ALLPORT CARGO SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN
CARGO IS ALL GO 2 | North America Outlook issue 09
For supply chain management, Allport Cargo Services is North America’s modern service provider of end-to-end cargo solutions. We delve into the company’s operations Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Tom Cullum
Our passion is servicing our clients.” The relentless pursuit of excellence is the cultural centerpiece of premier global supply chain services provider, Allport Cargo Services (ACS). Throughout the company’s 30-year history, ACS has focused on developing customer-centric supply chain and logistics solutions for many leading brands and customers, who have extensive networks to orchestrate and massive
challenges to solve. Part of the Cargo Services Group (CGS), a privately held third party logistics (3PL) provider based in Hong Kong, ACS has operated in North America since 2015, a new region for CGS. As an independent 3PL, ACS is not affiliated with an ocean carrier and is not part of a global forwarding entity, whose focus and priorities are on brokering and creating margin on air and ocean freight. North America Outlook issue 09 | 3
ALLPORT CARGO SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN
Emerge The only freight-specific RFP Platform. When tackling complex supply chain and logistics issues, enterprises are increasingly looking for solutions to save time and money. Freight optimization is now squarely a daily boardroom conversation. The standard RFP process can be tedious and time-consuming; Emerge’s platform allows shippers to automate processes end-to-end, saving value time and resources in the process. • Support All Modes: FCL, FTL, Drayage, Intermodal
‘INFOR NEXUS IS THE WORLD’S LEADING C L O U D - B A S E D M U LT I -T E N A N T N E T W O R K F O R M U LT I - E N T E R P R I S E S U P P LY C H A I N O R C H E S T R AT I O N A N D C O N N E C T S A C S ’ C U S T O M E R S T O T H E I R E N T I R E S U P P LY C H A I N ’
The company believes in the development of a technology-enabled supply chain, and in the last decade has developed a “source-to-shelf” retail supply chain solution, which has helped several retail customers worldwide to deliver best value for the products they source directly from China, South-east Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. ACS’ unique systems and serviceneutral operating model enables customers to leverage the company’s pioneering IT platform and supply chain management application, Infor Nexus, to plug and play their transportation providers without disrupting their product, supplier, information or documentation flow. Infor Nexus is the world’s leading cloud-based multi-tenant network for multi-enterprise supply chain orchestration and connects ACS’ customers to their entire supply chain, from suppliers and manufacturers 4 | North America Outlook issue 09
to transportation partners, dray partners, brokers, and distribution networks. The platform, on which ACS fully operates and executes everything it does in real-time, creates a single version of the truth, allowing multiple participants to work, automate processes, and collaborate globally. It combines real-time tracking via ACS’ ‘live’ suite of products (Live Ocean, Live Road, Live Air) with the most comprehensive set of exception management tools available, which lets customers focus on running their business as efficiently as possible. Because there are so many moving parts in global supply chain management, finding the right operating system was a challenge for ACS. The Infor Nexus global visibility network platform has, however, provided the company with a gamechanging end-to-end supply chain management solution.
• Extend Your Carrier Reach with Thousands of Vetted Carriers and Partners • Easily Run Annual, Seasonal, and Mini Bids • Automate Your Entire RFP Process Complete your RFP with a few clicks instead of weeks. Emerge gives you all the tools you need to administer your bid in a fraction of the time it used to take. Bring your network partners, plug into marketplace capacity providers, and benchmark lane data for your entire route guide in one easy-to-use platform. Powerful AI-driven decisionmaking that can award optimize your route guide in a matter of seconds, saving shippers tons of time. Contact us today for a demo and see it in action.
www.emergemarket.com
Reinventing Freight Procurement from Port to Final Destination Evolve your transportation procurement by running your FCL container bids, FTL, drayage, intermodal, and more on the Emerge RFP platform. Built by transportation professionals, Emerge is the only RFP platform that automates end-to-end processes to save shippers valuable time and money.
The world's leading brands are using the Emerge platform to drive profitable business value and optimize transportation spend. • Digitize your transportation procurement • Reduce freight spend • Improve the efficiency of procurement teams and processes • Scenario optimization and network improvements
www.emergemarket.com
ALLPORT CARGO SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN
ACS was selected by a panel of Infor solution and industry experts to receive the 2021 Infor Customer Excellence Award for Distribution/3PL
In recognition of driving such innovation and showcasing exceptional business results, ACS was subsequently selected by a panel of Infor solution and industry experts to receive the 2021 Infor Customer Excellence Award for Distribution/3PL. The ACS model is built around integrating all partners in customers’ supply chains into one holistic view. Its data integration hub processes traditional EDI, APIs, as well as custom formats through a variety of communication protocols so that operating applications and Infor Nexus are always in sync.
