October Inside Logistics

Publisher | Delon Rashid (416) 459-0063 delon@turnkey.media

Editor | Emily Atkins (416) 262-4106 emily@turnkey.media

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Delon Rashid, (416) 459-0063 delon@turnkey.media Peter Bulmer, (585) 653-6768 peter@turnkey.media

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Tire economics

President & Managing Partner | Delon Rashid Head of Sales & Managing Partner | Peter Bulmer

Corporate Office 48 Lumsden Crescent, Whitby, ON, L1R 1G5

ISSN 0025-5343 Online 1929-6460

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES

have affected my hobbies this summer. In my spare time I race an old car. And although I don’t have a big tire budget – usually one new set for the whole summer – when you are slith ering and sliding through the corners, you know it’s time for new ones.

And that’s where I’ve seen the lingering effects of supply chain delays. The tires I use are not made in North America, so they’ve been held up by shipping delays. Enterprising vendors have managed to get some shipped over, but in limited sizes and quantities and for sky-high prices. Fortunately I was able to get my hands on an off-brand set just in time to complete my racing season. But ouch, it hurt the pocketbook!

The situation is the same, but much, much worse for businesses. Either they cannot find the basics they need, or they face insanely inflated prices for materials that arrive late, or they are forced to accept a compromise product, not their first choice.

This has been hitting trucking operators particularly hard. New truck orders are taking up to years to fill, forcing operators to keep units on the road that have passed their useful lifespan. That means increased main tenance costs and growing demand for technicians. With the continuing labour shortage, people with those skills are in short supply.

As a result, trucks are idled waiting for items as basic as tires and brake pads, while service bays are backed up waiting for technicians’ time. It’s a costly predicament.

And with inflation continuing to impact all areas of the economy, it’s not likely to stop soon. However, the chill of recession is upon us, which might even be worse.

At an event I recently attended a pair of CEOs, each with a massive trucking fleet said a recession couldn’t come fast enough to alleviate the price inflation and supply challenges that are pushing their costs through the roof. And while they are in a reasonably recession-proof business, it’s definitely a double-edge sword for the rest of us.

Costs continue to climb, but the economy is slowing down. Purchasing power has fallen behind the growth in costs for many. And with rising interest rates, the cost of housing and debt is climbing.

What’s interesting in the Canadian context is that thanks to the pandemic, savings have increased, and consumers are less likley to stop buying. The challenge is, as noted above, is whether businesses are able to meet the demand for goods.

DHL buying 110 EVs for Canadian fleet

By Emily Atkins

DHL EXPRESS says it will invest $15M to add 110 electric vehicles to its Canadian fleet within the next 12 months.

The company will also be buying charging stations and other related infrastructure.

The first 10 EVs will serve routes out of the company’s gateway at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport by the end of 2022. They will be class 6 medium duty trucks with a range of 290 km per charge, from a 252 KWH battery.

“We are determined to transition our opera tion into one that is net zero emissions and cli mate friendly. Our customers also expect environmentally responsible services, and we are here to deliver that as well,” said Andrew Williams, CEO of DHL Express Canada.

The remaining 100 vehicles are expected to be in operation by mid-2023 in different cities throughout the country, including Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary.

The reduction in CO emissions is estimated at 2,000 metric tons per year.

This investment is part of a series of initiatives the company is undertaking following its com mitment to reduce its CO emissions to net zero by 2050. DHL says it will invest a total of seven billion euros through 2030 in measures around the world to reduce its CO emissions.

By that year, the company aims at having elec trified 60 percent of its fleet and reduced its CO emissions to less than 29 million metric tons.

“We have ambitious plans to invest on elec tric vehicles as part of our focus on sustainabil ity. The introduction of these electric trucks into our country is a huge step forward toward achieving our clean transport goals. These elec tric vehicles will prevent 2,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere per year. And that’s only to start,” Williams said.

In Canada, the company has also implemented various technologies to reduce building-related emissions. DHL’s gateway at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, in Ontario, is a LEED certified building, and the company uses 100 percent renewable energy across the coun try through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that are aligned with the Carbon Neutral Building goal.

DHL Express has more than 300 electric vehi cles active throughout the Americas region, and hopes to double this by next year. The company is also deploying solar-powered mobile pop-up stores in different countries, electric cargo bikes in the United States, and recently ordered 12 fully electric cargo planes that will be delivered in 2024.

“We are determined to transition our operation into one that is net zero emissions and climate friendly. Our customers also expect environmentally responsible services, and we are here to deliver that as well.”

– Andrew Williams, CEO for DHL Express Canada

PITNEY BOWES will be integrating autonomous trucks from Gatik into its network in Dallas starting in 2023.

Gatik’s class 6 autonomous box trucks are designed for middle mile deliveries. Pitney Bowes says they will be used in a continuous, operational loop across its e-commerce logistics network in the city, making multiple deliveries per day.

“Our partnership with Pitney Bowes reinforces the intense demand we are seeing for autonomous trucks that can operate within urban and semi-urban environments,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik.

During the initial phase, an operator will be aboard each truck to monitor performance. Data collected from deliveries will be used to improve network design and identify additional oppor tunities for cost savings and service improvements.

Pitney Bowes said it plans to ultimately integrate autonomous vehicles across its national e-commerce logistics network.

“Our partnership with Gatik promotes growth and accelerates the modernization and expansion of our network with technology solutions that are redefining e-commerce logistics,” said Stephanie Cannon, head of global platform and network at Pitney Bowes. “Gatik’s flexible and responsive logistics network enables us to tailor our delivery services.”

Gatik focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 retailers such as Walmart, Loblaw, KBX and Georgia-Pacific, and in 2021 became the first company worldwide to operate fully driverless commercial deliveries on the middle mile. Gatik’s Class

3 to 6 autonomous box trucks are being used in multiple markets including Ontario, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

In 2021 the company received almost $1 million in funding support from Ontario’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Net work (AVIN) to adapt its autonomous driving systems for winter operations.

Gatik and Ryder are also collaborating on autonomous driv ing, with Gatik retrofitting a fleet of Ryder-owned trucks.

Rivian and Mercedes-Benz partnering to build electric vans

are planning to work together on electric van

The two companies intend to establish a new joint venture manu facturing company that will build and operate a factory in Europe to produce large electric vans for both Mercedes-Benz Vans and Rivian, starting in a few years. The target is to build an all-new electric-only production facility at an existing Mercedes-Benz site in Europe

They will aim to produce two large vans, one based on VAN. EA, the electric-only platform of Mercedes-Benz Vans, and the other based on the second-generation electric van, Rivian Light Van (RLV) platform.

Both companies had planned to rapidly expand the production of electric vans. By working together, they say they will be able

to create economies of scale in production to help make the EVs more affordable for commercial customers.

Mercedes-Benz Vans produces four battery-electric driven vans: the eVito Panel Van, the eSprinter, the eVito Tourer and the EQV. With the new eCitan and the upcoming EQT, the van portfolio will soon be completely electrified. The next generation eSprinter will be launched in 2023.

“From 2025 onwards, all vans based on our new architecture VAN.EA will be electric-only. I am delighted that as part of this transformation we are now joining forces with Rivian. We are sharing investments and technology because we also share the same strategic ambition: accelerating the electrification of the van market,” said Mathias Geisen, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Rivian’s R1T, R1S, and Electric Delivery Van (EDV) last-mile delivery vans are its first vehicles in the consumer and commercial space. Riv ian launched the EDV, which was designed and engineered by Rivian in collaboration with Amazon, as an anchor product to combat climate change at scale in the fleet market.

