Supply Chain World Volume 9, Issue 5

FOR LEADERS IN THE BUSINESS OF LINKING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

SUPPLYCHAIN SUPPLY CHAINW W RLD VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 MAY

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Investing in service Leading sports apparel and equipment distributor BSN SPORTS has been standardizing the use of data and systems, boosting automation and growing vendor partnerships, as part of its mission to enhance the customer experience Automation How customized solutions can be beneficial when handling bulky or irregular items Page 4

Resilience Supporting technologies such as AI can play a crucial role in strengthening supply chains Page 8

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Chairman Andrew Schofield Group COO Joe Woolsgrove Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.com lhammond@finelight-media.com Assistant Editor Will Daynes Staff Writers Daniel Baksi , Alex Caesari, Danielle Champ, Jessica Olley Managing Art Editor Fleur Daniels Art Editor David Howard Art Editor Paul Gillings Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Business Development Director Philip Monument Head of Global Media Programs Mark Cawston mcawston@schofieldpublishing.com Research Managers Michelle Fontaine, Natalie Griffiths, Jo-Ann Jeffery, Ben Richell, Basil Sharpe

Hello and welcome to the May issue of Supply Chain World.

The world certainly does keep throwing up new scenarios that are causing disruption across supply chains, and businesses are having to change and adapt. But how do you optimize a supply chain in face of such disruption? In our feature on page 12, Emile Naus believes not only do we have to fundamentally rethink how we design our supply chains, we also have to create more resilience and flexibility and this requires changing mindsets and models. “We need to

Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch, Victoria Burke, Jeff Goldenberg, Dan Harrison, Melanie Joyce, James Page, Wendy Russell, Richard Saunders, Kieran Shukri

take a wider view of what data and logic needs to go into the models, and we need a mindset

Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey, Mike Berger, Jessica Eglington, James Fuller, Alex Hartley, Michelle Hernandez, Reid Lingle, Sam Surrell, Gregory Waller

your interest.

that is much broader than reducing the (narrowly defined) operating costs,” he says. His recommendation is Scenario modelling – for more details, check out the full article.

Alongside Emile’s piece, we also look at Automation with Bruce Bleikamp, Resilience with Claire Rychlewski and the Russia/Ukraine conflict with Chris Rogers. I hope there’s something to pique

Libbie Hammond EDITOR

libbie@schofieldpublishing.com

Florida General Manager Ryan Finn Boston General Manager Joy Francesconi Custom Media Sales Dan Bess Digital Sales Mike Psimis Subscriptions i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com Administration Rory Gallacher, Ibby Mundhir

Schofield Publishing Ltd

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© 2022 Schofield Publishing Ltd

FOR LEADERS IN THE BUSINESS OF LINKING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

SUPPLYCHAIN SUPPLY CHAINW W RLD VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 MAY

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ON THE COVER Our cover story this month takes a look at BSN SPORTS – a leading sports apparel and equipment distributor that deals heavily in customization and really appreciates the importance in which customers hold its products. “Often, we like to talk about the experience of a student who’s opening their uniform for their first game. The excitement of that moment is unrivalled…” says Adam Reynolds, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain & Customer Service at the company. For the full story of how the business is evolving, visit page 18.

Investing in service Leading sports apparel and equipment distributor BSN SPORTS has been standardizing the use of data and systems, boosting automation and growing vendor partnerships, as part of its mission to enhance the customer experience Automation How customized solutions can be beneficial when handling bulky or irregular items Page 4

Resilience Supporting technologies such as AI can play a crucial role in strengthening supply chains Page 8

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 4

FEATURES 4

Automation

8

Resilience

Handling ‘non-conveyable’ items isn’t a new challenge, and automation can help, but it needs customization to find a solution that fits

The concept of VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity – has shot up the agenda as organizations seek supply chain resilience

Automation

12 Supply chain optimization

Over the past few years we have seen substantial disruption to supply chains and from this a need to rethink our approaches has arisen

14

14 Supply chain

The situation in Ukraine and related sanctions is changing quickly but the developments are affecting corporate supply chain decision making

NEWS

Supply chain

10 Supply Chain news

Updates and announcements from the supply chain arena

10

26

QST Industries Inc. 2

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8

12

Resilience

Supply chain optimization COVER STORY

18

BSN SPORTS

32

38

Big Yellow Storage

VOXX International scw-mag.com

3

AUTOMATION

G Incredible

bulk

Bruce Bleikamp takes a look at how automation tackles bulky, irregular items 4

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ood news! The new sofa you ordered arrived. Bad news – you have to move it to your living room.

The flat-pack box is lean, but also long and wide – so much so, that it barely fits through the door from your carport into your house.

What you’re experiencing in the struggle of moving such a bulky, irregularly shaped item through your house is reminiscent of the challenges that distribution centers face handling such items every day.

These items are described as ‘nonconveyable’ when their physical characteristics prevent them from being handled by automated conveyor and sortation systems,

and awkwardly twist in ways that can lead to repetitive stress injuries.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports nearly 150,000 back injuries per year in the workplace – and the business impact of each one adds up quickly. Direct costs attributed to medical and legal costs as well as OSHA fines can add up to thousands for each injury.

Costs aside, the transient nature and scarcity of labor makes it difficult to rely on manual processes. Turnover keeps getting higher in the warehousing industry, rising from just over 40 percent in 2016 to nearly 50 percent in 2021.

Evaluating workflows for automation Investing in automation to handle nonconveyable items can bring a quick ROI and significant savings, including reduced labor dependency and risk of on-the-job injuries and related labor costs. Operations should take inventory of the share of non-conveyable items to be handled, identify all the workflows involved in the process and estimate the associated labor requirements.

The guiding principle is to automate the most mundane, repetitive parts of the process and leverage employees for tasks that require the unique capabilities of humans, like quality assurance inspection. For example, automate repetitive, point-to-point transportation with a low-cost autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solution that mitigates the risks associated with having employees maneuver loads through congested travel paths.

Customizing the automated solution

necessitating alternative workflows.

Handling such items is not a new challenge.

However, the expansion of direct-to-consumer models and e-commerce, which is expected to gross $5.55 trillion globally in 2022, has shifted who is responsible for moving such items and how frequently.

Businesses solely dedicated to online ordering and direct-to-consumer delivery of products like furniture and outdoor equipment are creating logistics operations wholly focused on handling large, irregular items. But the impact does not stop there – the downstream effect of greater nonconveyable volumes affects parcel carriers, too.

Labor challenges only compound the difficulty operations face, as they face more bulky items and have fewer employees to handle them.

Under these conditions, more businesses stand to benefit from alternative automation solutions designed to handle the growing segment of non-conveyable items.

Disadvantages of manual handling Transporting non-conveyable items manually, such as loading them onto carts, can ultimately lead to congestion and disorganization on the dock. It also uses a significant amount of labor and can require employees to manually lift

Because each operation is unique, an automated solution requires an inherent degree of customization. For example, a robotic arm may be necessary to load items onto an AMR. Each type of non-conveyable item and warehouse environment presents its own unique challenges. Finding the right balance involves meeting requirements without overwhelming your operation with additional functionality that is both unnecessary and costly.

Trying the solution on for size A pilot program offers an important step to get a solution for non-conveyables off the ground. It provides an opportunity to not just anticipate but answer key questions about AMRs, including those about throughput and scalability, before a full implementation.

