Riverside Logistics

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Supply Chains After A Year Of Disruptions

It has been a year since supply chains were disrupted due to Covid-19.  Yet businesses are still being challenged due to consistent disruptions to product supply and/or demand.  Inventories have continued to climb on some commodities while others cannot be purchased at any price.  Companies have ordered earlier only to have product delayed by stockouts or transportation interruptions.  Economic realities of the constant shift are becoming the norm.

Challenges are ahead for business that are stuck in the market flux.  Companies continue to look for regional and local solutions to supply problems they have traditionally solved offshore.  Creating a regionally based supply chain can provide options for a market that is in flux.  Flexible solutions for storage and distribution are the advantages of a third-party logistics (3PL) firm ensuring that you can change with market demand.

Leveraging Virginia’s vast range of transportation modes and modern highway network is one option to differentiate your supply chain. The Virginia transportation network offers cost advantages by being able to reach over 50% of the US population in one day.  Virginia continues to rank #1 as the best state for business which offers significant growth opportunities for companies needing a presence in this region.

According to Keith Hamlett, President of Riverside Logistics, “A 3PL partner can provide expertise for clients facing these challenging issues in the supply chain by offering flexible ways to diversify or expand your supply chain.”  Here is a list of value-add services provided by 3PL companies.

 

People – A 3PL has experienced staff with distribution solutions experience and can provide the appropriate personnel customized for your environment. They have training solutions in place to help speed this process. This ensures your supply chain will be in place quickly.

 

Warehouse Space Available – Experienced 3PL’s have warehouse space they can modify for your specific needs.  Special certifications can be provided for food, pharmaceuticals, hazardous materials, or other unique markets.  Usually, 3PL’s will have multiple locations offering flexible solutions for your product.

 

Transportation Solutions – An advantage of working with a 3PL company is they have a broad array of freight service options.  Truckload, Less-than-Truckload (LTL), Small Package and container drayage are just a few of the modes that can be considered. Utilizing the right service can save you money.

 

Technology – Specialized software can be expensive to purchase and implement. Utilizing a 3PL’s Warehouse and Transportation Management systems to minimize your distribution costs is smart.  Access to real time data such as orders, inventory status, competitive transportation rates and other metrics speeds information flow to you and your customers.

 

Supply Chain Strategies – Partnering with a 3PL can provide you with expertise and guidance to secure your supply chain and focus on your company’s goals – not just right now but for the future.

 

 

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Capacity Load Freight: More Prevalent and More Expensive

LTL carriers are experiencing a significant increase in large shipments, due in part to tight capacity in the US truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) markets. While capacity freight currently applies to a smaller percentage of shipments, that number is growing steadily.

Please be aware of the general capacity load rules and charges that (may) apply to larger shipments.

Capacity loads apply when the quantity of freight, in the manner loaded, utilizes a linear length of between 8ft and 15 ft. Some carriers also have weight limits that trigger capacity loads. The weight limits range anywhere from 8,000 to 15,000 lbs.

The linear length is determined by assuming that handling units will be loaded side-by-side when the dimensions allow. So, if you ship 48 square or 48 x 40 inch pallets then 8 pallets will hit 16 ft. You might argue that if you specify that the freight is stackable, one on top of the other, then you could have more than 8 pallets and still not trigger a capacity load situation. Don’t bet on that!! Most LTL carriers consider the entire load as floor stacked when calculating the linear footage. The point is, be careful. Another scenario is if your pallets are “turnable”, meaning they can be turned so the length is shorter. In this case, if you have 8 pallets that are 40 x 48 and are turnable, then, in theory, the length would be 4 times 40” or 13.33 ft rather than 4 x 48” or 16 liner ft. Although this can make a difference in how pricing applies, be careful. Make sure that you understand how the particular carriers’ rules tariff applies to linear feet.

So, what to do?

One suggestion is to have a 3PL handle the move. There are two strategic advantages  to do this.

  1. 3PL’s are well versed about the rules and how they apply.
  2. They will quote you a price that applies, even if they have mis-calculated

Many 3PL’s have negotiated higher linear foot rules with their carriers and this allows them to get more competitive pricing on larger loads. If you are a “cubic” shipper, one who ships pallets loads that don’t necessarily weigh a lot but take up a lot of “cubic” feet, then using a 3PL with higher linear foot rates could really help you.