“We’re delighted to be part nering with Mercedes-Benz on this project. Mercedes-Benz is one of the world’s best known and respected automotive companies, and we believe that together we will produce elec tric vans which will not only benefit our customers, but the planet,” said RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian.

MERCEDES-BENZ VANS and electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian

production.

Air Canada commits to hybrid-electric planes

AIR CANADA IS BUYING 30 ES-30 electric-hybrid aircraft that are being developed by Heart Aerospace of Sweden.

The regional aircraft, expected to enter service in 2028, will generate zero emissions flying on battery power. Under the agreement, Air Canada has also acquired a US$5 million equity stake in Heart Aerospace.

The aircraft will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, and will be equipped with reserve-hybrid generators that can use sustainable aviation fuel.

Fully loaded, the ES-30 is projected to have an all-electric, zero-emission range of 200 km. This can be extended to 400 km with power supplemented by the generators, and up to 800 km if the load is restricted to 25 passengers. Charging time for the aircraft is expected to be 30 to 50 minutes.

The carrier says the ES-30 will serve regional and commuter routes more sustainably, providing low-emission connectivity to local communities over the medium to long term. It will be capable of carrying 30 passengers seated three across, with a galley and toilet. It will have a cargo compartment in the belly, like a conventional aircraft.

Cheaper flight costs

According to the manufacturer, the ES-30 will have an oper ating cost similar to a conventional 50-seat turboprop aircraft on a cost-per-seat basis, and will be cheaper on a per trip basis.

It also said it plans range extensions to 300 km electric and

500 km hybrid by the mid-2030s.

“Air Canada has taken a leadership position in the industry to address climate change. The introduction into our fleet of the ES-30 electric regional aircraft from Heart Aerospace will be a step forward to our goal of net zero emissions by 2050,” said Michael Rousseau, president and CEO of Air Canada.

“Already, Air Canada is supporting the development of new technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuels and carbon cap ture, to address climate change. We are now reinforcing our commitment by investing in revolutionary electric aircraft tech nology, both as a customer for the ES-30 and as an equity partner in Heart Aerospace.”

Almost 100 orders

Saab is also investing $5 million in the company, which is based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Previous orders for Heart Aerospace’s ES-19 electric airplane, a 19 seater, placed by United Airlines and Mesa Air Group for a total of 200 electric aircraft with an option for an additional 100 planes, have been reconfirmed for the updated ES-30 design. Other buyers include the Nordic airlines Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA), Icelandair and SAS as well as New Zealand’s Sounds Air. Rockton, a Swedish-based lessor who has made it their mission to focus on sustainable solutions for the industry, has just signed an LOI with for up to 40 airplanes. In total, Heart Aerospace has letters of intent for 96 ES-30s.

Amazon Canada boosts tech students

AMAZON CANADA is giving 10 students a head start on their post-secondary studies with $30,000 scholarships.

In the second annual Amazon Future Engineer Canada university scholarship program, 10 graduating high school stu dents from British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan will each receive $30,000 to help cover university tuition over four years, along with the opportunity to com plete a paid summer internship at one of Amazon’s Canadian Tech Hubs.

The Amazon Future Engineer schol arship program supports graduating high school students from underserved and underrepresented communities who have demonstrated exceptional academic performance and leadership in school, work and community activities. To qualify, candidates must plan to study computer science or a related field at an accredited Canadian university, and demonstrate financial need.

“At Amazon, fostering diversity in the Canadian tech sector starts with ensuring that students from all backgrounds are able to discover computer science and pur sue postsecondary education, focusing on their studies instead of financial concerns,” said Susan Ibach, head of Amazon Future Engineer Canada.

“The 2022 Canadian Amazon Future Engineer scholarship class has demon strated passion, resilience, and commit ment to the field of computer science, and we look forward to seeing where this next chapter of their education leads them.”

Scholarship winner Ayaan Dada from Mississauga, Ontario, participated in the Canada Learning Code Teen Ambassa dor Program and was awarded a career counselling session prize in recognition of his work supporting other young peo ple with a passion for technology. In the classroom, Ayaan excelled in math and computer science.

“By working with Canada Learning Code and becoming a web developer for a nonprofit promoting STEM education to youth, I was able to discover software’s ability to create change on a large scale,” he said.

movers + shakers

Trailcon Leasing has appointed Stacey Rumley as director of human resources. Rum ley has over 20 years of HR experience, and has developed programs in recruitment, reten tion, talent management, organizational effec tiveness, and employee engagement. She earned a BA from McMaster University and a post graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management.

Michel Letellier has been appointed to CN’s board of directors. Letellier joined the board on October 1, 2022. He is president and CEO of Montreal-headquartered Innergex Renew able Energy Inc. Previously, Letellier was responsible for the development and opera tion of hydroelectric projects for Boralex Inc. He is an experienced director, having served on public and private boards since 2012. Letell ier holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) degree Université du Québec à Montreal, and an MBA from Université de Sherbrooke.

The CITT Toronto Area Council had its annual elections in September, and elected a new executive team for 2022-2023. The following posts were filled: Denise Ponte, account man ager, Transplace/Uber Freight was elected chair. Lisa Vegso, of Peco Pallet, was elected vice-chair. Brett Poe, senior pricing manager at Apex Motor Express, is treasurer. Jacob Diflorio, supply chain improvement analyst at Church and Dwight, is secretary. Cheryl Meens, recruitment consultant at SCL Search, is proj ect coordinator. Tom Pauls, managing director, SCL Search Consultants Ltd., is executive advi sor. Valeriy Kucherenko, Grace DiMarca, George Beck, Duane Chiasson, Bonnie Par kinson, Jennifer Carneiro Demers, and Devin Colston are all members at large.

Glen MacInnes has been appointed as the new British Columbia container trucking commis sioner and Karm Jauhal has been appointed deputy commissioner. MacInnes is a labour relations specialist and senior manager with

more than 25 years of experience representing employers, employees and unions before administrative tribunals in both the private and public sector. He is currently the managing director of operations for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union - Local 1518, the largest private-sector union in British Colum bia. MacInnes’s term will run until Sept. 7, 2025. Jauhal has been working in the Office of the British Columbia container trucking commis sioner since its inception, most recently as direc tor of operations. Jauhal’s term will run until Mar. 7, 2025. The appointments will replace outgoing commissioner Michael Crawford and fill the vacant deputy commissioner position.

Jaco Maritz has been appointed global CEO of Syspro, while co-founder Phil Duff will be stepping into the role of executive chairman. Syspro will remain a privately owned business. Maritz’s appointment is a result of a transition plan that was implemented when he took on the role of chief operations officer in 2019.

BrightDrop expands into grocery fulfillment

ELECTRIC DELIVERY VAN builder BrightDrop, General Motors’s technology startup, is expanding into grocery fulfillment. The company is launching a temperature-controlled fulfillment cart for e-commerce grocery orders.

Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the US, is slated to be the first customer to introduce the BrightDrop Trace Grocery into its e-commerce operations, beginning this year. The companies piloted the system at two Kroger locations earlier this year. The grocer found a noticeable improvement in both customer and associate experience using the carts.

