Few industries or business functions are experiencing as much disruption as logistics, supply chain and transportation. In fact, according to a recent Forbes Insights survey of more than 400 senior transportation-focused executives, 65 percent say tectonic shifts in these areas are driving an era of profound transformation.
Challenge: A large Amsterdam-based company, boasting sales of over 30,000 household products, sought to expand its market and become a non-resident U.S. importer. The company had to learn U.S. import requirements and establish an optimal logistics strategy for its China- and India-origin goods.
After nearly eight years of starts, stops and delays, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finally implemented its much-debated Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) program — requiring all carriers of commercial cargo to report electronic airfreight data to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before the cargo is loaded onto aircraft bound for the states.
After the Pride of York ferry sailed into the Belgian port of Zeebrugge from Hull in the U.K. earlier this month, dozens of cargo containers were offloaded and whisked away on trucks. The hundreds of passengers weren’t as lucky: They had to line up for border checks.
There may be a looming pilot shortage that has developed in the cargo industry over the last decade, but according to a study by the University of North Dakota (UND), there may be some cause for optimism.
Convinced that blockchain is on the brink of transforming the package-delivery business, FedEx Corp. is testing the technology to track large, higher-value cargo.