US West Coast port crisis seen spurring shipper technology spending - William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jan 19, 2015 10:38AM EST Shippers will increasingly turn to technology to find ways to cope with extreme delays and disruption caused by port congestion, labor disputes and other crises and build more flexibility into their supply chains, says an executive at software provider Descartes Systems Group. However, when a crisis reaches the size and scope of the U.S. West Coast port congestion and related labor dispute, workable “bypasses” are hard to find, said Ken Wood, executive vice president of product management at the global logistics technology company. “You need to divert cargo to Canada or Mexico almost in order to avoid the impact,” of the congestion at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, he said. Congestion is getting worse at the largest U.S. port complex as a longshore labor dispute becomes more rancorous. “Technology can show you your options and help you figure out what the inland impact of any alternative is going to be,” Wood said. “We have customers that are doing that, but they don’t always have a supply chain ready to go to bring in goods through Mexico or Canada. “You can’t magically put the procedures in place to start handling freight through Vancouver,” Wood said. “It takes a lot of time and effort. There are business relationships that need to be in place before technology can do more than recommend alternatives.” Eventually, technology will be able to do more, he said, as shippers, carriers and logistics partners build more integrated data systems that provide greater supply chain visibility and enable more dynamic decision-making. “We’ve done projects where we’re able to postpone fulfillment decisions until the last minute, almost waiting until the goods are in port before deciding where they’re going to go,” he said. “Some may go direct from port to store.” In the meantime, he believes more shippers and carriers will invest in supply chain management technology in the wake of the West Coast port crisis. “We had some big retail customers who were significantly impacted by this at the worst possible time,” Wood said. “I think it will cause people to rethink strategies and have more ‘back pocket’ alternatives.”
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:52:32 +0000
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