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Product Damage – Carrier Issue or Packaging Issue?

packaging
Archives, Global Shippers 101, Global Trade Daily

Product Damage – Carrier Issue or Packaging Issue?

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We recently had a customer that requested our expert opinion on why a product they shipped became damaged. Was the damage because of carrier handling or that the packaging was not designed to survive the carrier’s supply chain?

It was an interesting question that we have seen previously with other customers. In this article, we are going to dive into some of the details as to how to answer this question!

Know your Supply Chain

The first step in developing a packaging solution is understanding the supply chain through which your product is shipped. This directly impacts the packaging design and testing protocols required to verify a concept. A product shipping on full truckload (FTL) on a company’s existing fleet in comparison to less than truckload (LTL) requires completely different packaging solutions. Too often do we see a customer using the same concept that works shipping FTL but is damaged in an LTL environment and the blame is put on the carrier.

A few questions that are helpful when evaluating a supply chain are outlined below:

-How is the product stored and handled internally prior to shipment?

-What machinery is used to transport the packaged product?

—Fork truck? Hand truck? Clamp truck?

-If palletized, does the pallet allow for the available machinery to be utilized without special attachments or modifications?

—Example: Fork truck tine extensions

-How many hubs will the packaged products go through if shipping LTL?

-What hazards are to be expected during shipping and handling?

—Vehicle vibration, forklift handling, horizontal and vertical impacts, drivers clipping curb, etc

Understand Your Packaging Budget

All companies seek to have 0% damage during shipping but there is a balance between product damage and packaging-related costs. It is important to build an expected budget around packaging material, freight, and labor costs. Investigating a $100 packaging solution when the product margin only allows for $10 is an incorrect path to explore. Having this information upfront narrows down the choices allowable for your specific product.

Designing to the APE System

Creating a packaging design meant to survive an FTL or LTL supply chain can be broken down into what BoldtSmith Packaging references as the APE System. Below is a breakdown.

Allow: This references allowing the expected hazards to occur and design the packaging to survive these hazards. For example, we know that shipping a 48”x40” pallet with a flat top surface has a high likelihood to have products stacked on top of it through an LTL supply chain. Knowing this is an expected hazard and allowing it to happen requires packaging needs to be designed to survive this. Pushing back on the carrier when another pallet is stacked on top of your product is not understanding the expected hazards in an LTL environment.

Prevent: This references preventing damage that have a high likelihood of happening to create product damage. For example, it is to be expected that a pallet that has the product overhanging 2 inches will likely be impacted by another product/pallet or forklift. For this reason, underhang is utilized to prevent this being an issue from creating product damage.

Eliminate: This references eliminating the expected hazards to occur. For example, a 96”x48” pallet is used to ship a product that is extremely heavy on one end and light on the other. This poses two issues with handling. The pallet cannot be a 4-way entry stringer pallet due to the risk of the pallet tipping over when lifting from the openings on the 96” dimension. Also, the pallet should only be lifted from the heavy end, for this reason, the pallet would only have an opening on that side. This essentially turns the pallet into a 1-way entry and eliminates the forklift operator from unintentionally causing damage.

Testing

After the designs are created, testing needs to occur to verify the design and materials can survive the intended supply chain. This thorough investigation can be broken down into two categories.

Lab Testing: Utilizing a lab gives a great baseline using an established testing protocol such as ISTA 3B for an LTL supply chain. It is recommended after passing one of these protocols to complete a more thorough verification by completing ship tests.

Ship Testing: Completing ship testing provides the data to have a high confidence level in a specific packaging design. Some of the hazards that occur during shipping are difficult to replicate in a lab environment and for this reason, ship testing provides additional data. It is recommended to be onsite prior to the product shipping and also onsite when the customer receives the product.

It is recommended to create reports and documentation for both lab and ship testing. This information can be sent to the carriers if damage does occur. This provides evidence to the carriers that the design was created and verified to survive the intended supply chain.

Conclusion

It is easy to point the finger at a carrier if your product is damaged during shipping and certainly unexpected hazards do occur. However, it is important to follow the outlined system in how to create and test a packaging solution that allows your carriers to be successful.

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Dustin Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of BoldtSmith Packaging.  BoldtSmith Packaging is a recognized leader in packaging design, testing, and optimization. Dustin can be reached at Dustin.Smith@boldtsmithpackaging.com

Old Dominion
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Old Dominion Meets Growing Demand with Facility Expansions

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As capacity and customer demands continue to grow, leading LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (OD) prepares to meet these industry needs by expanding its facilities across the country from Texas and Ohio to Idaho and Arkansas while adding more facilities to growing markets. The announces expansions include innovative technology allowing for increased shipping paces and seamless shipment transfers while reducing shipping time and adding more room for capacity and flexibility options.

“As our customers adjust to growing e-commerce demands, they rely on us to not only accommodate the additional shipments but to also help them keep their promises to their customers with fast, on-time delivery with no product damage,” said Terry Hutchins, Vice President of Real Estate. “We are excited about these new and renovated service center openings. OD will continue to invest in new capacity to welcome the growing demand and exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Among the regions now boasting renovated and improved facilities in El Paso and Lubbock, TX, Columbus, OH, and Chicago. The facility expansions and additions ultimately strengthen the LTL carrier’s market presence while maintaining customer satisfaction through upgrades and more bodies for support.

In addition to facility expansions, remodeling, and employee additions, OD will celebrate the opening of new facilities recently opened in Oregon, Idaho, Arkansas, and Georgia throughout the month of October.

“Our long term strategic plan includes continual investment in our network to improve efficiencies and increase capacity so when our customers grow, we can serve them. The end goal of helping our customers keep their promises is solidified by our continued investment in new technology and service center expansion,” said Hutchins.

TQL
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

TQL TO CREATE NEARLY 600 NEW JOBS, MAKE $20 MILLION INVESTMENT IN OHIO

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Total Quality Logistics (TQL) is constructing a second building at its headquarters to accommodate its continued growth in the third-party logistics industry, according to the Cincinnati, Ohio-based 3PL. 

The second-largest freight brokerage company in North America, TQL offers full truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal logistics services. The goal of the expansion is to accommodate nearly 600 new employees that the company anticipates hiring, primarily in sales and information technology roles, over the next five years.

“We continue to grow our market share with new and existing customers, and that’s a direct testament to our incredible team members who are focused on providing premium service to our customers and carriers day in and day out,” says TQL President Kerry Byrne.

“Logistics is an increasingly tech-driven industry, and we continue to make substantial investments in our proprietary technology solutions, such as TQL TRAX, to improve transparency, communication, and drive greater efficiencies in transportation,” Byrne adds. “This headquarters expansion will cater to the needs of technology professionals so we can attract and retain the highest levels of technology talent.”

The expansion of TQL’s headquarters campus on Ivy Pointe Boulevard in Union Township includes the construction of a second building ranging in size from 120,000 to 130,000 square feet next door to the company’s existing 100,000 square foot building. The company anticipates construction costs of the new building at $20 million, plus an additional investment to renovate its current site.

The complex will hold more than 2,000 employees when construction is complete. 

Descartes
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

Shipping Support Consolidated with Descartes ShipRush™

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Descartes’ cloud-based ecommerce shipping solution ShipRush™ now provides customers increased visibility through its added less-than-truckload (LTL) freight management options.

The global logistics solutions provider announced the adding of LTL freight to the offering, further increasing efforts in streamlining shipping operations while supporting companies as they determine carriers and efficient service options.

“Descartes continues to drive ecommerce shipping innovation by bringing together LTL freight, parcel shipping and rate shopping on a cost-effective platform for ecommerce companies,” said Troy Graham, Senior Vice President, Business Development for Descartes Systems Group.

“These combined capabilities help companies, like ZUP, remove the guesswork from choosing the best combination of cost and service for their shipments.”

“As a multi-channel business, ZUP’s shipping needs are complex. We process both individual marketplace orders and large palletized orders for our network of dealers,” said Nick Kierpiec, director of operations for ZUP.

Beyond increased visibility with its all-in-one capabilites, ShipRush™  supports customers in determining the most cost-effective options for LTL management and usage. The platform assists in how and when to use LTL and can produce bulk shipping savings up to 50 percent while offering access to integrated Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) and carrier rate selection processing.