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AUTOMATION

6

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For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

“

Investing in automation to handle non-conveyable items can bring a quick ROI and significant savings, including reduced labor dependency and risk of onthe-job injuries and related labor costs

“

flexibility. For example, operations can expand a traditional automated component like a sorter, but that requires taking it offline, removing and reinstalling infrastructure. In contrast, scaling capacity with more AMRs does not require shutting down the rest of the fleet.

Regardless of whether non-conveyables account for a facility’s core business or are simply a rapidly growing ‘necessary evil’, automating their handling requires a level of customization and expert help to find the right fit. D

Bruce Bleikamp is a director of product management at MHS. MHS is a leading global provider of material handling automation and software for distribution and fulfillment, parcel, e-commerce, manufacturing and other industries. The company’s turnkey approach takes care of all design, engineering and integration to deliver automated equipment, robotics, software and controls that work seamlessly according to customer requirements. https://www.mhsglobal.com/

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RESILIENCE

Future

proofing

O Building resilience into the weakest supply chain link.

By Claire Rychlewski 8

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ver the last two years, supply chain professionals have been hit by an unprecedented raft of disruptions. As we fast forward into the future, this trend shows no sign of abating. The chaos caused by the lockdown of the world’s busiest port – Shanghai – shows that the impact of Covid on global supply chains is far from a thing of the past. The Suez Canal blockage in March 2021 and the ongoing crisis in semiconductor availability are two other examples of how macroeconomic events can impact supply chains. Now, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions it has triggered, have caused further major global

trade disruptions. High global fuel prices and accessibility of other components are also affecting production and transport in many industries.

In Germany, Porsche, Volkswagen and BMW have all reduced output due to problems with the supply of wire harnesses from Ukraine, which are vital to the manufacture of cars.

Russia is also an important source of many metals used in the aerospace industry and others in hi-tech and electronics.

Given all this disruption, it is little surprise that the concept of VUCA – which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity – has rocketed up the agenda for

businesses determined to ensure products arrive with customers in the right place at the right time.

This is no trivial matter. The interruption of Ukrainian agricultural processes, for example, threatens the supply of wheat to several countries, and the production lines of many consumer goods companies. In extreme cases with political consequences.

Planning and execution The myriad of challenges facing organizations means that the weakest link in the supply chain can appear quickly and from unexpected areas. This gives organizations precious little

time to pivot and build a blend of resilience and agility. It makes the need to shrink the time between planning and execution crucial as volatility continues, particularly in order to meet relentlessly high consumer expectations.

This is where supporting technologies come into play. As they look to strengthen their supply chains and make them more resilient, businesses should consider solutions using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve forecasting. AI can look at patterns across huge datasets that go far beyond human capability to write intelligent algorithms or analytics. Organizations are then able to proactively identify gaps or issues with more accurate demand forecasts, sales orders, material, capacity, shipments, and other elements of supply; with automatic alerts for any exceptions. This can then augment human expertise to help plan for the unexpected.

Organizations can go a stage further and better identify any weak or potentially weak links in supply by creating a digital twin of their end-to-end business flow. This is a virtual model that accurately represents the lifecycle of a physical supply chain using live and up-todate data. Within a virtual environment where numerous scenarios and changes can be simulated without consequence, organizations are able to strengthen the physical supply chain’s agility and speed with tried and tested improvements.

The supply chain links at greatest risk of disruption are not the only ones that should be considered potentially weak and in need of attention. Linear supply chain models need to give way to circularity, which allows for waste reduction and reusing and recycling of resources. Putting sustainability at the center of supply chain planning and decision making will add further resilience across all links, but also reduce reliance on hard-to-access and more scarcely available raw materials. It is a complex issue. However, ensuring sustainable practices would provide the resilience needed to help navigate all the challenges past, present and future.

Addressing weak spots Supply chains are today going through major transformational change, which has been driven by a range of external challenges and emerging trends. There’s little doubt that 2022 and the years beyond will bring further hurdles. Organizations need to take action now to be best prepared for the unexpected.

Particularly when you consider the increasingly interconnected nature of 21st century supply chains.

As circumstances change around organizations, they need to ensure that their supply chains continue to provide the goods and services to the end consumers that rely on them. Applying supporting technologies can enable them to shine a light on any weak spots and move quickly to rectify these, keeping the flow of products moving. Organizations can then ensure that every link is as strong as the other, future-proofing supply chain operations.

For CEOs, the importance of supply chains to their business has never been clearer. They are a key engine to business, so it is critical that they remain well-funded and at the top of the business agenda. D

Claire Rychlewski is SVP, EMEA, at Kinaxis®. Everyday volatility and uncertainty demand quick action. Kinaxis delivers the agility to make fast, confident decisions across integrated business planning and the digital supply chain. People can plan better, live better and change the world. Trusted by innovative brands, it combines human intelligence with AI and concurrent planning to help companies plan for any future, monitor risks and opportunities and respond at the pace of change. Powered by an extensible, cloud-based platform, Kinaxis delivers industry-proven applications so everyone can know sooner, act faster and remove waste. www.Kinaxis.com

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NEWS IN BRIEF Freight across the States Parade, the leader in software for freight brokers that drives digital transformation with its truckload capacity management platform, has announced an integration with Truckstop.com. Parade’s platform coupled with the Truckstop.com integration enables freight brokers to better re-utilize carriers, compete more effectively, and handle current trucking demand across North America.

Said Eduardo Avila, senior director of integrations, Truckstop.com: “Through this integration, we are able to provide our mutual broker customers greater options to move freight while eliminating time-consuming negotiations and concerns of working with an unknown carrier.”

“Parade will help speed the move to digital booking, which saves time and money for freight brokerages and 3PLs,” added Preet Sivia, President and Co-founder of Parade. “Parade is pleased to help transform the operations of so many freight brokerages and partner with Truckstop.com to accelerate techenablement, further optimize, and help grow their businesses.”

Greener transport deugro has expanded its supply chain management system deugro visiotrack with a new feature to measure the carbon footprint of global transports.

“As part of deugro’s commitment to providing innovative logistics solutions for our clients to support global CO2 reduction, and in line with our social responsibility for a net-zero future, the newest feature of the deugro visiotrack tool is another important step towards achieving environmental sustainability,” said Mario Hess, Global Head of Customer Solutions – deugro visiotrack, deugro.

Based on a transparent and compliant calculation methodology, the overall CO2 impact of a trade lane can be easily displayed through a widget within the dashboard of deugro visiotrack. This enables users to record, report and potentially identify CO2 reduction targets and to optimize routings.

In this way, alternative solutions for carbon reduction can be calculated during the transport planning phase based on the identification of intelligent routes and modes of transportation, the optimal utilization of transportation mode capacities, and the forward-looking design of transport schedules.

Furthermore, the feature enables users to increase the transparency of their shipments to meet the increased demands of markets, governments and consumers regarding environmental impacts.

Supply reliability Particle, an integrated IoT Platform-asa-Service, has announced the launch of its Supply Secure hardware portfolio, which delivers a resilient and dependable component supply to its Enterprise customers, allowing them to continue production during crises of supply chain disruption.

These portfolio products provide a predictable and reliable supply of chipbased components, giving Enterprise customers confidence in their production forecasts and end user delivery commitments. The majority of Particle’s Supply Secure products will be available for customer prototyping in calendar Q3 2022, and for mass manufacturing in calendar Q4 2022.

“Our Supply Secure hardware roadmap and diversified supplier network will always prioritize customer needs and continuity above all else to ensure minimal disruption to their operations, mitigate risk, and enable customers to continue shipping products and gaining market share relative to competitors,” said Chief Operating Officer, Dan Jamieson.

