Wednesday 25 November 2015

UPS healthcare & life sciences international logistics report - truly surprising statistics!

Living in the world of logistics, I receive industry bulletins every day and my company, Straightforward Consultancy manages the freight models for many customers so I feel pretty connected to the real world, and I have lot of industry experience gained by working for companies such as DHL and Kuehne & Nagel, but this article caught my eye, and shocked me.

Here is a report conducted on the medical and life sciences sector by UPS and the headline is as follows:-

"Only 50% of healthcare and life science companies feel they are successfully managing logistics, warehousing and transport costs"

We have experience in the life sciences sector and took on a client in Liverpool in 2012 who imported perishable laboratory product by air freight from Asia, mixture of -20C, 2-8C and ambient. Their issues were that they were concerned about their air freight costs and they couldn't rely on their (valuable) product arriving in a 4 day window (otherwise it perished and was unusable). They also had several logistics providers across their Asia supplier base which complicated matters.

We made a really positive impact on this customer by putting in place a solid service level agreement (SLA) which mapped out every step in a timeline from date of pick up covering every day of the week through to UK Customs clearance and delivery on dedicated vehicles. The outcomes were dramatic - we shortened the transit times to as little as 72 hours, reduced their air freight costs by 60% and put in place a failsafe, monitoring each shipment and the forwarder's performance closely. From that point they never had any product delivered outside the 4 day window.
I think, that like a lot of companies, they wanted to make changes but were fearful of making things even worse, which is understandable.
But when I read this report I think to myself, how can this be, how can 50% of companies in this sector have so little control over their logistics, warehousing and transport costs - and do they also have equally low confidence in the reliability of their international logistics model?

I just find it to be remarkable, but if this rings a bell in your organization, please seek some outside expertise, you will provide a better service to your customers and become more competitive on your landed costs - and you will achieve that wonderful feeling - peace of mind. If you're not sure where to start, then contact us, we'd be happy to help you.

http://theloadstar.co.uk/weak-links-healthcare-life-science-supply-chains-revealed-new-ups-research/?utm_source=The+Loadstar+daily+email&utm_campaign=eabb2f99e8-Loadstar_19_November11_19_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c4570e43d4-eabb2f99e8-125883633
Please follow me on Twitter @AndyCliffSCL, visit our website www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk  and our blog http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Andy Cliff is an industry professional who launched his own logistics consultancy, Straightforward Consultancy Ltd (SCL) after a 30 year career in international logistics, working for companies such as DB Schenker, Kuehne & Nagel and DHL Global Forwarding in operational, sales and management roles. 
Andy felt that in an increasingly complex and confusing world of logistics, small-medium sized UK importers and exporters needed a company alongside them which could help them to reduce costs, lessen their workload and provide expert advice and support day-to-day. In 2015, SCL celebrated its 5th birthday after a record year in 2014. Andy also became part of the  judging panel for the 2015 Global Freight Awards, which recognize quality, innovation and performance in the field of international logistics. 

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