Cleveland supply chain
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:
- Categorized: 3PL, Trucking
- Tagged: 3PL Cleveland, Cleveland 3PL, Cleveland supply chain, Cleveland supply chain solution, Cleveland trucking, winter weather supply chain
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.
- Categorized: Company News
- Tagged: Cleveland port terminals, Cleveland supply chain, Cleveland trucking
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.
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
- Categorized: Company News
- Tagged: Cleveland supply chain, Cleveland warehouse
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?
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.