General Business

Story of Logistics

May 6, 2013 By Mahab Rahman Leave a Comment

Logistics is a word that you see most often on the side of trucks. But it has a bigger meaning: the management of the flow of materials through an organization, from raw materials to finished goods. It is to deliver the right product to the right place at the right time. The Oxford Dictionary defines logistics as “the science of movement, supply and maintenance of military forces in the field.”

Logistics might sound a simple enough business of moving things around, but it is growing more complex. Customers are demanding more custom tailored services. Innovative technology and greater use of the internet opens up new ways of passing the information around, Now that companies re-engineered and scrubbed the waste from their assembly lines, logistics seems to get closer attention. Now companies are more demanding, and looking for the right products at the right time, logistics plays a key role in their business plan.

Good logistics can make all the difference to a company’s ability to serve its customers. Besides the primary function of delivering the products, logistics serves many other functions to businesses. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Supply Chain Planning

Logistics Excellence Trough a Highly Skilled Workforce

April 22, 2013 By Nergis Isikli Leave a Comment

The logistics and transportation industry in the world is overly competitive. Multinational firms prepare themselves to better facilitate the flow of goods throughout the world. The term “Logistics Excellence” has emerged in the logistics terminology. All companies International and domestic alike therefore employ a highly skilled workforce to ensure excellent service. Over $1.5 billion is invested in the transportation business in the United States in recent years, just to give you an idea. MTS is aware of the cutthroat competition and is continuously investing in its skilled workforce and technology to better ourselves in every aspect.

There are multiple transportation modes, air and express services, maritime transport, freight rail and truck transport integrating supply chains network of producers and consumers.

There is, as we always say, “more than shipping” to logistics. The product being shipped goes through a complex set of steps from manufacturing to delivery that includes multiple governments, companies, and third party service providers. To serve customers efficiently, multinational and domestic firms need to provide tailored logistics and transportation solutions that ensure coordinated goods movement from origin to end in the most safely and timely manner.
The most important step in providing tailored logistics for such a revenue building industry starts from team building. Choosing the people that will create the most efficient team is key. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Supply Chain Planning

Top 5 Source Countries for U.S. Footwear Imports

April 15, 2013 By Lora Altin Ozbilir 1 Comment

Formal, high fashion or casual; any kind, any style – we will take them all. Sometimes they hurt our wallet, and from time to time our feet, but we can never get enough of them. Ladies, not too hard to guess, right? Yes, I am talking about SHOES; I am sure you will all agree with me that we LOVE shoes!

I am not sure whether you have this same habit or not, but when it comes to me, if I buy something new I definitely check the labels to see where it was made. I guess it has to do with my job. Have you ever thought of which part of the world most shoes get imported from? Most of us probably never really pay attention to those tiny labels where it says “Made in China.” Well, please do not be too surprised, because just like any other commodity footwear is also outsourced, especially in the U.S. My job is in sales in the world of logistics and it has over the years has become an integral part of who I am, as I love to meet new people, help them and build relationships. I also have another passion which is fashion, and anything related to that world. Therefore, apparel and footwear have always been my favorite subjects. When I moved to NY I even took classes at Parsons School of Design right in New York’s Fashion District in order to learn how to market apparel and footwear. When I am on the job, the first thing I usually like to do is to analyze the commodities I target. Basically, the whole idea is to find good quality importers or exporters to introduce our services to. This year I decided to focus more on footwear as a commodity due to large volume of shipments imported from Asia .

During my analysis I ended up reading a lot of articles, many of which are from platforms that support the wholesale footwear industry in the U.S. Some were also from trade associations. This study really helped me to learn more about the commodity and I would like to now share with you in our blog some of those interesting subjects which captured my attention: [Read more...]

