Session TA1 - Global Logistics I

Day Thursday, October 16, 2008
Room Alberta

Presentation

09h45 AM-
10h20 AM
Factory to Market Should Be Sprint Not a Relay
  Shakeel Bharmal, General Manager, Purolator Global Supply Chain Services, sbharmal@purolator.com

The ultimate goal of any business supply chain should be to make sure a product is available where and when the customer wants it and at a price that is consistent with the value that it creates for the customer. When a business does this, while wrapping an exceptional customer experience into the process, revenue and profit growth will follow. Distribution processes and inventory costs often test a company’s ability to achieve this – especially when a company’s product is sourced from overseas.
 
In the last decade, Canadian containerized imports have increased dramatically – particularly Asian imports through the port of Vancouver, which have achieved a compound annual growth rate of almost 20 per cent since 1996. Since longer supply chains can make the prompt arrival of shipments a challenge, Canadian businesses are trying to balance the benefits of low cost country sourcing with the impact on supply chain lead times, reliability and total logistics costs.

In this talk we would like to share insights on how direct-to-market distribution can be used to create a balance in import distribution, driving product availability and improving costs. Through industry research and case examples, we discuss how the latest trends and solutions in supply chain management can help attendees achieve the expected benefits of low cost country sourcing while mitigating any impact on lead times, reliability, logistics costs and customer service. Companies trying to grow revenue while simultaneously trying to reduce their costs will benefit from learning how to bring import goods to their customers more quickly, reliably, and efficiently than via traditional supply chain models.