Capacity Rules and Linear Feet can make freight costs go up significantly, potentially causing a shipment to cost more than it’s worth. Using a 3PL on large LTL shipments allows you to take advantage of the 3PL’s basket of carriers and competitive price structure without risking unpleasant freight costs.

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HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE A RAIL-SERVED WAREHOUSE?

RIVERSIDE LOGISTICS CSX-SERVED WAREHOUSING HELPS A NATIONAL PAPER MANUFACTURER MEET ITS OVERFLOW ROLL-STOCKING NEEDS

by James F Durfee, Vice President Business Transformation

Paper companies are typically in business to make paper, lots of paper! They then usually need a place, a big place, to store this paper before it is consumed. Logistics can sometimes become somewhat of an after- thought to the manufacturing process. When a major Paper Company in the Richmond area needed a rail-served location in Central Virginia to handle overflow Roll Stock, Riverside Logistics was there to help. With 100,000 square feet of warehouse space, served by the CSX railroad, and a staff trained and equipped to handle paper roll stock, Riverside flew into action and began receiving spill-over roll stock from the manufacturer via the CSX railroad. The boxcars kept coming and coming until over 75 thousand square feet of product was housed in Riverside’s warehouse. Riverside inventoried this product using its state-of-the-art WMS system. When it came time to ship the product out, Riverside arranged for all the local transportation necessary and utilized its dedicated fleet of carriers to move the product across the Richmond area.

Being rail-served and having the know-how and equipment to handle large rolls is just one of the many logistics capabilities of Riverside. Our combined total of almost 500,000 square feet of warehousing space in Central Virginia, with immediate access to the Port of Richmond and Norfolk, Interstate 95 and 64 for both East-West and North-South access and shipping uniquely positions us to competitively support all of our customers’ needs both long term and short term.

Legitimate Rail-served warehouses are becoming harder to find, especially in markets like Richmond. When you couple rail sidings with roll handling capability you end up with a fairly unique set of Logistics capabilities for customers needing these types of services.

Next time you need rail-served warehousing in Central Virginia, call us.

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Medical Device Sterilization and the Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions

By Rick Holden

For most medical device manufacturers, who utilize ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization or radiation sterilization, to sterilize large quantities of medical devices, will typically outsource this process to a companies specializing in these highly controlled environment. This often adds a lot of cost to the supply chain because often there is additional transportation, warehouse handling and post sterilization assembly that must take place so that the finished products can be distributed to customers.

Riverside has over 15 years of experience providing this specialized supply chain expertise to the medical device manufacturing industry.   By locating a warehousing operation in the same building to the sterilization outsource provider, Riverside is able to offer industry specific warehousing and transportation solutions that allows for a great amount of efficiency, reduced order cycle times, and overall supply chain value.

 

  • Value of warehouse efficiency – By being co-located in the same building as the sterilization supplier, there is no need to re-load trailers, ship in transit and unload trailers. These processes can often take days to complete, and create additional costs. It is all done in the same building, often in the same day of when the product is complete and available. Riverside also able to gain efficiency by cross-docking and storing products for multiple clients who utilize similar processes.
  • Value of post sterilization – Often medical devices require products such as drugs and heat sensitive products that will be damaged by the sterilization process to be added after the product is sterile. As sterilization costs can be high, sometimes there are requirements for non-sterile items to be packaged with sterile items. Some examples would be clean-up kits and patient hospital stay kits. Riverside offers post sterilization kitting and assembly solutions that can reduce the order cycle time and transportation costs by having these done on site, immediately after sterilization. This added value not only reduces costs but it increases speed to delivery.
  • Value of Transportation efficiency – Having multiple clients in the same facility also has a vast amount of transportation value. As much of the medical device world is distributed by a few, large medical distributors. Often we find many of the same destination points for many of the medical device customers. This allows for many shipments that would often be shipped small package or less-than-truckload to be transported using full truckloads, pooling and truckloads with multiple stop-offs. This not only reduces the cost per case delivered it also provides for more control of the supply chain, faster deliveries and far less loss and damage.

In an increasingly competitive healthcare environment these cost and speed to delivery advantages are strategic to Riverside’s clients, allowing them to gain and retain more market share than their competition.

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