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Global supply chain innovation trial Global food-sharing technology organization, OLIO, recently reported that almost 1.3bn tons of food – which could feed the population of Italy for a lifetime – is spoiled in transit or thrown away by consumers around the world each year. Retailers have an important role to play in ensuring food waste is minimized and are being called upon to join the SecQuAL (Secure Quality Assured Logistics for Digital Food Ecosystem) project.

Led by supply chain assurance specialists LRQA, SecQuAL brings together a consortium of 11 organizations aiming to develop smart tags and labels, placing technology at the fore in the farm-to-fork ecosystem to help create a meat traceability system. Upon completion, the project will help reduce waste, track food, leverage real-time data for an efficient decision-making process, and enhance customer trust in food they procure.

Participating retailers will be able to take advantage of a number of benefits presented by the food tracking solution, including supply chain transparency to customers that will enable greater brand loyalty. Having the ability to track carbon footprint through the SecQuAL project is another key benefit for retailers, allowing them to play a critical role towards achieving the UK’s target of Net Zero emissions by 2050.

NEWS EV supply chain

Welcome to Miami

SEMCORP Advanced Materials Group is to establish a

As the US aviation

manufacturing facility in Sidney, Ohio, creating nearly

sector continues

1,200 jobs with $73 million in annual payroll and $916

to rebound from

million in capital investment.

the effects of

The facility will make separator film, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

“The Sidney facility is one of the biggest investments

Covid-19, APOC (one of the world’s newest aircraft,

in our company’s history because we know the US is

engines and

strongly committed to building the supply chains for

landing gears

EVs and energy storage here at home,” said Paul Lee,

trading, leasing,

SEMCORP’s Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO.

and part-out

SEMCORP also announced the hiring of Jeff Liu

companies)

as the President and CEO of its Advanced Materials

has expanded

International division. “SEMCORP has been a critical part

its local services for The Americas region and opened its new US headquarters

of the supply chain to make the worldwide transition

in downtown Miami. SVP Business Development, Kevin Wall commented: “The

toward electric vehicles possible, and I’m excited to use

US market is huge for us. As a young company we traditionally based our stock

my experience to bring their technology to the Dayton

locally in Europe and traded globally from there. That doesn’t work in a global

region,” Liu said.

environment anymore. We see the need to expand and be the guy next door.

We have chosen Miami as our Americas hub for good reason. Access to the Latin American market is key and Miami has been long recognised as the gateway to Latin America. By partnering with logistics experts to minimize cost and lead-time we aim to be there for our Latin American friends. The post-Covid era recovery in many Latin American countries lags behind other regions. That’s where APOC with its access to used serviceable material (USM) can make a difference.”

Supply chain survey According to the results of a new study from IBM and Celonis on supply chain resiliency, Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) recognize the critical role that hybrid cloud, AI, process mining and execution management play in helping them overcome the disruptions they’ve faced over the last two years. In fact, 72 percent of CSCOs surveyed expect their processes and workflows to be automated over the next three to five years - and 69 percent plan to accelerate cloud adoption to enhance real-time data access.

The study, The resilient digital supply chain: How intelligent workflows balance efficiency and sustainability, conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) in cooperation with Celonis and Oxford Economics, surveyed almost 500 CSCOs across ten industries including banking, consumer products, manufacturing and automotive. The study findings indicate that organizations are searching for ways to modernize their supply chains by embracing data and hybrid cloud strategies as well as prioritizing sustainability.

“The Confluence of post-Covid-19 challenges, inflation and supply issues, security, and sustainability has led to the most complex operating environment in modern business. This has forced organizations to rethink and rebuild their supply chains to be more agile, efficient, and sustainable,” said Jonathan Wright, Managing Partner, Finance and Supply Chain Transformation, IBM Consulting. “Technology and data-fueled automation and intelligence are key to not only evaluating current workflows and inefficiencies, but in identifying new opportunities as well.”

Among its findings the survey also revealed that CSCOs are putting sustainability over profit. More than half (51 percent) of CSCOs surveyed said they would be willing to sacrifice profit - on average five percent to improve sustainability outcomes - equating to $22bn for US Fortune 500 companies in one year.

For more details visit: https://www.ibm.com/ thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/ digital-supply-chain

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SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION

A matter

of balance

T Optimized supply chains need to be designed for disruptions.

By Emile Naus 12

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he supply chain industry has been using the ‘optimization’ word for a very long time. Some of the earliest application of Operational Research was to optimize supply chains and networks, from clever heuristics through to mathematical optimization modelling.

Over the past few years, we have seen substantial disruption to our supply chains, from trade barriers, natural disasters and conflicts to key transport routes getting blocked. There is a key learning that we should take from this – disruption happens, and it is typically unforeseen and not included in the optimization exercises.

For the past 30 years, the global economy has been dominated by low cost of capital, easing trade restrictions and a key focus on lowest cost. Whilst there are clear exceptions at local level, this has driven a behavior where the core objective for the optimization has been to reduce costs.

As a consequence, we now have long lead times to allow us to source based on lowest cost per unit, driving significant inventory levels and supply chains with many nodes. Chains break at their weakest link, and by increasing the number of nodes as well as the size of these nodes, we have created fundamentally fragile supply chains. It took one container

vessel to stop the flow of goods in Suez in 2021. When Covid started, many countries couldn’t react quickly since they didn’t have the required infrastructure for PPE manufacturing and distribution. And the war in Ukraine is highlighting the reliance we have on core materials, such as oil and gas, wheat and steel.

We will need to fundamentally rethink how we design our supply chains. Using increasingly sophisticated models, with simpler user interfaces, has led to black-box solutions where data goes in and the answer comes out. But these models are only as good as the data that is fed into them and the assumptions made by the modelers and software developers.

We need to create more resilience and flexibility, and the requirement therefore is to substantially rethink how we optimize our supply chains around this. There are a number of factors to consider: We need to change the mindset. Supply chains contain significant risk elements, and they need to be factored into the decision process. Simplistic models that just look at cost and capacity miss these elements.

We need to model for disruption. Sensitivity analysis goes beyond the typical ‘what if costs go up by 20 percent’; we need to include serious risk analysis into the models.

We need to change the optimization logic, to include risk and flexibility. This goes against the black box logic of many of these models, but the ability to understand, and change, the inherent logic of the models is critical.

Supply chains have significant ‘external’ (and often invisible) costs, such as environmental and social. It is easy to ignore them, but at some stage these costs will become ‘internal’ and therefore very visible. Some supply chain models explicitly include carbon footprint into their costs, but wider social elements around sourcing need to be considered as well.

When we are evaluating supply chain models, we need to consider the working capital that is a result of the design. Longer supply chains with inherent risks will carry more inventory. The costs of this inventory (both in terms of working capital and obsolescence risk) is typically not included in the models and is often ignored.

All this does not mean that we have to stop using the optimization models; it means we need to enhance how these models work, and we need to enhance our understanding and interpretation of the results. We need to take a wider view of what data and logic needs to go into the models, and we need a mindset that is much broader than reducing the (narrowly defined) operating costs. There are different options for this. We can simply convert various factors to a cost and include it in the optimization logic. At a simple level, we can charge for working capital and for carbon footprint. It is harder to quantify disruption, but it is feasible to test multiple scenarios with varying degrees of cost impacts.

Scenario modelling is often ignored in network design, but the ability to simulate the network under different conditions would be a powerful way to include these elements.

