Pirate attacks have pushed up insurance and other costs for shippers operating off West Africa, with some resorting to hiring escort vessels manned by armed navy personnel.
Challenge: A multinational oil and gas company relied on thousands of suppliers worldwide — including remote partners in Azerbaijan, Alaska and Angola — for time-critical materials. However, the company lacked adequate visibility and transportation management over it’s 60,000 purchase orders per year, resulting in incomplete deliveries, poor shipment-status insights and high administrative and process costs.
Orders fell almost 10% in 2019 and then more than 50% in 2020 to the lowest in at least two decades, IHS Markit data show. If activity doesn’t pick up, that could lead to a dearth of vessels and a spike in freight rates in a few years.
British businesses probably didn’t expect to start 2021 worrying about wooden pallets after a year of grappling with the coronavirus and a meltdown in the economy.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on global risk-management strategies. Many companies learned in 2020 that their supply chains weren’t prepared for a disruption of such massive scale. Now, they’re determined not to get caught short again.
The U.K. is confronting threats of food insecurity and panicked shopping days before Christmas as European nations restricted trade and travel to guard against a resurgent coronavirus.
COVID-19 has wrought havoc everywhere, but in the nominally regulated shipping industry it’s fueling a worrying practice: the abandonment of ships, cargo and seafarers with no way to get home.
The latest news, analysis, services and systems regarding global logistics and freight and their impact on global supply chains. Today’s companies are transporting and delivering perishables and manufactured goods faster and farther around the world than ever before through global logistics solutions. New technologies that provide information during global shipments are transforming the way companies do business - and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As transportation and distribution services continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies are using global logistics solutions to power their supply chains.
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