Orders are picked directly into the carts, which are then placed curbside for customer pickups. Nine separate compart ments segment items by order, temperature and product type.

They have assisted propulsion, so pickers can load and move up to 350 pounds of products. The company says cold items can be maintained at temperature for up to four hours.

With access given after digital verification, Trace Grocery is compatible with most grocers’ existing online fulfillment apps, enabling flexibility for customers when retrieving their purchases.

Full-scale availability of the Trace Grocery system is expected in 2024.

Research solves part of AV bad weather challenge

RESEARCHERS HAVE FIGURED out a way for autonomous vehicles to better navigate in bad weather conditions.

A team at Oxford University’s Department of Computer Science, in collaboration with colleagues from Bogazici University, Turkey, have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system to let auton omous vehicles (AVs) achieve safer and more reliable navigation, especially under adverse weather conditions, and when GPS is not available.

“The difficulty for AVs to achieve precise positioning during challenging adverse weather is a major reason why these have been limited to relatively small-scale trials up to now,” said Yasin Almalioglu, who completed the research as part of his doctorate in Oxford’s department of computer science.

“For instance, weather such as rain or snow may cause an AV to detect itself in the wrong lane before a turn, or to stop too late at an intersection, because of imprecise positioning.”

To overcome this problem, Almalioglu and his colleagues devel oped a new, self-supervised deep learning model for ego-motion estimation. Ego-motion is a crucial component of an AV’s driving system that estimates the car’s moving position relative to objects observed from the car itself. The model brought together detailed information from visual sensors (which can be disrupted by adverse

conditions) with data from weather-immune sources (such as radar), so that the benefits of each can be used under different weather conditions.

The model was trained using publicly available AV data that included information from multiple sensors such as cameras, lidar, and radar under diverse settings, including variable light/ darkness levels and precipitation. These were used to generate algorithms to reconstruct scene geometry and calculate the car’s position from new data. Under various test situations, the researchers demonstrated that the model performed well in all kinds of weather, including rain, fog, and snow, as well as during the day and night.

The team anticipates that this work will bring AVs a step closer to safe and smooth all-weather autonomous driving, and ultimately broader use.

“Estimating the precise location of AVs is a critical milestone to achieving reliable autonomous driving under challenging conditions. This study effectively exploits the complementary aspects of different sensors to help AVs navigate in difficult daily scenarios,” said professor Andrew Markham, from the department of computer science at Oxford University, and a co-supervisor for the study.

FUTURE-PROOFING THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Supply chain professionals no longer get blank stares when they describe their work to friends and family, according to Abe Es hkenazi, CEO of the US-based Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM). “The awareness of what a supply chain is has just exploded,” he says.

Few people, however, appreciate the steps involved in delivering a package to their door. “There’s very little understanding of all the ac tivities in the supply chain that it took to get it there,” says Eshkenazi. “People don’t understand the complexity of the supply chain, the syn chronization necessary, and the global nature of the supply chain.”

A shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) in Africa, for ex ample, could affect the delivery of a pair of shoes in Vancouver. “We live in a globally-connected environment,” says Eshkenazi. “The impact of increasing or decreasing capacity in one node has a ripple effect both upstream and downstream for organizations and the entire supply chain.”

These factors have contributed to pandemic-related supply chain dis

A global imbalance between supply and demand has put supply chains into the headlines. Less understood, however, are the contributing factors that have been developing over the past decade.

FUTURE-PROOFING CHAIN

Professor David Johnston

ruption in virtually every sector. “What we’re hearing from our members and their companies is that we’re headed for another very difficult time over the next six to 18 months,” says Eshkenazi. “In terms of rebalancing supply and demand, we’re still seeing surges and shifts, and the supply chain, in terms of delivery, has not caught up with the demand side as yet. But on the other hand, the consumer hasn’t changed in terms of their expectations.”

As consumers faced numerous disappointments in the past year, supply chains have become a convenient culprit for any thing from manufacturing shortages to hoarding to political instability.

“Supply chains get a bad rap,” says Vijay Pandiarajan, director, supply chain intelligence at IBM Sterling. “I see it as an acknowl edgement because it brings attention to the supply chain as an unsung, yet critical, business enabler. But I honestly think it’s not so much that supply chains have failed. It’s because people’s behaviors and buying preferences have changed with the pan demic and continue to rapidly evolve; the supply chain is simply a byproduct of that demand and how it’s managed at scale with greater workflow intelligence needed to do it well.”

Contributing factors

Promoting a responsible, data-driven approach to supply chains is a key focus of the George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains at the Schulich School of Business at York

University in Toronto. “Should we blame supply chains and supply chain professionals for the situation we’re in right now? No more than we should blame science for the fact that we have a pandemic,” says the centre’s director of research, professor David Johnston. Johnston is also the director of Schulich’s Master of Supply Chain Management program.

According to Johnston, the disruptive impact of the pandem ic has been amplified by existing vulnerabilities in global supply chains. “What has happened is that there’s been a confluence of supply situations that have been years in the making,” he says, “and these have been impacted by a slate-cleaning, systemic disruption, which is the pandemic. But just to keep things in perspective here, we did have supply shortages before the pandemic, and in some cas es we had imbalances between supply and demand.”

The drive to meet high consumer expectations has drawn sup ply chains out on a limb. “We’ve been driven by lowest cost for de cades,” Johnston says. “And everybody wanted to buy their cheap stuff that’s sourced from cheap places connected by very long and vulnerable supply chain lines. So now we have more disruptors we have the pandemic, climate change, labour shortages, and social and political unrest. So when you have already vulnerable supply chains and are confronted with more disruptors and more frequently, more shipments are bound to not arrive on time.”

Growing concerns about sustainability have also compounded the difficulties of meeting consumer demand for faster, cheaper,

“Should we blame supply chains and supply chain professionals for the situation we’re in right now? No more than we should blame science for the fact that we have a pandemic.”

and better. “Supply chains won’t be about just price anymore, but compliance with sustainability regulations, their customers’ sus tainability goals, and their own as well,” says Jan Burian, head of IDC Manufacturing Insights EMEA, who is based in Prague and London.

The issue is not just about sustainable products, however – it’s also about the supply chain itself. Accordingly, creating sustain able supply chains isn’t just about meeting requirements – it’s about ensuring that supply chains will continue to be viable in the face of myriad challenges, including the perennial issue of recruiting qualified employees.

“I think there are some really major sustainability issues in the industry,” says Johnston, “and it’s not just carbon and stuff like that. It also includes, for example, how companies are utilizing some of their manpower. For example, companies haven’t been very good at dealing with things like inclusion.”

“We need to do a much better job of increasing our inclusion,” Eshkenazi agrees. “We have a great opportunity. There’s a huge demand for talent, and we need to open our aperture in terms of qualified and capable individuals.”

Broadening the conversation

Much of the focus during the pandemic has been on reactive measures to bring supply chains “back to normal”, when what’s needed is a bigger conversation involving all stakeholders. “I think all the ripples and bullwhip effects from the pandemic will settle down,” says Johnston. “But stakeholders need to be sitting with each other, maybe with the help of government, and asking ‘how do we assure a minimum level of supply for critical goods and services under different scenarios of disruption?’”

Government’s role will be essential in areas such as ensuring public safety. “You need to think about what works best in an emergency,” says Johnston. “We don’t have a free-enterprise, market-driven solution to respond to a humanitarian logistics crisis when fire and flood take out industrial infrastructure.”