Running a large number (thousands if not millions) of scenarios is perfectly feasible with modern infrastructure and would allow each one to be optimized. The overall result would then need to include a balanced view across all scenarios.

The end result will be a much more balanced decision making, that considers long term risk, environmental considerations, working capital as well as operating costs. D

Emile Naus is Partner in Operations at BearingPoint in London. BearingPoint supports businesses from the development of supply chain strategy through to the implementation and benefit realization. www.bearingpoint.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN

Big decisions T

The Russia/Ukraine conflict and its impact on supply chains.

By Chris Rogers 14

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he conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting sanctions has impacted supply chains across the world. In this article we will look at the evolution of the sanctions on Russia and how these differ from previous sanctions, how this impacts logistics, particularly from Asia to Europe, and the impact of the conflict on energy commodities such as coal that impact global supply chains.

Sanctions related to Ukraine have been applied to Russia since the 2014 annexation of

Crimea, targeting 735 entities and restrictions in trade in energy and defense products and selected financial restrictions.

Since the start of the conflict, the use of sanctions has been rapid and widespread and includes: restricting access to the SWIFT payment system; limiting export licenses across high tech and industrial machinery; and restrictions on imports of Russian products and services and; freezing the assets of individuals and entities close to the state.

sanctions look set to leave automotive and capital goods shippers exposed and looking for alternatives - principally via ocean shipping.

In recent years, railways have been essential for augmenting ocean and air freight shipping on Far East Westbound (FEWB) routes, and their role has been central to the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative. They are also quicker than ocean; Guangdong-toGermany routes typically take 20 days via rail compared to over 100 days currently (as shown in Flexport’s Ocean Timeliness Indicator).

Apparel may need new routes Among consumer goods, 2021 saw a rapid growth in shipments of both homewares and apparel using rail, reaching 4.9 percent and 4.8 percent of imports, respectively, in 2021.

Apparel is also the most valuable consumer product group, with 2.4 billion euros shipped from China to the EU by rail in 2021.

Without the rail link, we may see changes in how fashion brands are able to plan seasonal lines (with average shipments increasing by five times moving from rail to ocean), and goods will also become more expensive as pressure on ocean services increases.

As businesses can’t ship as quickly and regularly with current supply chain disruptions, they will need additional capital to support shipments that will enable business growth.

Flexport is currently helping customers with the launch of Flexport Capital, providing growing companies with quick access to working capital financing without the added constraints typical from other lenders.

Trade gets more complex

For many countries these sanctions are unusual, they are more widespread than in the past, causing higher commodity costs across energy, metals and food - all of which are highly visible to voters.

The breadth of the sanctions means there are many areas impacted:

Logistics Rail freight for shipping from China to the EU (moving through Russia) has grown by 28 percent annually over the past five years, and

Aside from physical restrictions to logistics networks, the process of working with Russian suppliers and customers has been complicated by the likely loss of Most Favored Nation status for Russia with the US, EU and other G7 members. That removes normal trading relations leading to higher tariffs and increased red tape.

Companies in countries that have not yet applied sanctions are also beginning to reduce their work with Russian firms in order to avoid

triggering so-called secondary sanctions by the US and others.

Higher energy costs, with potentially more to come On April 8th, the European Union approved new sanctions that will ban Russian coal imports and a wide range of other products including caviar, building materials, wood products and furniture. The EU is also in the process of implementing a ban on imports of oil while restrictions on natural gas shipments remain less likely for now.

The measures impact all types of coal, which could have an impact on both the energy generation and steel production industries.

Russia accounted for seven percent of EU coal use in 2020, though that rises to over twothirds for Latvia, Croatia and Denmark.

Rising energy costs resulting from restricted supplies will also have a knock-on effect for fertilizers (and hence food), cement manufacturing and petrochemicals. In turn the industries using those products as inputs will face cost inflation which in due course may arrive with consumers.

Branding and supply chain decisions to be made With sanctions on Russia set to continue, and new lockdown regulations in China, companies face the reality of continued upheaval and unpredictability in supply chains. Many are starting to reconsider what the ideal operational organization should look like.

Should brands diversify sourcing of goods from more countries? How can they rethink their product design and manufacturing to use alternative components? How early should they start ordering goods for the 2022 holiday season and will they need to expand their storage capacity?

The situation in Ukraine and related sanctions continue to move rapidly but could remain in place for years. We’ll continue to monitor developments and the corporate supply chain decision-making that goes with them. D

Chris Rogers is a Supply Chain Economist at Flexport. Flexport is a freight forwarding and customs brokerage company based in San Francisco, California. It believes trade can move the human race forward.

That’s why it’s the company’s mission to make global trade easy for everyone. Flexport is the platform for global logistics - empowering buyers, sellers and their logistics partners with the technology and services to grow and innovate.

Companies of all sizes - from emerging brands to Fortune 500s - used Flexport technology to move nearly $19B of merchandise across 112 countries in 2021. https://www.flexport.com/

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BSN SPORTS

Investing

in service With a track record of successful growth, leading sports apparel and equipment distributor BSN SPORTS hopes that new investments in automation can help secure warehouse accuracy and efficiency, and faster delivery for its customers

I

t’s been four years since Adam Reynolds made the decision to join sports apparel and equipment distributor BSN SPORTS. But for the now Executive Vice President, Supply Chain & Customer Service of the company, it was an easy call. “Before my arrival, BSN SPORTS had demonstrated a deep bond with its growing customer base, thanks largely to really strong relationships between its over 1100-person field sales force and the communities they live in,” he reflects.

BSN SPORTS’ product range encompasses everything from soccer goals and football goal posts, the bleachers the fans sit in, the

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uniforms the players wear all the way down to the hot dog carousel for the concession stand for high schools, colleges, and clubs all across the US. Decorated apparel is by far the most sought-after product BSN SPORTS offers and certainly the one that adds the most complexity. For Adam, the focus of his tenure at the company has been to refine supply chain management, to better satisfy the demand and expectations of both BSN SPORTS’ customers and the employees serving them.

“Sixty percent of the products we sell are decorated,” Adam points out. “So, think about a uniform on an athlete and coaches’ practice

wear, or the moms and dads sitting in the stands wearing their son or daughter’s name and number on the back – all requiring detailed customization. One of the main areas of focus for BSN SPORTS has been to structure our teams in a way that enables us to be consistent across sales teams, multiple plants and support departments in terms of both process and results.

“A key step in achieving that consistency includes standardizing our use of data and systems across our plants, as opposed to having unique or varying set-ups,” he says.

“For example, that could mean introducing the same turn-time goals in order to ensure that all our products reach the hands of our customer as promised. We’ve then brought in the people, processes, and technology we need to facilitate that, whether it is for our internal plants or for our over 700 vendor partners who we are connected with.” Adam expands on that ongoing journey, and BSN SPORTS’ long road ahead to fully realizing these goals for its customers.

At its Indianapolis and Texas plants, BSN SPORTS has made significant investments in Receiving, Pick, Pack and Ship automation. For Adam, it’s an example of how the company is seeking to retain its position as the most consumer-centric team sporting goods distributor. “Nobody else in our industry houses the volume of inventory that we do,” he notes. “Automating the plants will enable us to keep up with the high demand for our services, which continues to accelerate with

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the resurgence of team sports. We then combine our automation with our sales and operations planning model in order to make sure that we’re bringing the correct amount and selection of inventory in at precisely the right time.

