable, online services with the same level of visibility available from the largest 3PLs, Go Global is redefining the world of international trade and supply chain services and continues to empower small and mid-sized businesses to compete on the global stage.