Accepting our current market is the best way for shippers to move forward and enjoy the same success of other companies that have already adapted to the new landscape.
Experts believe the most effective way for shippers to address both short-and-long-term needs is to adjust to the realities of the market and form strong collaborative bonds with supply chain experts. Doing so will allow organizations to hit delivery windows more consistently, minimize interruption, and keep their businesses competitive.
“What was normal in 2019 is no longer a part of our current market reality. Shippers need to adjust their mindset because this will help them progress and concentrate on other areas that will help them get ahead,” said Anthony Fullbrook, President of OEC Group’s Northeast Region. “Today, success will rely on space, equipment allocation, consistency, and secondary supply chain windows.”
The current market has absorbed two years of historically high demand and has forced shippers to contend with a brand-new set of variables, namely terminal backlogs, equipment shortages and imbalances, and continued blanked sailings that will not be bolstered by injections of newly manufactured containers or new vessel deliveries any time soon.
One of our clients was recently contending with these conditions as they struggled to get doors imported from South China into the US through Los Angeles. If that client stuck with traditional 2019 routing solutions, it would have been impossible to hit their delivery windows and their business would not have survived. Instead, by accepting the new shipping realities and adjusting their timetables and expectations, we were able to create and utilize alternate routes that avoided West Coast ports. While the costs were higher, the alternate routes proved much faster and more reliable. Our solutions saved that client’s business.
“The secret to success in the current market is to adjust your pre-conceived notions of how the market should operate and instead accept the realities of how it is actually operating,” said Steve Myers, Vice President of Operations for OEC Group’s Northeast Region. “A change of mindset can go a long way. As we have already seen, companies that get caught up reminiscing about ‘days gone by’ and refuse to adjust to current market conditions will simply get left behind.”