Filed Under: China, General Business, Global Trade

China VS South East Asia

April 8, 2013 By Serkan Kavas Leave a Comment

China is no longer the sole player in supplying certain products (such as textiles and low end consumer products). The rise of the South East Asian countries for recent years can not go unnoticed, and in the upcoming years they will be more dominant. China has been growing and the wealth is visible at especially the coastal cities. The buying power of the Chinese citizens is increasing day by day. Labor cost in coastal China has skyrocketed, not only for the skilled workers but also for the basic workers. As Chinese wages soar, buyers are looking elsewhere. South-East Asia could be the next big thing. Speaking of the garment industry specifically, China still dominates the business. It supplies nearly half of the European Union’s garment imports and 41% of America’s. But more orders are shifting to lower-wage economies such as Cambodia and Vietnam, which is already the second-largest supplier of clothes to America.

Southeast Asian container shipments to the U.S. and Europe are rising as much as 10%, as manufacturers move production from China because of lower costs, according to cargo-booking technology provider Inttra. Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand are among Southeast Asian countries to have benefited from trade shifts. They increased their production of consumer goods and of components that are shipped to other countries for final assembly. Low-cost manufacturers have been moving from China because the yuan has strengthened about 7% against the dollar in the past two years. In terms of labor costs, the cost to company per employee is increasing across China due to uneven supply, high demand, inflationary pressure, organized labor demands, and growing social spending requirements. But Western China still offers very reasonable wages for skilled and semi-skilled labor. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Shipping Trends, Supply Chain Planning

3PL – Third Party Logistics

March 4, 2013 By Melike Cimen Leave a Comment

Third party logistics companies provide logistics services for their client for part, or all of their supply chain management functions. Most of the providers have combined operation like warehousing and transportation services which can be customized according to their customers’ needs.

Customers’ need and market conditions often set the specialty of the provider. If you think about the entire supply chain operation, starting from manufacturing, to packaging, labeling, transportation, warehousing and distribution, there are a lot of steps, requirements and demands involved. Companies may choose to outsource any of these steps of the supply chain to a third-party logistics provider. Outsourcing services to providers may help cut transportation costs, reduce inventory, improve business processes, technology strategy and integration, manage supply level and improve customer service.

We even see today some experienced import and export companies providing some of their services to other companies because of their well established infrastructure and technology.

There are 4 types of 3PL providers and each of them specializes in different services: [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Regulations, Shipping Trends, Supply Chain Planning

Attracting vs Retaining Customers – Get Your Priorities Straight!

January 7, 2013 By Canan Unal 2 Comments

The main objective of a company is to maximize profits from its operations. Profit motive is what encourages a firm to undertake different marketing and management strategies which will lead to revenue maximization in both the long run and the short run. As a company prospers, sales increase and this leads to revenue maximization. Making sales is ultimately what produces profit for an organization.

If a company wants to increase their sales in the long run, it must work towards attracting customers and retaining them. A successful and profitable company is one that knows how to set its priorities right. Customer satisfaction should always be the first priority and retention of customers should be the ultimate goal in order for sales to be increased. Good customer service is directly proportional to the number of clients and that eventually contributes to higher sales. If a company is able to achieve service excellence, it will be able to increase its sales. Customer service plays a very important role on not only current, direct sales, but future sales as well. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade

Latin America Emerging Markets

December 31, 2012 By Monica Sabando Leave a Comment

The North and South American economy is dominated by the world’s largest economy, the United States of America, however these other countries are also growing rapidly. This growth can be attributed to the huge natural resource base in the Americas, coupled with ethnical diversity and human capital. One common aspect in the Latin countries is their production of narcotics for export to the United States of America. This however, encourages crime which eventually impedes with business and politics. Latin America attracts huge bond investments due to the high interest rates but also suffer the risk of currency problems due to instability. The region boosts an energetic population, growing middle class, relatively low debt and dynamic economic expansion.