“I think we need to get that public-private partnership into the discussion,” says Eshkenazi. “How can we be better prepared for just-in-case? Where do we see disruptions? Who is responsible for the initial inventory or responding to PPE or ventilators? How do we respond as an industry? And how do we respond, as econ omies, to the changes in the challenges that we faced before? It cannot be on the back of a private enterprise – there have to be public-private partnerships to respond to these types of shifts and changes or the demand spikes.”

Meeting the information challenge

Better information sharing on an ongoing basis will be key to this discussion. “The major issue that companies face right now is visi bility, both upstream and downstream,” says Eshkenazi. “The pan demic-related disruptions that were caused last year were predomi nantly tier-two and tier-three suppliers, not tier-one suppliers, for a lot of organizations. And unfortunately, most of the companies did not have visibility – whether it’s through technology or through relationships – to analyze those tier-two and tier-three issues and make informed decisions.”

This need for better visibility is being intensified by sustain ability concerns. “It’s not just where things come from,” says Pandiarajan. “It’s how they were sourced, what manufacturing methods were used, how it was transported, labour practices. All this becomes part of the story of what the product is, particularly from a environmental sustainability perspective.”

Technology will be key to achieving this. “We look at sustain

ability as something that should be enabled by digital technolo gy,” says Burian. “To start recycling is fine, but to be able to reduce your carbon footprint and get to net zero, you’ve got to be able to track it and measure it. And to track and calculate carbon during the lifecycle of a product through the whole value chain takes a lot of collaboration, and a lot of capturing and sharing of data.”

Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT sensing technology, mobile apps, and improved integration between diverse data platforms are all helping companies create this higher degree of transpar ency. More recent is the use of blockchain technology, which can ensure an immutable record of all the supply chain events lead ing to the delivery of a product.

“We believe blockchain and AI together have a huge part to play in this, because you need to know these things in an im mutable way, and you need to know what to with the information to help gain a competitive advantage,” says Pandiarajan.

Investments in technology to achieve this can have far reach ing benefits. For example, monitoring the provenance of a prod uct to ensure that sustainably sourced materials were used, or that unfair labour practices weren’t involved, also creates the lev el of visibility that can help companies identify vulnerabilities in their supply chains. Equally important, it can help build stronger supply chain partnerships.

“Visibility is a critical aspect of trust,” says Eshkenazi, “and I think this is one of the areas that organizations need to focus on is that collaboration across the enterprise. Also, visibility and trust are a great foundation for extended supply chains – you need to know that your partners are providing you the accurate information so that you can rely on that data to make the neces sary decisions for your organization.”

Learning curve

The learning curve, however, will be significant. “A lot of the supply chain organizations don’t have the expertise to use the technology well,” says Johnston. “They are at the same stage as manufacturers in the 1980s and 1990s were when they were try ing to figure out how to adopt robotics and harness it to improve products, people, systems, and processes.”

Many companies will have to change their policies about devel oping their employees. “What often happens is that when compa nies are impacted by a negative financial outcome, the first thing to get cut is professional development investment in their work force,” says Eshkenazi. “This is where we need to walk the talk. I think every organization will tell you that their employees are their number-one asset. So in your worst of times, what do you invest in? Your best performing assets or your worst-performing assets? I think clearly, we need a greater focus on investment in talent.”

Executive competencies will be key here – Johnston believes that supply chain managers will be called upon to manage not just to the financial bottom line, but environmental and social bottom lines. “Governments are going to become very pushy about things like climate change, as will the investment com munity, who will want to reduce the risk of business disrup tion,” he says. “And they’re going to zero in on organizations that are sloppy in accounting for their impact on people and the planet.”

These trends are already raising the bar for what is considered good supply chain management. “The definition of good man agement has changed to be one that encompasses a broader defi nition of supply chain risk, and includes investment in capabilities to anticipate, mitigate, and avoid them,” Johnston says.

How it works

A shipper looking for capacity goes on the platform and inputs the parameters of the load. Then the shipper can select one or multiple carriers, and sends a confirmation request for the avail ability. The carrier has an hour to confirm. The shipper then cho ses which carrier they want, depending on factors such as if the carrier accepted it exactly as it was sent, if they modified the date or the price, or if they rejected it, van Gent explained.

So far Truxweb has about 100 shippers and three carriers on board, covering more than 3,000 lanes. van Gent said he’s had shippers leave their broker to join, because they not only get the load for less, but the process is far quicker. What used to take two hours, “including all the documentation and the wrap up can ac tually be done now in 12 minutes,” he said.

Where a traditional broker charges 15 to 20 percent, Truxweb costs in the four to nine percent range, van Gent said. And, there’s no subscription cost.

FINDING CAPACITY

Mathieu van Gent believes he is building a better mouse trap. In the freight brokerage space, where many have stepped up to offer websites and services to connect loads and trucks, van Gent earlier this year launched Truxweb, a platform aimed at small and medium businesses.

The Quebec-based company aims to assist shippers that move more than 50 full truckloads a year to find carriers when they need them, and at the best price. Since the launch in March 2022, van Gent says uptake has been incredible, and revenues are sur passing $100,000 a month. And that’s through a non-subscrip tion model.

van Gent is careful to differentiate what Truxweb is doing from big players like Convoy or Loadsmart. He says it’s the automa tion. “We only require maybe one account manager for every 200 or 300 clients to be able to support any exceptions to the 95 per cent that goes right.”

With background in a family freight business, van Gent had plen ty of exposure to the challenges shippers face in finding carriers, as well as the costs of using a freight broker. He was working on a Mas ter’s degree at Concordia University and came across a course on building new ventures. He decided to create a business that would cut the middleman out of the shipper-carrier relationship, and. He pitched the idea in 2020, and in 2021, collaborating with a team of software developers, he built the platform. With funding aboard, Truxweb was born and ready to launch this year.

“Shippers and carriers, without any investment of even a penny can go onto the platform, start to use it immediately,” he added.

Truxweb offers other bells and whistles, like integration with Marsh for cargo insurance, real-time document sharing, automati cally populated bills of lading, and a direct messaging app so carri ers and shippers don’t have to make calls to clarify questions.

“People are very resistant to change. We had to adapt our pro cess to what carriers and shippers value,” van Gent said. “Both are email heavy. They don’t necessarily like to pick up like the phone and they want to pay in 30 days. Perfect. We’re doing that, and we’re making everything automated so we can make this en tire process quicker. So everybody wins.”

Happy customers

Customers seem impressed. Carrier AI Express has worked with van Gent’s company for more than a year. Logistics director Nicholas Duncan said communications between his team and shippers is easy through the platform, and “the fact that Trux web has qualified it its client group and guarantees to pay us on Net 30 terms is a positive. It eliminates one of our major stressors with new clients.”

On the shipper side, Quebec-based wood products manufac turer Barette said Truxweb has made it possible to find capacity with reliable carriers, allowing it to meet obligations in the US.

“Our sales volumes fluctuate seasonally and at the height of our busiest period, when carrier capacity was hard to find, Trux web’s solution was very helpful,” said Michel Fortin, the compa ny’s transportation manager.

Refinements

van Gent is working on attracting new shippers to the platform, and says adding to its functionality is helping in the process. “We’re building an artificial intelligence pricing calculator to help carriers become more competitive and more aware when they provide prices on the market,” he said. “We can use about eight different components, including four which are derived di rectly from our platform – data analytics – in order to give that kind of feedback.”

