Cleveland 3PL

How a Cleveland 3PL Can Help When Winter Weather Short-Circuits Your Supply Chain

Winter weather can make even the most trivial tasks exponentially more difficult. As recent events have proven, this is especially true when power lines (or entire power grids) are down, rail services have ground to a halt, natural gas is in short supply, hundreds of flights are canceled and icy roads are exceedingly perilous. All of this will have a snowball effect on your supply chain. While there’s no way to control the weather, working with a Cleveland 3PL can help you better insulate your supply chain for the inevitable moments when you won’t have control.

As in sports, the best defense is a good offense when it comes to supply chains. Ideally, you will have planned and prepared for supply chain setbacks. As a longtime Cleveland 3PL, we have trucking, warehousing and shipping partners all over the country, allowing you to navigate more nimbly through some of the most serious seasonal swings and challenges.

In third-party logistics, our success depends on your success. We’ll only recommend actions that are in your best interest. Some of the top ways you may benefit from a 3PL partnership in advance of a weather crisis:

Read More
Cleveland trucking company

Greater Port Terminal Efficiency Can Improve Cleveland Trucking Delivery Times

Supply chains have been unquestionably disrupted by the novel coronavirus, but issues with U.S. port terminal efficiency didn’t start there. The crisis merely cast these problems into stark relief. One silver lining in all this is that some port terminal operators are seizing this opportunity to streamline their operations with digital and self-service options to improve transparency and visibility. More efficiency at maritime ports would only serve to improve Cleveland trucking delivery times, allowing us to provide increasingly faster service.

It’s not likely to happen overnight, though.

Last month, the CEO of the Association of American Port Authorities testified before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and revealed that significantly reduced freight volumes are unlikely to bounce back before the end of 2020. The year-over-year volume drops in March were estimated to be about 18 percent and in April and May between 20 to 25 percent.

On the one hand, this could cause some ports to halt any planned investment in capital improvement projects – including digitization. On the other hand, stronger competition may provide greater incentive to address some of the longstanding issues that have led to bottlenecks and other headaches at some ports for years.

Read More
Cleveland warehouse

Our Cleveland Warehouse Prepared to Weather Coronavirus

We live in a world that is interconnected. Substantial disruptions in supply chains highlight the need for resiliency, particularly from Cleveland warehouse and logistics firms. On Time Delivery and Warehouse has proven over 40 years our ability to adapt in dynamic and uncertain markets.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges, we are helping many businesses find workarounds with e-commerce and local distribution. Although there is likely to be a fair amount of volatility in the supply chain for some time, our Cleveland warehouse and logistics will help our clients navigate these new realities.

We anticipate seeing:

  • Higher inventory levels.
  • Continued e-commerce adoption.
  • Diversification of manufacturer locations.

No matter what challenges confront our Cleveland warehouse team, we are here for our customers, and ready to face it.

Cleveland Warehouse & Supply Chain Trends

In general, supply chain managers often prefer to keep inventory levels low to reduce overall costs. However, as we’re seeing shortages of things like cleaning supplies, health products and food, those managing supply chains are rethinking optimal inventory levels and storage locations. We’re anticipating higher demand for warehouse space to handle the uptick in goods and services. Ultimately, we anticipate this is likely to help us improve resiliency against future shocks.

Although the impact of COVID-19 is arguably one of the most substantial we can recall, the fact is that within this industry, our Cleveland warehouse team is familiar with fluctuations in stockpiles and slowdowns.

Inventory is backlogged at the moment, but supply chains and consumer demand will ultimately normalize. We do still anticipate warehouse services will remain in high demand as many buyers practice “social distancing” by avoiding stores and shopping online. It’s unclear how long this will last, but a growing number of brick-and-mortar locations are closing, either by choice or public health order.
Some shipping companies are looking at reducing or at least reconsidering their total logistics footprint, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re looking at closing shop. Many are instead weighing more regionalized approaches that might offer improved flexibility, particularly those that can offer proximity to urban centers, like Cleveland. This can help better protect numerous supply chains from market disruptions.
Many shippers are looking at ramping up productivity while also focusing their efforts on adjacent or near-adjacent manufacturing centers. Some are even looking at reshoring to bring production closer to home, at least for the time being.
It’s probable too that not only in the immediate future, but over the next several years, we’ll see an uptick in demand for online grocery that will lead to the need for millions more square feet of cold storage warehouse space.
Meanwhile, there have been several disruptions in transportation, such as closed rest stops and restaurants along key corridors. Our trucking services have been managing those challenges also. Receivers and other distribution centers are asking to conduct as much business as possible electronically or without personal contact. Our team recognizes the importance of taking public health official directives seriously and implementing them immediately, keeping our team – and yours – safe and healthy.
The bottom line is that we know many businesses are doing what they can to mitigate the damage and risk of further disruption in uncertain weeks and months ahead. We’re all in this together, and our Cleveland warehouse crew is here to help. 

If you have questions about our Cleveland warehouse services, contact On Time Delivery & Warehouse by calling (440) 826-4630 or send us an email.

Additional Resources:

Warehousing sector well-positioned to whether coronavirus disruption, report finds, March 17, 2020, By Morgan Forde, SupplyChainDive.com

More Blog Entries:

Cleveland 3PL Can Help Limit Coronavirus Supply Chain Impact, Feb. 18, 2020, Cleveland Warehouse Service Blog

Cleveland Supply Chain Cost-Cutting Boosts Your Bottom Line

No matter what size your business, reducing unnecessary supply chain costs can result in a significant savings – assuming you can accurately identify and efficiently address the weak links.

Anyone who works in Cleveland supply chain management service knows that all for-profit companies are going to incur a “cost to serve.” But is your company’s “cost to serve” reasonable? Can you lower it without risking a major blow to quality or customer satisfaction?Cleveland supply chain management

Supply Chain Loopholes Vary by Industry, Service, Location

The answer will depend a lot on the type of product or service you provide. For example, let’s say your Cleveland supply chain involves the packaging and delivery of building products to construction sites. Not only are you managing a complex schedule thanks to the heavy equipment and various contractors involved – your deliveries MUST be precise and on time. Certain materials like mixed cement can be totally wasted if there aren’t workers on site. If elements like weather are consistently a problem in one region, you may need to consider whether you can re-route around that area altogether. If you are in the grocery or restaurant industry, it will be critical that your deliverables be properly packaged, sometimes limited to one product-per-pallet and that delivery dates and times are accurate to the minute – otherwise the shipment could be unusable.

Understanding not just your industry but also your customer base is priority No. 1. You need to be able to serve their needs, but also make sure the cost of doing so is still sensible. One analysis in the International Journal of Production Economics found in supply chain cost reviews by 30 companies in 10 different industries, most were falling short when it came to the estimated standard supply chain cost compared to actual cost.

One of the best ways to cut your Cleveland supply chain costs is to work with a dedicated third-party logistics partner. On Time Delivery & Warehouse 3PL providers can help you better pinpoint what exactly in your chain of supply is causing you the biggest headaches and cost bleed-out. Despite wide variances between industries and companies, there are a few supply chain our third-party logistics professionals have seen consistently cause problems. If any of these issues sound familiar (or you’re having trouble identifying exactly which supply chain loophole is costing you most or what to do about it), a third-party supply chain management team can be an invaluable resource.

Read More