This commentary appeared in the print edition of the Jan. 6, 2020, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook.
Rapid changes are now considered the norm in our trade these days. It is no longer just our providers that need to be agile, we must ask that of our entire internal supply chain, from logistics to buyers, right down to the receiving door. Issues that were just handled by logistics departments are now company-wide discussions that affect marketing and sales. New regulations are now forcing the C-suite of companies to be interested in small details like harmonized tariff codes. This is a new world for all involved. Data is and has always been king, and the only way to manage through is tight data management.
It is imperative that BCOs have strict requirements and make people accountable for data. Gone are the days of missing fields in ERP systems. There are landed-cost changes while cargo is on the water, and every level wants to know the financial swing as soon a tweet is posted.
Margins are continually impacted with tariff increases and fuel surcharges. Even more difficult is having cost discussions with finance when the industry is unsure of the pending impact of IMO 2020.
Sharing industry news weekly among departments and at all levels is a way not only to educate internally, but to manage expectations. Starting conversations is healthy for a ­company’s bottom line, and, frankly, it has eliminated the silo that was “just the logistics department’s” job. Logistics has always been the back room of operations, where problems were solved in the dark. 2020 will continue to shine a light on analytics that have been created by professionals that knew what was needed years ago.