As the company grows it’s looking for capital, but van Gent says they are not aiming to be acquired. “We don’t want to be snapped up; the goal is for us to create value. And when we create value, who knows what can happen? Right now, we want to help shippers, and we see that it’s helping. So that’s what we’re focusing on right now.”

Tech startup bridges the gap between shippers and trucks

GETTINGALONG

Shippers and 3PLs align on goals and outlook

The quality of relations between shippers and their third-party logis tics suppliers have declined this year in the post-pandemic chaos.

The latest edition of Penske’s annual ThirdParty Logistics Study with research by CSCMP, paints a picture of slightly declining (down seven percent) contentment from shippers, while the service providers remain happy. Still, with 83 percent of shippers agreeing their relations with 3PLs are suc cessful, it seems they are mostly getting it right.

Tech is key

A majority of shippers (71 percent) say using a 3PL improves customer service, and provides access to innovative logistics solu tions. Shippers count on 3PLs to provide up to date technology. The study tracks 19 dif ferent information technologies and 14 of these have been pinpointed as must-have by the shippers surveyed this year. The most frequently cited are transportation manage ment planning (62 percent), transportation management scheduling (57 percent) and warehouse/distribution centre management (48 percent).

Three quarters of shippers say technology solutions are now more important in their evaluation and selection of 3PL partners. From the other side of the table, 87 percent of 3PLs said shippers have placed a greater emphasis on technology solutions during their evaluation and selection process.

Labour

Among respondents, 56 percent of 3PLs and 78 percent of shippers said labour short ages impacted their supply chain operations.

Opinion is split, however, on whether the talent shortage is going to be a long-term problem. Both groups say they are looking into automation and new technology to help alleviate the labour crunch.

The toughest workers to find and retain are certified, licensed hourly workers, such as truck drivers and equipment operators, as well as hourly workers, such as pickers and packers, according to both 3PLs and shippers. Almost half of both groups say it can take two to three months to fill hourly positions. Management positions are even more of a challenge, with 61 percent of 3PLs reporting it takes two to three months, com pared to 49 percent of shippers.

The shortage may be helping 3PLs. Almost three quarters of service providers and half of shippers say that engaging a 3PL is a strat egy being adopted to help offset it.

Cold chain heats up

Demand for temperature controlled space and services is on the rise. Increased con sumer demand, rising competition and advances in technology are all expected to shape the cold chains of the future as 3PLs and shippers attempt to meet high expecta tions for deliveries.

Shippers and 3PLs both see increased com petition leading to an increase in capacity over the next three years. About 60 percent of shippers and 3PLs expanded their cold chain capabilities in the last year. As well, 67 percent of shippers and 72 percent of 3PLs plan to continue to expand their cold chain capabilities and capacity in the next three years. A majority of both groups also foresee more outsourcing of cold chain needs over the next three years.

Returns rising

A majority of shippers, both in the busi ness-to-business and business-to-consumer space, see customers’ expectations of the returns experience rising. B2C shippers also expect the rate of returns to continue climb ing, with 61 percent predicting the increase in demand, driven by growth in online pur chases and direct-to-consumer shipping. At present, the majority of shippers handle returns in house, the report found. A third said they plan to outsource more reverse logistics over the next three years.

ESG goals

Achieving environmental, social and gov ernance (ESG) goals is becoming more important. Reducing environment and cli mate impacts; improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); and social contribution and responsibility; along with the need to meet regulatory requirements and mandates drive this area.The study found that shippers are ahead of 3PLs in their ESG initiatives, with 22 percent of shippers rating themselves as ESG leaders, compared to 17 percent of 3PLs. As well, 45 percent of shippers said their orga nization is about average in its ESG practices compared to 41 percent of 3PLs.

Inventory

The study also asked shippers about inven tory challenges post-pandemic. Shippers are actively working to rebalance inventory lev els, with 81 percent saying they’ve already taken action. They are also adjusting their supply practices, with 80 percent reporting they are rebalancing production locations to move towards more regional or domestic production networks.

Image: zenzen/Adobe Stock

THE GLASS IS MORE THAN HALF FULL

Beverage distributor benefits from integrated services

In order to move more than 30 million cases of beverage products a year, The Odom Corporation operates 700,000 square feet of warehouse in four states with 1,650 employees.

The family-owned beverage distributor, which handles beer, wine cider and non-alcoholic drinks alike, was founded in 1933 in Alaska. In the years since, the company has expand ed into Washington, Idaho and Hawaii, and has customers that range from stadium venues and grocery stores all the way to restaurants and mom-and-pop diners.

The operation is complex and has many moving parts, making it a challenge to gain the visibility needed to ensure product gets to the right place, at the right time. It’s crucial that Odom is able to communicate effectively across the entire enterprise. To help facilitate this, the distributor works closely with Raymond West, a Raymond dealer, to deploy intralogis tics solutions, including both lift trucks and technology such as telematics, labour management and pick to light, through all four warehouses.

STANDARDIZATION AND ACCURACY

As the business – and number of SKUs – has grown, so have Odom’s technology needs. Accuracy is extremely important, and the company needed a way to provide a standardized op erator experience across its locations, along with improved vis ibility into picking, labour and costs. Labour challenges are also prevalent in the industry, and Odom sought a uniform way to train and retrain operators across multiple pieces of equipment through its four-state operation.

Odom turned to Raymond in 2014 after learning about the capabilities of iWarehouse Intelligent Warehouse Solutions. By

2021, Odom was relying on Raymond for complete intralogis tics solutions comprising telematics and labour management systems, operator assist technologies, more than 100 lift truck models, racking, energy solutions, maintenance agreements, and tracking. Together these solutions talk to each other and provide a comprehensive view of the entire Odom enterprise.

By using Raymond for all these solutions, ODOM gets a standard experience in equipment use across all four facilities. “Instead of having 10 to 15 different brands of equipment in the warehouse, we had one holistic experience, all connected with one integrated technology solution. That really gave us a lot of advantages,” said Mike McCartney, director of opera tions at The Odom Corporation in Alaska.

With one brand of product, operators know what to expect when they get on a piece of equipment. The standardization of equipment across Odom’s facilities also means that an employ ee can move from one facility to another and is able to jump on the equipment with minimal orientation. This reduces labour costs and saves time.

TELEMATICS

Raymond’s telematics system allows Odom to gather valuable information directly from its fleet, assets and workforce to en hance efficiency and reliability. By leveraging these connected technologies, Odom uncovered optimization opportunities that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, such as missing time. Since the initial implementation, Odom has seen an 86 percent drop in missing or unaccounted for time. It’s down to 36 percent.

Additionally, that data collection gives supervisors insight

into wasteful or dangerous operator behaviours, and the op portunity to change them. This results in less downtime, as op erator training is reinforced by alerts and impact monitoring.

“iWAREHOUSE Fleet and Asset Management System has improved our operation in a lot of ways. I think it’s sin gle-handedly the coolest piece of software that we’ve ever put in. It really gave us end-to-end visibility of what the trucks were doing,” said Mike McCartney, director of operations at The Odom Corporation.

