There is now an opportunity to take costs out of your import supply chain by working with major port operators in a new integrated business model.
The benefits of what is termed PortCentric LogisticsSM are being enjoyed by early-adopter customers and include:
China and India are fast becoming the factories for the World. As a direct consequence, major UK organisations have developed strategies that rely on off-shore manufacturing as the key to profitability and survival.
Every type of consumer durable product is being imported, by sea, in ever-increasing quantities.
In the consumables sector, increases in demand for variety and quality at low cost has meant buying teams sourcing from farther afield, thus driving up sea-based import volumes.
Imports of wine from the New World are growing, with the regions gearing-up for even higher demand over the next few years.
Some 95% of imports into the UK (by volume) arrive by sea. The unprecedented increase in the volume of containerised goods arriving at the UK's ports is presenting supply-chain/logistics decision-makers with new challenges which require fresh thinking.
With a few notable exceptions, UK supply-chains have been based on networks of National and Regional DCs. These were perfectly adequate when the bulk of product was sourced within the UK and Continental Europe, but in order to handle the exponential growth in imports, DC networks have been supplemented by a myriad of import warehouses, deconsolidation centres and other overspill facilities.
In many instances, integration has been an afterthought, there are many examples of product destined for UK retail stores being carried by 'past the door' by road, on route to the NDC only to be delivered to the store, days or even weeks later.
The process of handling seacontainers presents inland DC operators with problems of storage and unloading, often requiring the use (and cost) of sub-contractors and/or specialist handling equipment.
The fragmented nature of the ocean-freight industry, with its plethora of shipping lines, forwarders, agents, statutory/regulatory agencies and logistics organisations, provides many opportunities for 'hidden' costs to be passed onto the cargo-owner.
The unwary and newcomers to imports can find themselves on an extremely steep learning curve, sometimes incurring huge bills for demurrage on containers, when imported product cannot be shifted quickly enough.
Ports have traditionally been seen merely as points at which the transport mode changes from sea to road or rail or vice-versa. They are also viewed as a source of additional cost within the supply chain, a bit of a 'black-hole' which swallows-up cash for demurrage bills and other idiosyncratic items like 'Lo-Lo' charges.
Warehousing, distribution and transport operators are well-established near the UK's major ports, having expanded in the wake of the seacontainer tide, to take advantage of limitations of UK centric nature of DC networks.
Global port operators have realised that, as natural nodes in the world's supply networks, the service and facilities available within their ports are enablers for innovative logistics solutions - they provide the basis for PortCentric Logistics
The Charles Gee Group has been working to develop and deliver PortCentric LogisticsSM for customers across a wide range of sectors, including beers, wines & spirits (BWS), home entertainment, furniture, white goods and general non-foods.
Elimination of demurrage bills 