“The ability to do everything in one platform, including process incoming orders and rate shop the best price and delivery options for parcel and LTL, saves us both time and money,” concluded Kierpiec.

 

Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Integrating Air and Inland Transportation Solves Unique Challenges

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Plenty of challenges can surface in the course of executing global logistics, no matter what industry you’re in. The ability to work with one company to service all your transportation needs – including ocean, air, customs brokerage, trade compliance, vendor management, and surface transportation is vital for having immediate and integrated alternatives to solve problems. This capability may be most valuable when it comes to air cargo solutions—where the clock is always ticking, and time is not on your side. Here’s how some companies have collaborated with C.H. Robinson to develop their integrated air-and-surface-transportation solutions.

Merchandising support for retailers

For retailers, launching a new video game successfully requires more than just the game itself. Merchandising support—in the form of posters, kiosks, and other materials that promote the product—is absolutely essential. So, when one company won a licensing agreement to merchandise a hot new video game to retail centers, they looked for an integrated logistics program that would help them meet the release deadlines.

As is true of any bid for logistics services, the company could only share so much information in their request for proposal (RFP). The RFP had called for air charter lift services, but once they awarded the bid to us, we learned more. While the ship dates for the merchandising were uncertain, delivery deadlines were firm, and the company faced stiff penalties from retailers if they missed delivery deadlines. This information led to a review of cost and available commercial air lift options and recalibration of the initial plan.

The resulting plan was fully integrated and lasted for roughly three months. It included a seven-day air transport, airport to door, from Asia into our warehouses at Los Angeles International Airport or Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The plan had to be flexible, and required extensive coordination. So, C.H. Robinson flew in personnel from our Miami office to the distribution centers in Los Angeles and Chicago to oversee all aspects of the handling and ensure that any last-minute problems could be resolved in real time.

At the warehouses, shipments were broken down, repackaged, and segregated for delivery. Working backward from the in-house delivery date to ship dates, once known, the team selected the best transportation type to deliver to retailers in time.

The challenges that surfaced in these moves required flexibility so that shipments could be moved via a variety of transportation modes. As products arrived at the warehouse and were segregated, faster or slower forms of transportation would be selected to hit the firm delivery dates. If there was sufficient lead time, less than truckload (LTL) shipments might be the best, most cost effective option; if time was tight, the freight might be shipped by the full truckload with team drivers. Wherever possible, LTL shipments would be consolidated and be delivered by multi-stop full truckloads for greater savings.

Overall, the project required coordination of air freight and warehousing, plus full truckload, consolidation, or LTL deliveries from the warehouses to 30 U.S. destinations to meet delivery deadlines. With onsite coordination, the company had an on time delivery percentage of 99% at the retail locations.

Shipping urgent product to bring an automotive plant back online

Automotive production lines have rigorous delivery requirements. Shipments are timed precisely so they arrive just in time for production. If anything goes wrong and materials don’t arrive as expected, entire plants can shut down, putting hundreds of people out of work and costing companies millions.

So, when an automotive plant in the United States went down, they contacted another original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for help. The OEM needed to obtain product from six European suppliers and get them to the plant as soon as possible.

At the time, air capacity was not as accessible. So, our team looked for the next-best alternative: partial charter for several skids of critical materials. The product was flown into Chicago, where a team of drivers was waiting. Due to pre-clearing customs, our team was able to breakdown the aircraft and load the trucks within two hours. Once the trucks were loaded at the warehouse, they headed inland to complete the delivery.

Speed and efficiency were vital in delivering the product to our customer. Our skill is to find and offer different solutions to achieve the client’s goals and get the plant back in operation as quickly as possible.

A solution for urgent heavy-lift shipments in the automotive industry

Sometimes urgent freight comes in big packages. A company in the automotive industry urgently needed to ship machinery from Chicago to Liuzhou, Guangxi, China. Because this was a last-minute request, however, their regular crating company in Michigan was unable to complete the job in time. That’s when the company contacted the C.H. Robinson project logistics team to find alternatives.

Our team not only had a long-time relationship with the company, but also with crating companies in the Chicago area. The team used their knowledge, flexibility, and connections to find outside-the-box solutions, arranging for crating to take place the following day. As the crating was underway, the company also awarded the transport portion to C.H. Robinson.