ORIGIN MANAGEMENT The ACS network comprises a global team of more than 7,000 employees, operating in over 40 countries worldwide and managing more than 1.5 million TEUs of cargo. 6 | North America Outlook issue 09
THE ACS CULTURE CLIENT-FOCUSED – ACS knows what ‘great’ looks like, and strives to be great in everything it does for clients and each other. PASSIONATE – Building the team from within, and investing in the best and brightest young supply chain college graduates with traits that match ACS’ positive culture. LEADERSHIP – Operating in an environment where the best decisions are made for the company. GROWTH – ACS seeks and embraces leaders who guide, energize, excite and develop people. TRUST – Working everyday to build trust with customers, vendors, and each other. PERSONALITY – Having fun and creating stories that tell people about ACS and how the company thinks. MOTIVATED – Showing up and never giving up, regardless of position within the company and no matter the circumstance.
ALLPORT CARGO SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN
Origin management is the fabric of ACS’ services and an extension of clients’ import operations, with all solutions designed around the origin pillars of purchase order, vendor, carrier, and documentation management. ACS, whose role is to be an extension of customers’ import operations, works directly with suppliers, carriers and other partners to ensure that their supply chain is both responsive and adaptive, whilst Infor Nexus provides absolute real-time data so decisions can be made in the moment to satisfy ever-changing demand. Purchase order management begins with a comprehensive understanding of the environment surrounding each origin market. Sourcing teams are provided with the logistical knowledge by ACS to understand their landscape, and with an appreciation of what makes each sourcing region unique, buyers are suitably equipped to navigate what is often a complex space. The foundation to a successful vendor relationship is for clients to have clear, meaningful goals and expectations for their outsourced vendor community. With knowledge
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of how vendors are performing through ACS’ active real-time and customizable set of metrics, which yield real, actionable data, the best performing vendors can be recognized and rewarded, and specific guidance and corrective actions can be suggested where necessary. ACS also gives customers the oversight to decide on the best carrier strategy for their company, knowing that whichever carrier they choose will be held accountable to a measurable set of KPIs and managed to the same set of standards and scorecards. However, even the very best executed vendor and carrier logistics at origin can be derailed by the simple matter of inaccurate or incomplete documentation. Indeed, collecting documents on time that are complete and fully accurate is what makes the difference between being consistently compliant with all government rules or not. With ACS’ documentation management, customs teams are given the confidence that documents will always be on time, complete, and fully audited, for their reputation with US Customs is too important to leave to chance.
ALLPORT CARGO SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN
A Proud Partner ArentFox Schiff is a proud partner of Allport Cargo Services USA. ArentFox Schiff LLP is internationally recognized as a destination where business and the law intersect for an international roster of companies, governments, individuals and trade associations operating in a wide variety of core industries. Smart In Your World
PROBLEM SOLVERS Partnerships across all areas of customers’ operations, including logistics, purchasing and planning, are formed by ACS’ destination account teams, whose goal is to provide logistics expertise to help solve real world problems. Offering an “outside-in” look at the challenges faced, ACS’ teams are able to determine what is or what isn’t working, and a path to change. Business reviews, meanwhile, are available on demand, ensuring that they occur when customers need them. ACS offers forward-thinking ideas drawn from industry best practices, coupled with an exception-based management approach supported by Infor Nexus, which allow issues to be pinpointed and reacted to, and new processes to be built to prevent reoccurrence. When it comes to destination management, it means that ACS has the capabilities needed to help efficiently navigate today’s most complex supply chains.
VALUE-ADDED CARGO No two supply chains are the same, and complex supply chains naturally require complex services. Leveraging best-in-class assets, infrastructure and talent at origin to optimize customers’ supply chains, ACS’ valueadded services are designed to offer solutions to the everincreasing demands for product customization.
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From labeling and pre-inspection to the most complex kitting and assembly programs, ACS’ suite of services includes product reworking, kitting and assembly, pre-shipment inspection, and much more, providing customers with a seamless integration of data and product transformation to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. As packaging engineering is the new frontier in cost savings, ACS’ mission is to improve supply chain performance via greater control over transit packaging, and increase product protection and survivability. The company’s PacD solutions provide the right combination of world class packaging expertise and “hands-on” factory support to capture savings. Preserving the safety, integrity and confidentiality of customers’ data is also the responsibility of all at ACS, with every employee undergoing rigorous cybersecurity education programs to ensure that the company keeps abreast of the latest threats. In response, ABS’ cybersecurity team utilizes the most sophisticated tools and processes to monitor threats continuously and act accordingly. With cybersecurity and origin management at the core of ACS’ DNA, the company’s customer-centric supply chain and logistics solutions remain a key enabler of growth and expansion for customers around the world. North America Outlook issue 09 | 9
PRODUCED BY NORTH AMERICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE