Global Logistics—September 2013

Global Logistics—September 2013<br />

Brown Sees Red

UPS‘s recent announcement that it will expand its presence in China with the addition of two new contract logistics facilities in Chengdu and Shanghai is indicative of the country’s growing consumer base. The two centers will provide distribution and warehousing solutions to shippers who want to reach customers within China.

The expansions follow the opening of two UPS healthcare facilities in Shanghai and Hangzhou during 2012.

The non-bonded DCs in Chengdu and Shanghai are strategically located in close proximity to international airports and major road networks. Built with capabilities to support a diverse range of Chinese industries—primarily high-tech, industrial manufacturing, aerospace, and retail—customers will also have connectivity to UPS’s global IT platforms for distribution and post-sales support.


The new facilities are considered a major part of UPS’s efforts to develop a national distribution network in China, and strengthen the company’s overall portfolio of international capabilities.

India Logistics Sector Poised for Growth

Increased government spending on infrastructure, and more involvement from the private sector in key projects through public-private partnerships, are catalyzing growth in India’s logistics sector. Currently valued at $125 billion, that figure will approach $200 billion by 2020, according to Sarvey Sathyanarayana, India’s minister of state for road transport.

India’s logistics sector is projected to grow 10 to 12 percent annually for the next three years. Generating skilled labor, implementing technology, and improving infrastructure are three keys to success.

These efforts are a positive sign, given India’s poor record on transportation. The government recently accelerated various road projects around the country in an effort to break through notoriously slow bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Marine Harvest Fishes for New Supply Chain Approach

Who says globalization is dead? While the trend toward supply chain decentralization has become a common strategy for multinationals looking to increase demand responsiveness and reduce total logistics costs, sometimes global control takes precedence.

One example is Marine Harvest, the world’s largest producer of farmed salmon. To improve product pricing and traceability, the Norwegian seafood company is deploying logistics technology provider Infor‘s process management and supply chain systems.

With production and farming facilities located in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Chile, and operations spanning three continents and 23 countries, Marine Harvest has begun a complete business process reengineering project designed to move away from a decentralized, regional structure to a global business template. By integrating Infor M3 with Infor Supply Chain Planning, Marine Harvest hopes to improve visibility into future demand from three to six weeks to three years.

Marine Harvest will deploy the process and supply chain applications in a phased roll-out. The final site is expected to go live in April 2014, with a goal of driving growth by improving demand visibility.

Solar Panel Imports from China Light Up

U.S. imports of solar panels from China have slowly been on the rise in 2013, after increased duties last year caused a freefall in imports. Even with the recent increase, imports of solar panels are still down more than 70 percent year over year.

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Source: Zepol Corporation

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