The urgently needed freight had to be shipped by air. Thirteen crates totaling 166 cubic meters and 44.6 metric tons were transported for the company, with the largest piece weighing 14 metric tons. Cranes were used to load the 13 crates onto the aircraft for transport from O’Hare in Chicago through South Korea to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. From there, the crates were transported inland to the customer’s door in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China.

The company’s decision to work with one company to service all their transportation needs—including crating, air freight transport, and inland transportation service, provided a solution for their urgent deadline. The cargo was able to be delivered safely and quickly.

What it takes to integrate air and inland transportation solutions

In logistics, there’s simply no substitute for integrated problem-solving. Nowhere is that truer than with urgent freight requirements that require a multi-pronged transportation solution.

When freight absolutely positively has to be there, challenges are sure to arise. Companies can work closely with their logistics provider to select the best, most flexible options to meet their goals. With proper coordination, and by working together, shippers can easily achieve their supply chain objectives—in the long and short term.

Matt Castle is Vice President of global forwarding products & services at C.H. Robinson

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Women in Logistics: Kim Maready, VP of Accounting and Finance, Old Dominion Freight Line

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When it comes to exemplary leadership, Old Dominion – a leading provider in LTL and transportation logistics, takes implementing its core values of integrity and greatness to the next level. Through its strong relationships both externally with its customers and internally with each individual working for the company, these values are what keep its employees working towards the Old Dominion vision. With her passion for mentoring and leadership, Kim Maready, Vice President of Accounting and Finance for the company, is a prime example of the way Old Dominion takes her position in leadership one step further by shaping employees through a fresh, unique approach. It was this very approach combined with the culture at Old Dominion that ultimately peaked her interest to join the team in 2014.

“I think the Old Dominion culture places a tremendous amount of value on its people. It is a family-oriented culture and once you join the family, you really feel that. I felt that as an outside service provider. They not only cared about their own success, but they cared about my success as a provider,” she said. “A lot of other large public companies haven’t found that magic really. It’s all about the business and I think that comes through the profitability, or lack thereof, of some companies because ODFL recognizes that it’s profitable because of its people and the amount that they give to our customers every single day.”

Kim has served Old Dominion for five years, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in the middle market Fortune 1,000 space. Prior to her onboarding with Old Dominion, she worked as a partner. It was through her time serving the company that convinced her the Old Dominion culture was different.

“They were a client of mine for six years, so I knew the company well, the leadership team well, their environment, and core values. I spent time serving a lot of different companies across a lot of different industries from banking to manufacturing, to retail, consumer products, technology, and other transportation companies,” she said. “What interested me in Old Dominion was the culture – the leadership team, the value they place on their people, and the integrity that’s here at the company.”

In her role as VP of Accounting and Finance, she does a lot more than oversee the financials. Mrs. Maready takes her passion for mentorship and aims to create a strong team that feels valued and respected by challenging them to take their ideas and concerns to the leadership team. Old Dominion prides itself in its “Open-Door” Policy that gives every person at the company a voice. This approach bolsters the company’s vision to create the next generation of employees that carry on the core values of integrity, honesty, and transparency while managing risks. This policy serves as another differentiator among competitors.

“If you’re trying to innovate and get processes that aren’t working anymore to change, and you’re having roadblocks with those changes or don’t know where to take your ideas, you can come in to any of these 20 or so people and have a discussion and get action around that discussion while having someone that can champion it with their authority or help remove those roadblocks. I think that really mitigates a lot of our risk and it really is unique to this organization. I’ve seen a lot of companies and I haven’t heard of other companies embracing that quite like we do,” she adds.

Beyond the company’s robust customer base and successful operations, Old Dominion boasts a large organization of employees that value excellence day in and out. It’s through these valued employees that Old Dominion serves its customers while creating competitive advantage. The value Old Dominion places in its employees follows the wise saying from Richard Branson: “Whatever industry a company is in, its employees are its biggest competitive advantage.”

“In the short term it’s my responsibility and my team’s responsibility to really grow the next generation of leaders and to help them understand our culture, our core values of integrity, and ensure that we have the right leaders in place two decades down the road from now to maintain the culture and the unique environment that we have. It’s beyond just looking at the debits and the credits that some expect us to be talking about and thinking about every day,” she added.

