Most Read
Most E-mailed
E-mail Article
Print Article
Transportation executives face several challenges today. They include skyrocketing fuel costs, driver turnover and integrating new technology, among others. What steps executives take will impact the overall success of their companies in an increasingly competitive environment.
"One of the good things today is that shippers in the food industry have really embraced the idea of collaboration and partnership with carriers and vendors across the supply chain," says Lisa Hebert, a consultant who focuses on transportation for the San Francisco office of Accenture. "Although we face difficult times, they are dealing with challenges together and doing so professionally. We've seen shippers respond to carriers and carriers respond to shippers appropriately. It could have been lot nastier," she says.
To find out if transportation executives are on the right road to deal with today's challenges, Food Logistics has put together a roundtable to discuss the issues. The panelists included:
- Bill Parry, vice president of logistics for Giant Eagle, a Pittsburgh-based regional supermarket chain;
- Bob Koerner, CEO of Total Logistic Control (TLC), a subsidiary of Supervalu Inc., the Minneapolis-based wholesaler/distributor;
- Bonnie Hardy, vice president of shared service for Slade Gorton & Co., a Boston-based importer and distributor of seafood;
- Denis Reilly, president of transportation for Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider in Brentwood, TN;
- Gregory Bostick, vice president of transportation for Pinnacle Foods Corp., Cherry Hills, NJ;
- George Abernathy, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Transplace, a 3PL in Plano, TX.
What are the biggest challenges that you are facing today other than fuel costs?
Reilly: Layover, detention and inefficiencies at docks for loading/unloading. Also, EPA regulations on emissions control for tractors, which is causing higher maintenance costs, lower fuel economy and less power in the engines. Security challenges especially at the Canadian and Mexican borders. A number of carriers aren't compliant so capacity has shrunk. Road congestion has impacted transit times. LTL (less-than-truckload) transit time inconsistency.