On Feb. 19, Asia begins its celebration of Lunar New Year — the Year of the Sheep. Perhaps our industry should consider a variation on a theme: the Year of the Customer. After all, we owe customers something. Goodness knows we made them suffer enough in 2014.
From port congestion to labor negotiations, last year was a trying one for international shippers. We’ve got to do better for them this time around — not just for their sake, but ours, too. If we don’t, especially on the U.S. West Coast, they’ll bolt.
Canada … Mexico … Suez Canal … Panama Canal … we know the alternative paths to the U.S. Our customers do, too. Frustrated by delays in California and the Northwest, they’re increasingly using those gateways. It’s hard to blame them.
So what do we need to do to stem customer attrition? Here are improvements we have to make right away:
— Terminal efficiency: Bigger ships tax terminal throughput. Turn-times are slower. It takes longer to get intermodal cargo to the rail. The fix requires all-hands-on-deck. Labor’s best effort is required.
— Truckers must respect appointments. Chassis providers need to improve availability. Terminals should maximize technology to expedite container handling and ease the pain of gate-waits.
— Terminal infrastructure: Change is needed to speed cargo off the ship and out the door. This means modifying not just plant, but process, too. An example: terminals are creating express lanes. They congregate import boxes for individual motor carriers with multiple pickups. Trucks line up to take the first box off the stack. A trucker’s transaction can take as little as 15 minutes.
— Customer contact: Customers are desperate to understand the status of the supply chain. How can we help? Timely website alerts; credible turn-time metrics; automated gate-wait updates; on-site customer service representatives.
Shippers don’t have to settle for any port in the storm. They’ll expect us to improve their experience, cure their headaches, or they’ll find someone else who can.
Chris Lytle, Executive Director, Port of Oakland