“It’s all about keeping up with the pace of our growing customer base, and being able to service it in an efficient way with our internal plants and amazing vendor partners,” he summarizes. “We don’t have to suddenly build another plant in the next two years.

Instead, we can use effective planning on the front end to increase the efficiency of the facilities we already have.” While the carousels and vertical lift modules give a jolt to BSN SPORTS’ throughput capabilities, it requires a more sophisticated team dynamic.

Adam explains that “automation alone isn’t enough, we’ve expanded our capabilities by building teams focused on engineering, continuous improvement and training. These

systems have to work with us, not just us working ‘in’ them.”

The primary focus of BSN SPORTS’ efforts, ultimately, is the customer. “We are undoubtedly customer-centric,” Adam agrees.

“Predominately, that means focusing all of our efforts on enhancing the purchasing experience of coaches, athletic directors and principals. However, we never lose sight of the opportunity we have to create memorable experiences for students, athletes and parents.

Often, we like to talk about the experience of a student who’s opening their uniform for their first game. The excitement of that moment is unrivalled, whether they’re receiving a bat, a baseball helmet, or a complete uniform with their name printed on the back.

“The experience we provide needs to match the significance of that moment – and not only because it’s something the athlete is engaged in and enjoys, but also because we’ve studied that when students are participating

in such activities at school, they excel in the classroom and in life. They graduate at higher rates, feel more involved and tend to feel an overall greater happiness. Therefore, we have a responsibility to contribute to that experience. Everything we do is driven by our desire to enable coaches to spend as much time on the field or court with their athletes, because that’s where the real impact occurs, not worrying about equipment and uniforms.

It’s a culture that resonates throughout our sales force, our customer service teams and our production teammates who are the last touchpoint before a customer receives their order.”

Like all businesses, the last few years for BSN SPORTS haven’t been without challenges.

“We tried to keep our mission at the heart of what we do,” Adam reflects. “For clubs, schools, and players, it’s been a tough couple of years. While battling supply chain challenges, our warehouse teams stayed busy

Streamline Integrated Technologies Streamline Integrated Technologies is an expert in providing ‘right sized’ goods-to-person fulfillment solutions. It has a variety of goods-to-person high density fulfillment solutions, so it can select the solution that best fits your requirements, while providing the best return on investment. Most systems have at least a two-year return on investment, minimally double productivity, improve storage space utilization, improve order, and inventory accuracy. However, Streamline Integrated Technologies’ SRT™ Warehouse Execution System (WES), provides the glue to coordinate the automated and traditional material handling solutions to provide a Streamlined solution. If you’re ready to compete in the global market, improve productivity, maximize labor and space, and get a handling on your inventory, give Streamline Integrated Technologies a call for your free initial site survey, and Streamline-it™. www.streamlineit.com sales@streamlineit.com Ph: 877-310-3334

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throughout the pandemic by accommodating shifting sport seasons and quickly supporting delivery of new products like masks, PPE and signage sought by schools. For our employees, the pandemic highlighted the impact of team sports in uniting communities and that continually positioned our mission at the forefront for employees. Regardless, it has been a trying labor environment, and our warehouses and production spaces weren’t immune to turnover. Warehouse automation became a pressing growth driver, meaning getting carousels to achieve full capacity is key to enabling the heartbeat of the company (our people) to focus on the higher touch tasks this business demands.”

Continuing to keep automation at the forefront, Adam explains, “We’re also adding capability in the form of robotic processing automation (RPA). Historically, a new order

DM Transportation Barter 101. I bet you’re probably thinking right now, “Barter with… trade credits? What’s that?” Don’t worry, I hear it all the time. Bartering has been around since about 6,000 BC, and modern bartering using trade credits may be bigger than you realize. IRTA estimates the annual volume of corporate barter to be in the range of $12 billion-14 billion. This form of barter with trade credits is a successful way to increase the value of inventories, whilst lowering the cost of operations.

Think back to your days in school during lunch. Your parent packed celery as a snack, but your friend had your favorite cookies. You asked your friend to trade, expecting them to say no, but lo and behold, they say yes! You scored the much more valued cookies, and gave away your unwanted celery. That’s what you’re doing with barter; taking inventory you’re looking to liquidate and instead of getting, for example $.10 on the dollar, you can get a greater return of $.25 or more.

The right partner can help you navigate using higher value trade credits to pay for goods and services, like logistics, with companies that participate.

One perfect example of a successful transaction is a client who had discontinued boots. Their contract with the military had expired which left them with $1,000,000 (retail cost) of boots. Attempting to liquidate, they found they could only get $75,000 in cash, resulting in a write-off of $925,000. Luckily, they discovered an experienced partner to facilitate a barter, liquidating the boots for $300,000 in trade credits. Thanks to their logistics partner, they were able to utilize $100,000 in trade credits a year to lower the cash cost of their logistics.

So, the next time you’re looking to liquidate, explore barter as the alternative and get yourself a better cookie ;)

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“

By engaging our teammates to realize and appreciate their lasting impact, it will enable them to bring an even greater level of energy and excitement to their role

“

required the touchpoints of several employees across multiple days to start the movement of product. With the implementation of RPA, the system can execute these tasks and make any necessary changes within minutes instead of days. These little steps cumulate to massive

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improvements in speed and accuracy to begin the production process and ultimately get product in the hands of the customer faster.

“Looking externally with our vendor partners, we’re looking to grow deeper connections,” he goes on. “All the vendors we onboard fulfill a

need for our customers, and it’s through their eyes that we assess the vendors we have and consider how new vendors might fit into our models. For instance, does a vendor require us to undertake inventory positioning ourselves?

Are they willing to hold the inventory, and to have a connection through our web services so we can maintain transparency with our customers and sales teams?

“We look at all of our relationships through a multi-layered lens, whether through the financials of any relationship – be it cost, or things like rebates, returns, or credits – or how quickly are they able to deliver for our customers. But enabling transparency in

information is the most important priority of all in this fast-paced time,” Adam emphasizes.

“It’s our duty to ensure our sales professionals are empowered to make the best decisions for the customer. Particularly given the current fragmentation of the supply chain, that knowledge is crucial for coaches who have committed themselves to serving their communities. Improving that transparency throughout our internal teams and sales teams is a big focus for 2022 and beyond.”

As BSN SPORTS looks to the future, its attention is turned very much towards building an enhanced customer experience. “Within five years’ time, it’s my hope that we’ll have

been able to achieve a sustained delivery of products in which best-in-class dependability and transparency are a feature of every order placed at BSN SPORTS,” Adam tells us. “We want to be more reliable, and to be more predictable than anybody else when it comes to delivering unique, customized product – and we want to do it faster.”

Despite BSN SPORTS’ customer-centric approach to business, Adam understands that for the company to achieve its goals, it relies upon the hard work and dedication of its employees. Therefore, committing to increase their satisfaction is another key objective for the years ahead.

“What they do from day-to-day has the power and potential to add real, tangible value to a child’s life,” Adam concludes. “By engaging our teammates to realize and appreciate their lasting impact, it will enable them to bring an even greater level of energy and excitement to their role. That in turn will bring benefits to the coaches who are impacting kids’ lives every day.”

BSN SPORTS www.bsnsports.com Products: Sports apparel and equipment

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QST Industries Inc.

