Blog Archives
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ILA Talks Take a Turn for the Worse
By Lara Sowinski - Wednesday August 29, 2012by Lara L. Sowinski Negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) broke down last week, despite what appeared to be genuine progress over the past few months. ILA President Harold Daggett said the development means a strike is likely when the current contract expires on September 30. Bad timing, of course, for shippers, East and Gulf Coast ports and local and state economies, all of whom rely on maritime commerce and global trade to fuel their businesses and economies. Making matters worse is the fact that we’re in the midst of the peak shipping season. However, shippers are more ready for a strike this time around compared to the debilitating West Coast... -
Advanced Food Production Technologies To Thank for Keeping the Drought of 2012 at Bay
By Maurice Hladik - Wednesday August 29, 2012
by Maurice Hladik, author of Demystifying Food from Farm to Fork If today’s farmers were forced to rely on technologies from 1956 or 1988, when there were two previous droughts comparable to this year, the results would have been devastating. Much has been said about the amount of corn we will or will not have next year, so let’s use that crop as an example. The USDA projects a drop in corn production from the estimated yield of 146 bushels per acre earlier in the season to 128 bushels, according to their most recent estimates. That’s a reduction in available corn by close to two billion bushels, which will most certainly have an impact on food prices as the price of this grain and other farm commodities are at all time highs... -
Reducing Lighting Energy Consumption by 90 Percent: Facts to Know on Decreasing Costs & Improving Efficiencies
By Food Logistics Blogger and Gary D. Hubbard - Friday August 24, 2012
by Gary D. Hubbard Massive amounts of energy and money go into keeping items cold in a distribution warehouse. The constant flow of air and the movement of workers, machinery, and shipments throughout the space create big challenges in maintaining consistent temperatures and predictable operational costs. Lighting plays a significant role in every aspect of cold storage: temperature output, energy consumption, and workforce productivity. The conventional light sources for cold storage and warehouse environments have been high-pressure sodium or metal halide high bay fixtures. The arc-tube of the lamps is designed to operate at temperatures as high as 1000 degrees C. This produces a constant heat source and places an added load on the... -
It Could Always Be Worse: Difficult Food Service Logistics Situations
By Pete Kontakos - Thursday August 23, 2012
by Pete Kontakos No one said it would be easy! Trying to make your customers happy, keeping costs down and making sure all products are delivered accurately and in a timely manner only scratch the surface of your day to day responsibilities. As Malcolm Forbes once said “ When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse .” Here is a list of difficult logistics situation to help remind you things could always be worse. New Buffet Openings : Delivering to food service establishments can be a challenge in and of itself with demanding business owners’ needing visits during specific day parts and other demands, however, a very challenging situation is dealing with a brand new buffet... -
Perishable Cargo Service Just Got Cooler at DFW
By Joe Reedy - Wednesday August 22, 2012
by Joe Reedy Timing is everything in air cargo, particularly when moving perishable shipments like fruits, vegetables and fish. From farmer to consumer, logistics professionals must ensure this delicate cargo arrives quickly, and just as importantly, fresh. In many cases, air cargo is the most viable option for moving perishable goods from, for example, a berry farm in Argentina to ports in Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing or elsewhere in Asia. With the growing demand for fresh food and produce around the world, logistics professionals must increasingly refine their product and service offerings. For American Airlines Cargo, which moves large volumes of perishable fruits, vegetables and fish, the growing demand has meant investments in... -
Adopting the ASN
By Eric A. Linxwiler - Tuesday August 14, 2012
by Eric A. Linxwiler I had a conversation this week with a Vice President that has spent the last 20 years with a tier 1 grocer currently ranked in the U.S. Top 10. The topic of the Advanced Ship Notice (ASN) came up and how, for the most part, grocery continues to lag behind retailers with non-food supply chains in adopting the ASN. Our joint view on the issue is that the desire and the intent are there, but the complexity of the document coupled with the unique makeup of the grocers' supply chains contribute to delays in implementation. Conventional wisdom within the majority contributes to this way of thinking; however, smart grocers know that rolling out an ASN indeed takes support, planning and a long-term focus... but the... -
The Food Service Supply Chain- A View from the Other Side
By Pete Kontakos - Wednesday August 8, 2012
As a former restaurant manager for over 20 years who’s family still currently owns and operates food service establishments, I feel uniquely qualified to help vendors help themselves when it comes to the efficiency involved with the actual unloading of the product which can consume valuable time and productivity in the supply chain. It is important to realize that the vendor and the restaurant staff both share in the overall efficiency of the delivery; I will point out some common sense steps that both parties should take to shrink the time needed to deliver the product. Establishment Tips- Have a staff dedicated to unloading the truck - These staff members should be available to move product off the truck and not be charged... -
Label Me Agile
By Michael Edgett - Monday July 2, 2012
The latest labeling battle is coming out of California where voters will decide in November whether to require that retail products containing genetically modified ingredients be clearly labeled as such. If that happens, it will require food manufacturers to know the source of all their ingredients and either modify their formulas or adjust their labels accordingly – the associated cost of which can be significant. Estimates from the FDA show the cost of label changes to range from $800-$7,700 per SKU while a recent study in the UK conducted by Camden BMI put this at £1,800 to £6,500. This is just another example of how in the Food & Beverage industry you’re only as good as your formulas and your knowledge. While that’s been... -
The Role of Information Technology in Logistics
By Pete Kontakos - Tuesday June 26, 2012
In recent years, the logistical landscape has become a rapidly evolving business environment, and as such, more and more enterprises are looking for that competitive edge to gain a larger market share. As in most industries, it is toward technology-led solutions that team leaders are looking as a vehicle for innovation in their supply chain processes. Growing Trends In the world of logistics there is a constant need to do things faster and more efficiently. Order cycle times seem to be ever shrinking, and pressures from customers call for a finely-tuned focus on supply chain execution. Transportation management systems (TMS) are the IT answer to these demands and there seem to be some growing trends within the industry... -
Food Safety Modernization Act And Your Supply Chain
By Pete Kontakos - Thursday May 31, 2012
The FSMA, or Food Safety Modernization Act , was signed into law by the President in January 2011, with the intent of granting the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) additional power to monitor and police food companies as a means of improving detection and response if an outbreak were to occur. With increased concerns about food-borne illnesses, allergens/allergies, contamination and even terrorist threats, it’s more important now than ever for policies to be in place that will protect the public and prevent both real and potential health scares. The FSMA looks at four key areas of improving food safety: prevention, inspection and compliance, response and imports. These components will give the FDA the power to implement...