Kimberly S. Maready currently serves as Principal Accounting Officer for Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., a position she has held since May of 2017. Mrs. Maready joined ODFL in February of 2014 as the Vice President – Accounting and Finance and is responsible for directing ODFL’s accounting operations, financial reporting, payroll, tax and financial planning. Prior to joining ODFL, Mrs. Maready spent 21 years with Ernst & Young LLP, including 9 years as partner in the Assurance and Advisory Services practice. Her finance and accounting experience spans across multiple sectors including banking, retail, technology and transportation. Mrs. Maready holds an accounting degree from North Carolina State University and is a licensed CPA in the state of North Carolina. She has served as an active board member of Goodwill of Central North Carolina and the Winston-Salem Children’s Museum and the advisory boards of N.C. State’s Poole College of Management and Appalachian State University’s Walker School of Business.

Archives, Datebook, Global Trade Daily

Transplace Shipper Symposium

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The 17th annual event brings together today’s most forward-thinking transportation and logistics visionaries. Impacted by data management, capacity constraints and economic and regulatory issues? The Transplace Shipper Symposium is the place to be.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join transportation industry leaders at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas, Texas from May 6-8. Keynote speakers scheduled include Kenneth W. Gronbach, President of KGC Direct, LLC and Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Founder and CEO of Extreme Living.

The two-day conference is packed with networking and charity opportunities and includes an impressive lineup of panel speakers providing insight on topics such as LTL, intermodal, shippers,  and supply chain trends for 2019. This year’s event will also feature a special Women in Logistics Networking Event at the Four Seasons Well & Being Spa.

To register your spot for this exquisite conference, click here.

 

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Old Dominion Celebrates Growing Capacity

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Old Dominion announced its success during the first half of 2019 following the opening of six service centers across the nation. Reduced shipping times, increased daily volumes and enhanced delivery flexibility are key benefits the service centers offer for customers.

Locations for the new center upgrades include:  Mobile, Ala., Pompano Beach, Fla., Houston, Texas, Otay Mesa (San Diego), Calif., Texarkana, Ark., and Anaheim, Calif.

“Our 2018 results confirm that strategically opening new and renovating existing service centers to accommodate customer demand is helping to grow our business,” said Terry Hutchins, Vice President of Real Estate. “We will continue that strategy of searching for new sites to increase capacity and grow our network to continue to deliver premium service that exceeds customers’ expectations.”

The implementation of new service centers are carefully considered in terms of location, network capacity opportunities, and access to the highest quality workers. Each center is equipped with the highest quality technology in anticipation of increased customer demand.

“We search for locations in growing markets where we have access to quality workers to expand our network capacity. Expanding our network allows us to immediately accommodate customer needs, and is critical to maintaining our award-winning low claims ratio and guaranteed on-time delivery,” said Hutchins.

The company announced scheduled open houses for each of the new locations to celebrate their success:

Mobile – March 13

Pompano Beach – March 20

Houston – April 11

Otay Mesa – April 24

Texarkana – April 25

Anaheim – April 25

 

Source: Old Dominion Freight Line

trade
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Old Dominion Freight Line Gears Up for 2019 Baseball Season

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Friday marked day one for Old Dominion Freight Line‘s journey to support and assist this year’s Spring Training send-offs by delivering team exercise equipment, baseball bats and balls, and sports drinks to the Spring Training locations.  The official Freight Carrier of Major League Baseball (MLB) will set out on a cross-country excursion starting with traditional send-off events this week.

Old Dominion partnered with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies to begin transporting the equipment to the Hilton Chicago in preparation for the 27th annual SoxFest this week before the trucks head for their final destinations.

“These MLB clubs understand the value of Old Dominion’s premium service, ensuring its transportation to Spring Training goes as planned,” said Dick Podiak, vice president of marketing and communication at Old Dominion Freight Line. “We’re excited to move clubs again this year and help kick off the 2019 baseball season.”

Those that come across the trucks are encouraged to share a picture with the companies (@Phillies and @ODFL_Inc) using the signature hashtag #RingTheBell.