Quality from

the inside out For almost 150 years, QST Industries Inc. has been working to perfect every product behind the seams of the clothing textile industry, making it the world’s largest supplier of quality components for apparel

ST Industries (QST) is a family owned and operated company that dates back to 1880, where it began as a horse and cart business in Chicago, selling textiles to local tailors. Today, it operates in 24 different countries and sells to an additional 40

NAVEENA GROUP OF INDUSTRIES

Based in Pakistan, Naveena produces yarn and fabric, and offers full-package solutions to traders, importers and major brands. The company was founded in 1967, and has been exporting its products all over the world since then.

The company’s vision is to weave, evolve, grow and be an important link in the global textile supply chain, while its mission is to remain an undisputed leader in providing a wide range of customized superior quality and environmentally friendly products and services to its customers.

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Est. 1969

OVER 50 YEARS EXPERIENCE PROVIDING QUALITY YARN AND FABRICS • Pocketing/interlining • Home textiles • Apparel/ workwear • Shirting fabrics • Down proof • Technical textiles

• Sustainable textiles • Working closely with leading brands • Efficient Workforce • Pioneers in textile revolution • Fabrics with over 1200 thread count • Customized products

Yarn and fabric full-package solutions for traders, importers and major brands.

Naveena House, 21 Banglore Town, Shahra-e-Faisal, Karachi-75350, Pakistan +92 21 111-667-66 naveena@naveena.net www.naveena.net

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countries around the globe, bringing it to a total of 64 countries, as we learn from Michael and Alex Danch, Co-Presidents and CEOs of QST Industries. “We have over 700 employees around the world that make up our extended family, and we are the world’s largest supplier of quality components to the apparel industry.”

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The company specializes in everyday items for the interior construction of clothing garments, including but not limited to pocketing, waistbands, interlinings, linings, elastics, and embroidery backing. “We have products for every type of garment, and shoes as well,” Michael elaborates. “We even supply

paper and chemical cutting room supplies as a one-stop-shop. What sets us apart from everyone else is our global footprint, which allows us to deliver a consistent quality product across the world. We have manufacturing facilities strategically located to service every apparel manufacturing market, and we follow the process of our customers’ supply chain from start to finish. Our core tenets remain the same as the day we opened – we offer our customers innovative product, global service, competitive value and consistent quality.

“We have experienced professionals who call directly on the brands and work with garment designers and merchandisers. From the design stage, they choose a product and we follow the process all the way to local tech support teams who ensure the quality of our product meets the standards required as it goes into the garment.”

As Michael alluded to, because QST manufactures in many different countries, it has had to implement measures that ensure its customers receive the same quality of product wherever they produce. “If they are manufacturing the same garment in Mexico and Vietnam, we can deliver identical products locally warehoused in both those markets,” he says, adding that it is one of the core advantages that sets QST apart from the competition.

One can imagine that having a global operation this wide-spread had its challenges during the pandemic, but not surprisingly,

Covid-19 played a huge role in transforming the whole apparel industry. “One of the biggest changes that was brought about by the pandemic has been the de-globalization of manufacturing. We have seen so many customers moving their production to manufacturing regions closer to home after the pandemic created much longer lead times as a result of the global supply chain crisis,” says Michael.

Although these issues still exist, QST has succeeded in refining its processes to maintain its Just-In-Time delivery. “Asia continues to be a challenge to be in the pandemic-stricken world, and as a result, a lot of the manufacturing has moved back to this hemisphere, but we have been able to respond to this evolving market because of our global footprint,” he continues. “As I mentioned, many of our customers have shifted their manufacturing from Asian countries to regions much closer, such as the Western hemisphere, where we are able to provide the same product that they were getting in other markets.

“QST has factories in the North Carolina, Los Angeles, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, to cover our customers’ needs in this hemisphere. We also have factories in Romania and Morocco that are servicing our European customers who are moving production back closer to their home. Then, we have factories in China and Vietnam that continue to service our customers across Asia,” Michael expresses.

However, in addition to that, transportation and logistics still continues to be a major obstacle, and container pricing remains exorbitant compared to its pre-pandemic level. This has caused a significant shift in where the company’s customers are choosing to produce.

“Shipping is up 500-to600 percent of what it was two years ago, and it’s also become very unreliable, as shipping times have become erratic and delayed. It’s very hard to predict when containers will make it across the water and to their final destination,” Michael elaborates.

We then go on to discuss exciting ventures taking place within the company, such as new areas of development with the ever-evolving world trade. “One of the responsibilities at QST is to be well-versed in trade regulations scw-mag.com

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and requirements around the globe. Trade laws are constantly changing, and new agreements are put into place all the time. We recently organized a round table discussion led by industry and political experts with some of the biggest US apparel companies to discuss trade embargoes, and the purpose of the meeting was to educate our customers on the potential impact of changing rules, and find ways to avoid a crisis. QST works with trade attorneys, the US department of trade, Customs and Border Protection and the likes, to help keep the industry and our customers informed on regulatory changes.

“The US recently ratified the US MexicoCanada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Subsequently, it has been up to QST to make sure we keep our customers informed about the requirements, and provide products that are in compliance.

Of course, the pandemic has made everything a bit more challenging because manufacturing in the US has slowed as part of the ongoing labor crisis. One of the requirements with USMCA being ratified has meant that pocketing fabric must be produced in the region, and the US, Mexico, and Canada were not ready to handle the demand, which spiked instantaneously. So, it has been a considerable effort to make sure we keep our customers supplied with the fabric they need to keep their production running and to stay within compliance of the trade regulations, which I believe we have achieved very successfully,” Michael highlights.

These days, innovation can be clearly seen in some of the more technical fabrics, and another way in which the company contributed to combating Covid-19 was through the development of PPE. “When the pandemic started, we pivoted our

manufacturing and responded with a full range of PPE fabrics for the medical industry.

We also started producing masks out of our facilities for a number of large retailers.

“Now, we don’t see much demand for that PPE production anymore, but we continue to innovate with technical fabrics, and stretch and comfort continue to be in high demand as work from home has created a trend towards comfortable clothes and expanding waistlines too! Uniform business is also a very large sector for QST, and recently fire retardancy fabrics have seen significant increase in demand. Oil facilities around the US have grown as part of the deglobalization and push for energy independence in the US, which, has meant a growing need for FR uniforms, and our fire-retardant fabric line has really grown along with it.”

In the coming years, Michael and Alex plans to continue to keep up with the ever-changing trends necessary for the construction

garment sector, and we look forward to seeing QST Industries continue to expand upon its sustainability initiative. “In addition to what I’ve mentioned, eco-friendly fabrics have become increasingly important. We continue to see increased demand and obviously it’s in the spotlight today with climate change and global warming. There has been a spotlight on the waste that is created from fast fashion and the industry is about to take a major turn toward higher quality clothing that will last for years, and QST components will help to keep these garments looking good and performing well for many many years,” Michael concludes.

QST Industries Inc. https://www.qst.com/ Services: Supplier of quality components to the apparel industry

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Big Yellow Self Storage

Safe and

secure

Big Yellow Self Storage offers 105 conveniently located storage facilities across London and the UK, allowing the company to provide exceptional customer service and incomparable security to its clients, wherever they may be

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ig Yellow Self Storage (Big Yellow) is one of the most widely recognized brands in the UK, providing secure, modern and flexible self storage for homes and businesses. Founded in 1998, with its first store in Richmond upon Thames, the company now operates from a platform of 105 principally freehold stores, including 24 stores branded as Armadillo Self Storage, and it only has plans to keep growing.