Major countries making up this region include Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Peru. Chile which is ruled by a republican type of government specializes in the fishing, mining and wine industries. The economy of Chile suffered greatly after the 1973 military coup but has since stabilized though the tension still remains between the government and military The earthquake that rocked the country in 2010 damaged cities and copper mines setting back the industry a great deal, but the government was well equipped to deal with disaster providing relief aid to the needy and rebuild. Colombia’s economy is based on agriculture, metals, petroleum and textiles. Political turmoil has been a huge challenge to its economic growth. This has however been boosted by the new constitution which helped stabilize the political scene, though drug trafficking and warring between two political sects remains. Colombia is rich in natural resources, hence presenting plenty of opportunities and budding growth, despite the huge risk associated. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade

The Battle Between Union Workers and the Shipping Industry

December 24, 2012 By Mahab Rahman Leave a Comment

The transportation industry is often considered to be the backbone and lifeline to the economic growth of any country. An efficient transport system is strategic to the growth and sustenance of an economy. The United States Marine Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association are some of the big players in this shipping industry with over 15,000 members working in deep sea ports. Labor strikes have always been a reason for concern in the shipping industry, as they cause a lot of inconvenience to the transport system. Even though the laborers have rights that are always considered, respected and protected, when they strike, they end up hurting the economy. One such case is the recent crippling strike by Los Angeles port clerks. At a cost of $1 billion dollars in unprocessed cargo per day, it proved to be yet another blow to an already ailing U.S. economy.

Agriculture is one of those vital sectors in any economy that largely depends on a flexible transport system. It therefore needs a consistent, high-urban and international demand that is well supported by a high volume transport system. As a result of freight strikes, import and export of agricultural goods are hampered, and losses that go with it are usually soaring. An estimated 75% exporters of agricultural products incurred losses during the LA strike as they had to pay for extra storage time at the harbors. Moreover, as the strike continued the exporters suffered more loss due to the deterioration of the goods stored.

Exporters face a monumental challenge when freight strikes take place. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Regulations, Shipping Trends, Supply Chain Planning

Collaborative Effort in the Work Environment

December 17, 2012 By Lora Altin Ozbilir Leave a Comment

In this article , I would like to analyze the characteristics of today’s business environment. With globalization and constant technological changes, we see a huge difference in today’s businesses comparing to the ones in the past. Customers and their preferences have undeniably changed, the level of competition has changed, and expectations are definitely much higher. As a result, organizations have become increasingly aware that they need to build a collaborative environment in the workplace.
How could we really make a collaboration work when there are so many different opinions, styles, characters and cultures in one workplace? I think there are several methods and keys to building that bond between co-workers.

Positivity is the foundation of collaborative work. We need to do our part in creating a positive environment. Everything starts with being optimistic. I’m no professional motivational speaker, but I am well aware of the power of that “glass half full” state of mind.
We must also take into account that good judgment is just a simple result of acknowledging that everyone has an opinion. Therefore we need to listen to each other and value the other person’s point of view. You have no idea how important it is to be able to always think before you speak and listen, and not make assumptions. There is always going to be someone that knows something different in a group, that may be a key factor in opening new doors for ideas and brainstorming. If you do not agree with someone, that’s ok too. Ever heard the term “agree to disagree,” I’m sure most of us have and trust me, we must often be willing to turn to this to respect each other and maintain the positive work environment. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business

Does Protectionism Really Protect?

December 10, 2012 By Zeynep Izmirli 2 Comments

Countries use several different ways to protect their trade once they think their industries are being damaged by the other competitors. It sounds reasonable but in the long run it might damage the country itself, which needs to be protected from the other countries. Tariffs are the most common way of protectionism through import tax. This way, the price of the imported goods become more expensive and less competitive in contrast to locally produced goods. This method especially works for the United States, as the country is one of the largest importers in the world, however this method results in retaliation from other countries. Government support is another way of protecting trade, which lowers the price of locally produced goods and services. Government subsidizes local industries with tax credits or even direct payments which is good for countries who export more that they import.

Quotas on imported goods is one of the most effective methods for protecting trade. Competitors cannot ship more goods even though their prices are lower. A fourth type of protection is to lower the currency value, thereby making its exports cheaper and more competitive. Trade protectionism weakens the industry in the long term. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Regulations, Shipping Trends