LABOUR MANAGEMENT

With employees accounting for nearly three-quarters of total operating cost for many operations, nothing offers the po tential for enhanced productivity more than a labour man agement system (LMS). Raymond’s LMS provides Odom with clear visibility into where and how labour dollars are being spent, allowing the company to quickly and easily analyze costs and identify inefficiencies, such as missing time, at every level of the operation. Operating together, Raymond’s LMS and iWarehouse Asset Management System help to provide a full picture of Odom’s performance and labour utilization.

“Raymond’s LMS does a beautiful job of driving efficiencies through visibility, capturing raw data and illustrating missing time. We’re seeing continuous improvements throughout our entire organization,” said Elle Shrefler, vice-president of oper ations at The Odom Corporation .

OPERATOR ASSIST

Odom also uses Raymond’s Pick2Pallet LED light system, a patented put-to-light technology within the truck forks that reduces picking errors by using coloured lights that work in tandem with audible instructions to help operators visualize the correct product placement. This system has been custom ized for beverage pallets, and lets Odom operators pick three pallets at a time.

The Raymond Pick2Pallet system made the training process more efficient. Now, the same operators who previously could only pick one pallet are running three pallets through the pick

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path within a couple days. Training reinforcement can happen as soon as a manager notices an area for improvement. “When we see the employees’ errors increasing, we will put them on the Pick2Pallet LED Light System jacks and within a single day their errors are reduced to an acceptable level,” said Vaughn Sommerseth, warehouse manager at Odom’s NW Beverages.

“Adding the Pick2Pallet LED light system really supple ments operator learning and provides a solution to one of our biggest weaknesses, which is putting cases on the wrong pallet. In the future, when we buy a pallet jack, it will come with Pick 2Pallet,” McCartney added.

SERVICE AND SUPPORT

In Alaska, finding good service is hard due to the popula tion size. McCartney noted, “In my 20 years, Raymond has some of the best service techs that I’ve ever seen.” Raymond West technicians service everything from forklifts to con veyors at Odom – providing invaluable expertise that helps keep Odom’s distribution up and running. “We’re only suc cessful if we have equipment that is moving product,” said McCartney.

BENEFITS

Odom’s business is thriving through its collaboration with Ray mond West. In Odom’s industry, accuracy is extremely import ant. By helping reduce errors, lower costs and increase produc tivity, Raymond intralogistics solutions help Odom cultivate a consistent experience across all locations.

“When we finally aligned with Raymond throughout the en tire organization, it started bringing our warehouses together. They could give you the equipment, and they could tie it into iWarehouse Asset Management System. They could integrate into LMS. And now you have a full end-to-end, end-user expe rience,” said McCartney.

Odom managers are confident in a future with Raymond by their side. “As we continue to grow and invest in our busi ness, Raymond is there every step of the way working with us hand in hand to continue to grow,” Shrefler concluded.

Polaris Transportation www.polaristransport.com 2

3D Storage 3Dstoragesolutions.com 4

GX Transport www.gxts.com 8

Automation Associates Inc. www.rfpathways.com 10 Uline www.uline.ca 11

Cardinal Couriers cardinalcouriers.com 12

Johnston Equipment www.johnstonequipment.com 18

House Ad www.insidelogistics.ca 22 Wurth www.shop.wurth.ca 26

Inside Logistics Subscription www.insidelogistics.ca 28

Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association www..ATLS.ca 31

FedEx www.fedex.ca/international 32

keeping track

New solutions for maintaining control over inventory and assets

Cool chain tracking

Cooltrax, a global provider of industrial IoT solutions for cold chain fleet management, has introduced a next-generation remote temperature monitoring solution for food safety compliance. The totally wireless Cooltrax TempTracker system installs in minutes, the company says.

The solution is backed by a telematics platform and offers a wireless, plug-and-play option for remote temperature monitoring of trailers, fixed storage locations and mixed and rental operations.

The Cooltrax TempTracker solution includes wireless microsensors that monitor return air temperatures in single or multiple trailer zones/ compartments. The sensors transmit data every 15 minutes to the web portal. Automated reporting can be configured to prompt instant email and/or SMS text message alerts if temperatures fall out of preset ranges.

The Cooltrax TempTracker web portal also provides access to a variety of data points, tools and satellite mapping. The solution offers embedded motion detection and geofencing capabilities to automatically record trip start/stop, arrival times, and temperature readings in transit for proof-of-delivery.

The sensors, which offer 10-year battery life, are fully operational when received by the fleet and can be installed in minutes, functioning through a local gateway connected to 4G cellular networks.

Integrated parcel shipping and WMS

Extensiv and Pitney Bowes are working together on a joint offering that provides faster response times for high-volume label production, guaranteed delivery on qualified expedited shipments, multiple pay ment options, and easy returns. It has been made available in time for the 2022 peak holiday shopping season.

Extensiv has just released its Parcel API, a connected shipping solution for Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager. The partnership will make Pitney Bowes shipping capabilities available to Extensiv’s network of over 1,500 connected 3PLs, and Extensiv’s warehouse management software avail able to Pitney Bowes clients.

Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager is a SaaS-based paperless warehouse solution for 3PLs that offers ecommerce and omnichannel fulfillment functionality designed to support high volume shipping. The Extensiv Parcel API is included as a part of 3PL Warehouse Manager’s Small Parcel Suite

Encoding for RFID tags

RF Controls (RFC), a provider of wide-area passive RFID RTLS systems and dock doors, now offers overhead encoding to commission and update Electronic Product Code memory stored on RAIN RFID labels, tags and cards.

This software driven product enhancement employs over a decade of RFC’s unique, steerable phased array expertise, design innovation and software development. It is now possible to identify, locate, track and encode with all CS Smart Antenna models. Patent applications are filed and pending.

RFC uses dynamic, field-proven beam steering algorithms, to deliver high scan speeds, the long read distances and accurate pinpoint location data of any overhead system. This performance works underpin the commercially scalable, overhead encoding processes.

Previously deployed CS Smart Antennas, both CS445B and CS490, are backward compatible and can be upgraded to encode an EPC from up to 40 feet away.

Automated storage and retrieval

Cutter & Buck will implement an AutoStore system from Kardex in their Renton, Washington, location to support their appar el picking and fulfillment operation. Cutter & Buck selected AutoStore, an automated cube storage technology solution from Kardex, for its speed and density. The Kardex Control Center software (WCS) will control the AutoStore goods-to-person fulfillment solution.

AutoStore is a fully automated and intelligent goods-to-person storage and retrieval system. Bins are stacked vertically in a grid and retrieved by battery-powered vehicles that travel on top of the grid system, sorting, carrying and delivering bins to the respective workstations (ports), where a variety of warehouse operations can be performed (picking, replenishment, inventory control, etc.) by warehouse personnel.

The flexible system fits even unusually shaped facilities, allowing the grid to be placed around columns, on mezzanines and on multiple levels. The bins are stacked on top of each other in a condensed grid-style system, increasing storage capacity by up to four times and performance up to 10 times that of traditional storage methods. AutoStore can easily adapt to changing order fulfillment requirements through a flexible configuration of the robots, ports and quantity of bin locations.

Take

next level

KANBAN light

THE RISE OF THE WAREHOUSE EXECUTION SYSTEM

IT’S NO SECRET that manufacturers and distributors are relying more heavily on automation than ever before. To stay ahead of evolving technology, warehousing pro fessionals are realizing the importance of software applications, specifically warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS). These systems help distributors move products faster, help cre ate efficient inventory levels, and improve order fulfillment accuracy.