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Speaking with Jim Gibson, the CEO, Supply Chain World learns more about the developments happening at Big Yellow to find out what lies in store regarding future expansion. “I would consider us to be on the micro-side of mini warehousing,” he says. “We support big box logistics, which are the facilities often seen on the side of motorways that are used by Amazon, and other big retailers. Our stores are easily accessible across the UK’s major town and cities. Most are

conveniently situated on arterial roads and our large car parks are ideal to support larger lorries and logistical vehicles.

“We also have a pipeline of new store developments, the latest of which is in Hove. It’s a great location, and a site that we have known about for a long time. We think it will perform well,” Jim shares.

Another example in which the company is investing in further developments can be found in Kings Cross, London. “That is a £50 million investment, which includes the land, and given its central location, we feel that will also trade very well. In total we now have 12 stores in our development pipeline, adding a further one million-square-feet to our platform. Added to these, we have a site in Stockton that we are looking to double in size; it’s a means of providing external growth over and above the income we derive from the existing portfolio. We have already opened an additional three hundredthousand square-feet since July 2020, and the plan is simply to maintain this momentum,” he elaborates.

A question posed to Jim concerns the factors taken into consideration when it comes to choosing a location, and at the moment, urbanization is playing a significant role as

the company strives for ease of access for its customers. “These sorts of structural trends currently taking place are a byproduct of densification, in which more people are living in less space. This means that there is very little storage space being put into modern flats, and as a result, while people are trying to optimize the use of their living areas, they’re finding that the need for additional storage outside of the home is necessary.

“Self storage affords people the ability to create more space, and what we offer is that exact solution; if they want to live in an uncluttered environment or they want to create a home office, renting one of our units can absolutely support them.”

Jim also highlights the increase in e-retail as a major factor in storage demand. The main change he has noticed over the past decade or

Janus International Europe “Janus International Europe is the market-leading supplier of sustainable self-storage products and award-winning access control technology across the globe.

Its experienced international teams specialize in the consultation, design, manufacture, and installation of self-storage units,” says Colin Jeromson, Managing Director. “We have had the pleasure of providing Big Yellow Group with high-quality self-storage doors and partition systems since the start of its amazing journey. This continues to be a hugely successful partnership, due to our companies sharing an unwavering commitment to driving product innovation and delivering outstanding customer service, while also leading the way in environmental social governance.”

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Big Yellow Self Storage so is the growth in customers using Big Yellow for e-fulfilment. “Why would you start a business on the high street when you can do everything digitally and sell online without an office? Based on a survey we carried a few years ago, some 60 percent of our businesses are early stage, and for 50 percent of them it is the only space they have, typically employing two-to-three people and occupying around 250-square-feet. This sized unit on flexible terms is only available in self storage.

“E-tailing has been one of the areas driving growth for Big Yellow and for the self storage sector in general. The pandemic has raised awareness for business start-ups of how self storage can fit in to what they need. What we provide is completely flexible space. You pay a monthly bill, you can give minimum seven days’ notice, so you use it for as long or short as you need. The costs that are covered by us include security, property rates, service charges and lighting. So that makes it very attractive for business start-ups and early stage businesses who are trialing us because they do not have to worry about that sort of stuff.”

To keep things running smoothly, the business makes use of a host of technologically driven resources to ensure its facilities are safe and

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Below: Jim Gibson, CEO of Big Yellow Self Storage

accessible to match the needs of its clients. “To begin with, all our stores have automated security access in and out of the building. We have installed alarms in the rooms that have motion sensors, all storage rooms are individually alarmed with PIN code access and CCTV cameras can be found everywhere. If you are either a domestic customer or a business customer that works round the clock, we can provide you with overnight access so that you can come and go as you please. Having said that, we are also extremely careful when it comes to people coming into the building outside of reception opening hours, in order to ensure that all contents remain safe, and we carry out the appropriate checks and balances to ensure there is no risk.

“Our stores are also paperless, so contracts and agreements are all completed largely before you come anywhere near the premises,” Jim shares with us. “Beyond those measures, we won’t let someone come into our store that we haven’t seen face-to-face and had a conversation with to verify who they are. The reason for this is of course additional security. Not doing so would put the assets of our clients at risk, and it could also endanger our customers, while increasing the chance of illegal activity.”

Big Yellow makes storage super easy for businesses who need it across multiple locations.

“Our National Customers team are on hand to provide dedicated account management and single billing,” Jim adds. “We remove the hassle for businesses who need to find (or close down) space quickly, plus we have large car parks, forklifting and we can accept deliveries on behalf of our customers.”

As our discussion draws to a close, Jim shares his final thoughts on how he wants Big Yellow to continue to partner closely with its clients to help them succeed, without having to worry about space – or a lack thereof. “We have also found that some businesses, such as plumbers, or electricians, are using much smaller rooms because they have high value equipment in them, while marketing companies use them as an overflow for their office space, because renting an office is more expensive than storage. Whether you are producing services as a supplier or providing some form of material as a supplier, self storage allows you the flexibility to execute your operations both locally and around the country as nodal distribution locations.

Looking towards the future, he is excited for the potential of his business, and is keen to see it continue to thrive. “As we spoke about earlier, we are opening four more stores this calendar year.

Hayes opened in January, Hove has just opened, then we have North Kingston, and Harrow; all of which we are incredibly excited about. Our store in Kings Cross will open in Summer 2023. We will be aiming to build occupancy into the summer period,

and we will always be continuing to innovate.

Our other key focus is the development of our renewable energy positive strategy. We are aiming to achieve the elimination of our carbon-related emissions through generating our own energy supply. We are achieving this by investing in more and more solar.

“We have been doing it in new stores since 2008, but there are about 36 stores that we need to retro fit still. It’s a £10 million project, and that will most likely take another three years to complete. The aim is to produce half of the electricity that we use ourselves. Our stores are already reasonably efficient in terms of their energy consumption, because we installed LED lights across the portfolio, but I would really like to see Big Yellow contribute to the move towards a Net Zero future by 2030.

“Other than that, I am really excited about seeing us continue with our expansion strategy regarding property purchases, filling up units, driving revenue, and overall, ensuring that we continue to provide high levels of customer and employee satisfaction. I look forward to continue being a part of a business that delivers safe and secure storage for our customers across the UK,” he concludes.

Big Yellow Self Storage www.bigyellow.co.uk Services: Self storage

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VOXX International

Investors in

innovation

Leading electronics supplier and manufacturer, VOXX International, continues to dominate the global market with its cutting-edge biometric and AV technology

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ith its extensive portfolio of 35 well-known consumer electronics brands in the premium audio, automotive and biometric categories, VOXX International (VOXX) has established itself as an industry leader, and major player in the global electronics market. The company is known for its innovative thinking and ability to supply a variety of products to a diversified customer base, ranging from automotive OEM’s to specialty CE-retailers and massmerchandise commercial entities. Having responded effectively to a number of supply chain challenges over the last few years, VOXX International now reaps the rewards of those maneuvers, and gears up for major expansion in 2022.

As a company with a truly global presence, VOXX International has established a strong network of suppliers and partners across the US, Mexico, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam. The US-based company uses its impressive footprint to produce a range of cutting-edge technologies to customers all across the globe. “We operate in three segments,” summarizes VOXX’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Pat Lavelle. “One is the automotive sector, where we build products for OEM car manufacturers, and for the aftermarket. VOXX maintains number one market share in rear seat entertainment and remote security and start in North America.

“The other segment we operate in is consumer elements, supplying premium audio equipment in the form of both passive and powered premium speakers, and AV electronics,” he continues.

