NEWS\\\


Issue 4 2013


7


Supply chains must be more resilient, say experts


Old-school thinking on supply


chain planning is not up to dealing with today’s volatile world, logistics expert Martin Christopher told the Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Club. The Emeritus Professor


of marketing and logistics at Cranfield School of Management explained to the first meeting of the Club in London on 1 May that much current supply chain practice was devised in a comparatively stable era, “based on the old, more predictable world,” But supply chains have now moved from a local to a much more global focus, he said. Increasingly, international firms are designing resilience into their supply chains, with responsiveness seen now as more important than minimising cost.


Another important change


was that, whereas transport costs had been seen as quite a small component of total cost, this was no longer necessarily so. Rather than moving


production to


wherever labour or raw material costs were lowest, firms were increasingly moving towards local manufacturing markets.


for local The supply chain of the future


needed “structured flexibility” and should be capable of being easily taken apart and reassembled, like Lego bricks, said Professor Christopher. Speakers at the gathering


described the events that have rocked the global supply chain in recent years. These had prompted a rethink on sourcing and resilience, they said. For example, computer


hard disk


makers had had a rethink aſter floods devastated Bangkok, because 90% of the world supply of some hard disc components came from a single area of that city. And some automotive paints were unavailable following the Japanese Tsunami because all manufacturers were dependent on a single manufacturer of a matt black resin in that country. The volcanic ash cloud that brought European air transport to a standstill for a week in 2010 was another example of how companies had been forced by events to rethink their supply chain strategy. Zurich Risk Engineering


regional practice leader, Tim Astley, cited a Business Continuity Institute survey which indicated


that 73% of businesses interviewed had experienced supply chain disruption in the past 12 months, with companies experiencing an average of five such incidents. Chairman of LCP Consulting,


Alan Braithwaite pointed out that company boards should also consider not only the probability of a particular event, but the cost of recovering from it should it occur. The Japanese tsunami cost industry much more than the ash cloud; air services returned to normal fairly quickly aſter the


cloud dispersed, whereas the


effects of the tsunami are being felt to this day. Paul Brooks, sales director at


Unipart Logistics, which moves spare parts for the car industry and others, says that his company first started to look at supply chain resilience three or four years ago and has worked very hard on its supplier relationships. It has now put in place a global control centre that gives minute by minute visibility of its supply chain from vendor forecast through to dealer.


New York


hurricane lessons ‘not being learned’


Over two thirds of small businesses don’t consider themselves at risk from disaster, despite the devastation wreaked by Superstorm Sandy and other disasters over the past year, according to a new survey by FedEx and the American Red Cross. Fewer than 10% of small businesses surveyed had taken


any disaster preparedness actions based on the effects of Sandy and even half of those small businesses that were affected by Hurricane Sandy or another disaster feel it’s unlikely they will be affected again in the next five years. FedEx and the Red Cross are


now trying to boost preparedness across the US.


NEWS ROUNDUP SHIPPING


Piracy remains a threat to shipping, said leading container operators CMA CGM, MSC, Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd when they met to discuss the issue on 6 May. Although there had been a decline in activity over the past year, piracy continues to be a concern for the shipping industry, and regular meetings were still needed to cooperate and respond to the threat to ensure the safety and security of seafarers, they said in a joint statement.


The International Transport Federation (ITF) and its affiliated maritime unions in Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine have mounted a campaign to expose substandard working conditions in what they dub ‘The Sea of Shame’. They say the Black Sea is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a seafarer, with many of the 2,400 vessels working in the region over 20 years old, and around 800 over 30 years old. Sinkings are common, and the risk of death and injury is deemed to be part of the job. The week of action will expose these “unacceptable conditions” and put the industry on notice that things will have to change with the coming into force on 20 August 2013 of the Maritime Labour Convention.


Samskip Multimodal is replacing the 340teu ship on its Rotterdam to Hull service with the 800teu Henrike Schepers. The line is also offering reduced transit times and extended cut off times in Hull and Tilbury. The line offers five sailings per week and can deliver cargoes anywhere in the UK within two days of their departure from Rotterdam. The new ship has also made possible an additional Wednesday evening Rotterdam departure, allowing for Thursday aſternoon pick-ups in Hull and for Friday deliveries in the UK.


Mitsui OSK Lines and Pacific International Lines will launch an Indian Ocean Island Express service on 7 June. MOL and PIL will each provide two ships of 1100teu effective capacity for the weekly service from Singapore to Port Louis, Tamatave, Reunion and back to Singapore.


Stena Line has appointed Ian Davies as route manager for its Irish Sea South Fishguard/Rosslare and Holyhead/Dublin/Dun Laoghaire services. He was latterly route director of Fishguard - Rosslare.


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