In warehousing, it is not uncommon to have a WMS and WCS operating as sepa rate applications. The WMS manages the inventory and the workflow of the manual operations, while the WCS executes the workflow with automation. Yet without a seamless integration, the combination of these applications can lead to unneces sary challenges. Supporting these systems individually often requires valuable time, resources, and capital.

Implementing a WES

Any automation is only as effective as its software, and any intelligent warehouse would greatly benefit from a properly managed warehouse execution system (WES). WES implementation saves time and ensures effective communication by providing a host of actionable insights through appropriate data analysis.

A WES offers integrated WMS and WCS functionality within one application, sim plifying warehouse communication and reducing the need to manage several ap plications. Additionally, a WES platform can bridge enterprise resource planning (ERP) software with WMS functionality to optimize order flow, supervise processes, and execute the material handling equipment and warehouse automation.

The WES solution suits organizations with increased order volumes and high throughputs. It can receive and track products, while tying inventory to specific customer orders through its order fulfillment processing capabilities. As orders come in, the WES breaks them into logical units of work and then uses its WCS functionality to direct automation or manual labour to execute the job. The WES

WILLIAMS, is vice-president of technology solutions at Westfalia Technologies, Inc.

product traceability, allowing manufacturers and distributors to efficiently handle recalls and comply with mandated regulations. A WES helps to recognize and act more quickly on issues that may have contribut ed to a recall. These early detections allow manufacturers to understand what product needs to be recalled, reducing the number of potentially tainted products that are re leased to the public.

Ultimately, using a WES integrated with WCS and WMS capabilities, as well as with other supply chain systems, helps warehouse personnel to work more efficiently, increase inventory accuracy, and improve product traceability.

Steps for increased capability

provides the overall coordination of WMS and WCS functionality, such as inventory and order management, billing and workflows, within a single application.

The benefits of an integrated WES Operating as a two-in-one solution, a WES has many clear advantages over traditional, stand-alone WMS and WCS systems:

 Simplicity: A WES requires a reduced need for complex integrations due to the built-in WMS and WCS features.

 Time-Savings: Less time and fewer resources are needed to ensure effective communication between the WMS and WCS.

 Flexibility: A WES offers the flexibility needed to interface with additional applications and host systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), or programmable logic controllers (PLC).

 Consistency: Having a single application across an organization helps ensure processes are consistent and efficient.

 Cost Savings: With a WES functioning as a single application to manage automation, organizations can increase inventory accuracy and reduce labour costs.

Additionally, an integrated WES provides

Although a WES can completely replace separate WMS and WCS applications, it is flexible enough to adapt to a variety of deployment options. Some warehouses with an existing WMS will look to introduce a WCS to assist with automation. However, it might be best to bring in a WES instead.

Doing this allows the company to contin ue using its original WMS and integrate it with WES to leverage its WCS capabilities. Alternatively, if the organization has not introduced automation that needs WCS functions, it can still implement the WES for its WMS capabilities and have the WCS functionality for future needs. Since they are a part of the same interface, this can help reduce training and shorten start-up time when a system is needed.

Find the right partner to help you ana lyze your situation and implement a WES designed to accommodate your specific warehousing needs and to comply with control requirements. With a sophisticat ed WES, you can orchestrate the process across the entire supply chain from start to finish, resulting in a warehouse that can deliver better product traceability, storage usage, increase inventory accuracy, and allow for customizations to accommodate specific customer warehousing needs. As the need for automation continues to grow, so will the need for an integrated warehouse ex ecution system.

DAVE

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR CARM?

IF YOU’RE IMPORTING into Canada, chanc es are you’re heard of the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management initiative, better known as CARM. By now importers may be aware this change is coming, but only about 10 percent of required users are currently enrolled in the CARM portal.

With the mandatory change approaching quickly, it’s important for importers to take action soon.

Understanding the basics of CARM

Before we jump into the action items import ers need to take, let’s revisit what CARM is.

This new multi-year initiative from the CBSA will drastically impact how Canadian importers conduct business and interact with agency. The initiative was introduced to inte grate and automate business processes while offering online self-service tools for imported commercial goods. While the mandatory transition to CARM is happening over three phases, the final deadline for importers to comply is likely to happen October 2023.

The central feature of the initiative is the CARM Portal, which will become the main communications interface between the CBSA and trade chain partners.

Through the portal, shippers can expect a whole new way of interacting with the CBSA. They will gain full visibility and access to their import records – making it easy to submit duty and tax payments directly to the government, as well as streamlining import processes – allowing shippers to file advanced ruling requests, corrections and declarations, all completely online.

Working group

CBSA has been working with a group of businesses and associations in developing CARM. The Trade Chain Partner (TCP) Working Group was established in July 2018, and includes importers, brokers, and service providers who help their cli ents submit data through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). It’s divided into four

working groups (brokers; carriers; couriers; freight forwarders; warehouses; importers; and customs self-assessment) that focus on issues affecting specific sectors of the trade chain community.

What can importers expect?

Currently, we’re in phase one of the CARM rollout. It will allow importers to create and manage their accounts on the CARM Client Portal; classify goods and estimate duties and taxes; make secure payments online via the portal; delegate access to their service providers; and, submit rulings requests and track their progress.

This included the launch of the CARM Client Portal, so importers, customs bro kers, and trade consultants will be able to create an account in the new system. Once registered, users are able to view their trans actions and statements of account, request a ruling and pay invoices with new electronic payment options.

Delegated authority

To set up an account, importers will need to acquire a GCKey, a secure unique elec tronic credential that will allow them to communicate securely with online-enabled government programs and services, or they can use a sign-in partner to enroll.

To import into Canada, shippers will then need to delegate authority to their customs brokers and service providers. Finally, ahead of the final phase, shippers will need to work with a Canadian customs broker or surety company to obtain a direct security bond to establish their payment privileges.

CARM Release 2

The second phase, also the final phase, will expand on the CARM Client Portal. It adds electronic commercial accounting declarations with ability for corrections and adjustments; new requirements related to the Release Prior to Payment (RPP) program; harmonized billing cycles; new offsetting options; and, electronic management of appeals and compliance actions.

Release 2 is when the CBSA will introduce the new electronic commercial accounting declaration (CAD) form, which replaces the existing customs coding (B3) and adjust ment request (B2) forms. Importers can also expect a new billing cycle to harmonize payment due dates for all transactions and simplify the ways accounting information can be corrected.

Additionally, the Direct Security Bond mandate will go into effect, so importers will be required to secure commercial imports directly, instead of relying on customs bro kers or other service providers. To remain in compliance by the October 2023 deadline, shippers must start by setting up their CARM Client Portal account right away.

Because there are only a few surety bond providers available to issue customs bonds right now, it is urgent for importers to take action immediately. Enrollment cannot happen in just a matter of weeks. Importers are also encouraged to reach out to their brokers early to start the bond application process.

Final thoughts

We know shifting to a new platform can be overwhelming and at times, confusing. CH Robinson and other customs servie pro viders can help you become – and remain – complaint.

It’s time to get on board with CBSA’s new assessment and revenue program

SOFIA SPOLTORE is regional director at C.H. Robinson in Canada

CONFLICT, THE ECONOMY AND TRADE

Global commerce being buffeted by winds of change

CONFLICTING WINDS are blowing over international trade. On the positive side, economic activity is brisk, as most countries are recovering from the pandemic. On the negative side, supply chain disruptions persist and have been worsened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting cost increases in energy, raw materials and commodities. Environmental issues are hitting us at the same time: droughts, forest fires and floods are affecting many parts of the world, impacting crops, and the availability and price of food.

Most Canadians may not realize our country is doing relatively well in these troubled times. The effects of inflation are felt by everyone, with higher prices for many consumables, but we’re doing better than other G7 countries. In July, inflation stood at 10.1 percent in the UK, 8.5 percent in the US and Germany, and 8.4 percent in Italy, but only 7.6 percent in Canada.

In August, the International Mone tary Fund (IMF) compared GDP growth in the second quarter of 2022 to the pre-pandemic levels of the fourth quar ter of 2019: the US came first at 2.6 per cent and Canada was second at 1.7 per cent, ahead of the Eurozone, UK and Japan. Canada ranked first in the Or ganization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s growth forecast for 2022, at 3.8 percent.

The energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is affecting the whole world, particularly emerging countries. Europe – and especially Germany – has become dependent on Russian energy over the years.

The cost and availability of energy affect consumers and industries alike, hampering economic growth. Canada is relatively shielded from this, since we are an energy producer. However, an unusual situation is happening with our currency: As an important oil and gas producer, the Canadian dollar usu

ally goes up when the price of energy increases, but it’s not happening this time. Instead, our dollar is at its lowest against the US dollar. I haven’t heard any banker or economist give a convinc ing explanation of this paradox so far. But whatever the reason, the low dollar increases the cost of our imports and fuels inflation.

On the plus side, a low dollar helps our exports, as it makes them more com petitive. Canada is a small market, but we are a trading nation. To prosper, our businesses need to export and expand into foreign markets.

We recently got good news in this respect. Tariffs on solar panels from Canada were eliminated, and require ments for the US electric vehicle subsidy were modified from “Made in the USA” to “Made in North America”. Whether these measures will translate into tan gible benefits for Canadian companies remains to be seen, but it’s good news, in contrast to what we experienced with the previous US administration.

Our exporters have to look beyond the US market to capitalize on oppor tunities around the globe, but this very much depends on a peaceful world and a rules-based international order. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rule breaking brings new challenges. Democracies have united around the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and others, to impose economic sanctions on Russia, but many others, like China, India, Brazil, most African, Middle Eastern and South East Asian countries (except Singapore), are openly or tacitly supporting Russia. One question we must ask ourselves now is: can international trade be detached from geopolitics?

Is it in Canada’s long-term interest to negotiate Free Trade Agreements or give preferential treatment to countries that support Russia and help Putin bypass sanctions? India is a good example. Indi an imports of Russian oil jumped more than tenfold, and deliveries of fertilizer increased more than eightfold in the second quarter of this year.

In another example from a different continent, Morocco’s imports from Russia have more than doubled in the first half of this year. And Morocco has opened its air space and its airports to Russian flights, helping Russia get around in ternational sanctions.

Can we continue to develop trade wherever there are markets, without taking into account that those autocratic countries which don’t respect interna tional rules and basic freedoms are a long-term threat to our way of life? My hope is that we become more conscious of this in the future.

Feeding oppressive regimes in Asia is not in our interest either. After years of “offshoring”, the pandemic made us realize the need for some “reshoring” and the current war in Eastern Europe should convince us that “friendshoring” is the new way to go.

CHRISTIAN SIVIÈRE runs Solimpex, and is an international trade consultant and lecturer. christian.siviere@videotron.ca

AVOID THE IMPACT

Preventing collisions between lift trucks and pedestrians

SAFETY AROUND MOBILE equipment has always been a concern in warehouses and distribution centres, but it may be even big ger now. Warehouses are operating nonstop to meet consumer demands for online products, and they may also be relying on new and inexperienced workers due to a widespread labour shortage. Both of these circumstances raise red flags.

That’s because collisions between lifting devices and pedestrians are more likely to happen when people are rushed and/or inexperienced. The best way to prevent this from happening is to put in place a traffic management and pedestrian safety plan, or update your existing plan.

10 Steps to safer operations

A 10-step traffic management and pedes trian safety plan will improve safety and efficiency in your warehouse operations.

1. Understand your hazards. If you haven’t carried out a hazard/risk assessment or re freshed your current one in the last year or two, make this a priority. Map the flow of mobile equipment and pedestrians, identify all potential contact points, and assess contact risks. Observe employees and operators at work, look at incident reports, and identify root causes of near misses and injuries.

Get feedback from mobile equipment operators, health and safety committee members, health and safety staff, supervi sors, and pedestrians. People who work in the area know what the safety issues are, and may have suggestions for improvement.

Create a safe environment for conversa tions with workers; they may be reluctant to speak up because of fear of discipline or getting someone else in trouble. Ensure confidentiality and reiterate that the goal is to identify and ensure that control measures are adequately protecting people.

2 Designate pedestrian walkways. Determine the safest places for people to move from one area to another. Create pedestrian paths so people move predictably, stay at a distance

NORM KR AMER, is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional with over 25 years of experience. Norm provides health and safety consulting services for Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) as a Warehouse Specialist in the GTA region.

6 Ensure lift truck operators are qualified. Do your due diligence. Lift truck operators require special training – both in theory and practical aspects of driving, as outlined in CSA standard B335-15, Safety Standard for Lift Trucks.

Ask for a practical demonstration from new operators before they begin work. Do they know the safety features of the lifting device? Can they perform the manoeuvres they will do on the job? Do they know how to safely operate around pedestrians? If not, provide additional training. Also, provide mandatory awareness training so lift truck operators understand the hazards of the job and their role in preventing injuries.

from mobile equipment, and don’t walk in an operator’s blind spot. Identify no-pedes trian zones and install traffic barriers and safety gates.

3 Create traffic routes and rules. Develop a traffic system that mimics what’s used on outside roadways (red stop signs, solid lines, black and white crosshatch design for crosswalks.) It’s much easier for people to understand and follow a system they are familiar with. Ensure potential danger areas where pedestrians and vehicles intersect are well marked.

Designate speed limits and rights of way (such as at a four way stop). At dangerous intersections, both lift truck operators and pedestrians should stop, look and listen.

4 Restrict who operates your lift trucks and other devices. Don’t leave keys in the ignition. Provide authorized operators with keys, or install an electronic device.

5 Perform daily pre-start inspections. Lift trucks should be examined thoroughly to identify damage, prevent incidents and to ensure they are safe to use.

7 Practice good housekeeping. Remove haz ards that obstruct travel paths or visibility. Try to have designated places for storing pallets to reduce blind spots for people and mobile equipment traffic. Clean up spills promptly to prevent skidding or loss of steering control.

8 Maximize awareness of lift truck operators and pedestrians. Use adequate lighting, mirrors, horns, alarms, flashing lights, high visibility vests, etc. Use blue lights on top of lift trucks and consider sensors on pedestrians to warn of approaching vehicles.

9 Minimize driver and pedestrian distractions from handheld electronic devices, handsfree cellphones, headphones, and food and beverages. Designate areas where they can and can’t be used.

10 Enforce all rules and procedures. Correct unsafe behaviours, such as an operator not following internal traffic rules. Try to find the root cause of the behavior. Does a written standard exist? Is there a need for refresher training? Does the safety culture in the workplace need to be reinforced? Hold supervisors and managers account able for managing their staff appro priately. Recognize and acknowledge operators and pedestrians when they act safely.

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