“The third segment we are in, which we are building up now, is our biometrics segment. We are a complete biometric supplier producing and marketing iris, face, and access control systems for physical access, or logical access into computers or other high-security devices.”

Biometric technology is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing sectors of the electronic security industry.

As a company with a keen eye for innovation, VOXX stands at the cutting-edge of these developments. “Our belief is we are all going to be

Pat Lavelle President and Chief Executive Officer

authenticated or identified by our biometrics in the future,” explains Pat. “Iris biometrics is the most secure of all, and we expect it to become the technology of choice for highly secure applications. Eyelock, our majorityowned subsidiary, has over 70 patents, with another 30 in application that cover our iris technology. The only biometric more secure than Eyelock’s biometrics scan is a DNA test.”

As a nimble, forward-thinking operation, VOXX is capable of spotting emerging technologies with great potential at their early stages. This ability to react and think ahead has also served the company well, as it has responded to unprecedented conditions and challenges throughout the supply chain. As Pat discusses: “We noticed that there would be a chip shortage very early on; because we work with many different manufacturers overseas in Asia, we were starting to get information from them about how the supply chain was stretching out. We

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VOXX International

were told that if we wanted to be sure of getting chips that we should lengthen our lead times, and we took their warning seriously.

“We began working with 52-week lead times on chips, so that for the last year or so we had the supply that we needed. However, the chip costs were also going up, and that was impacting us. In some instances, where cost and supply chain became too much of an issue, we redesigned some of the boards to work with chips that were more readily available.

“So, we knew about the chip shortage ahead of time, and that allowed us to make early adjustments. However, the

New Advanced Electronics As the world changes and evolves, so do the needs. New Advanced Electronics’ (NAE) valued and trusted relationship with the Klipsch Group and everyone at VOXX International continues to evolve as it grows and flourishes; especially in these challenging times, it is not accidental or simply by luck. This is the result of endless hours of hard work starting at the top, with industry icons such as Pat Lavelle, Paul Jacobs, Oscar Bernardo, Tommy Jacobs, and its own visionary and CEO Peter Huang, the list goes on. What VOXX is about and what NAE are about are synonymous and complementary: positive attitude, complete commitment, and total satisfaction of all valued customers. From napkin sketches, to the production of the most sophisticated audio systems available. NAE is honored and grateful to be a continued partner with the VOXX Group at all levels.

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New Advanced Electronics Technologies NAE specialize in the design, development and manufacture of an extensive selection of consumer audio solutions. These products range from the most basic passive speaker designs to hi-end passive options, as well as active speaker designs in both highly complex DSP & wireless solutions. Our products including in-wall, in-ceiling, bookshelf, center channel, tower, bluetooth speakers and subwoofers, to name but a few.

Over 30 years of manufacturing, we have been exclusively an ODM supplier and have developed into a world-class operation under the leadership of CEO, Peter Huang. Our modern facilities and factories are extremely cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly, and are continually advancing to meet our customers’ needs.

We currently have two production sites, one located in China and the other established in Vietnam just last year. With the Vietnam factory in preparation for production in the second quarter of 2022, we can expect a significant increase in overall production volume.

We also have our own R&D center, located in Taiwan, and staffed with teams of both market-advanced engineers and young generation engineers, who are being introduced to real field practices and also offering support in hard-to-attain electronics material procurement. While our design development headquarters is in China, the facilities are staffed by professional engineers all working together, dedicated to providing the best audio solutions to fulfill customer requirements.

The NAE teams work efficiently to bring out new or existing products according to client demand. Steady progress is made each year and we have been expanding on new product lines as well, to reach a bigger audience.

Most importantly, NAE makes audio products that are very reliable, give great sound and are easy-to-use. Whether your design is ‘build-to-point’ or ‘ground-up’ we have the right combination of experience, skills, facilities, and dedication to meet and exceed your expectations.

www.naeaudio.com

NAE Missions: • Provide our customers with the best overall solution on the planet for the production and delivery of home audio products • Design and implement the latest and most cost-effective manufacturing capabilities, technology, and factory management • Offer our customers an unparalleled competitive advantage in the design, execution, and delivery of quality products • Do whatever is necessary to meet the goals of our partners

Customer satisfaction always remains a top priority - at NAE we do not settle for less!

For any business queries please feel free to email sales@naeaudio.com and Colin Chew – Project Management, colin-project@naeaudio.com OXTOP (Dongguan) Electronics Co., LTD. No.15, Kai-Toh Road, New Industrial Zone, Shitanpu, Tang Xia Town, Dong Guan, Guang Dong, China TEL: +86-76987725650 FAX:+86-76987725651 scw-mag.com

XX

VOXX International problem does persist, and it is currently affecting some of our bigger OEM car manufacturing customers. We don’t expect the problem to begin working itself out organically until the middle of 2023.”

The electronics industry has also been hit by other factors over the past few years, including shut downs that resulted from the outbreak of Covid-19. As an industry leader, VOXX has kept a close eye on changing trends within the industry. “I have been doing this for 45 years. I’ve seen shortages, strikes, high gas prices and surcharges, but I have never seen anything like the combination of supply chain issues that we have had to deal with over the last year,” Pat confides.

“That being said, some of the problems are improving, which is promising. I expect to see the situation improving gradually

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throughout 2022, and hopefully see some significant relief in 2023. I also expect that chip production will increase, as new fabrication plants come on-stream.

“We also see that container and equipment shortages that plagued us all last year are improving somewhat, but still not at the level we experienced pre-pandemic,” he continues.

“The general trend of improvement will continue, with the potential exception of air freight, which may take longer to recover.”

As the global supply chain continues to provide challenges, VOXX has developed various methods of ensuring it provides reliable services to its customers, as Pat

details: “There are some things we can do in response to these external factors that will help sustain the business. When we started to see the ports tie up, we moved some of our operations to different port locations that were less congested. We have been in business for about 60 years, so we

had a lot of strong partnerships overseas with carriers and freight forwarders; those relationships have been invaluable to the company.

“Additionally, we stretched out our delivery times from 30 days to 90 days from Asia, and 75 days from China,” he adds. “We were

Smart Glory Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd Smart Glory Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd (Smart Glory) was established in 1995, and is located in Shenzhen, China. Its factory plant hosts 6,000 square meters, employs nearly 500 people, and boasts an annual productive capacity of 20 million units.

The company is a collection of research and development, production, sales and services, and is mainly engaged with a series of speakers/drivers for TV/AV/ Sound Bar/Multimedia/tel-communication products.

The business obtained ISO9001 & ISO14001 certificates, which allow it to provide different customers with greener products of the best design, quality and service. These features won it praise and recognition from local and international customers. Its R&D center is equipped with standard Anechoic Chamber, electro-acoustic B&K tester, LMS computer analyzer, reliability laboratory equipment & tooling center.

In early 2021, it introduced semi-automated equipment in the workshop for better control and to guarantee quality and capacity, such as a voice diaphragm winding machine, inside magnetic circuit machine, automated dispensing machine, and automatic soldering machine.

Acoustic is Smart Glory’s key specialty, allowing it to be an acoustic solutions provider. For innovative products, it launched creative and stylish solutions, and developed drivers and speakers using new materials for professional headphones and speaker users.

With vertical integration, Smart Glory provides a total solution for customers. It has extensive experience and expertise in design and manufacturing, and its goal is to delight customers with acoustic products of the highest quality. The company continues to work in this direction all the time in order to improve profitability.

The sales and engineering team has over ten years’ experience in the acoustic industry for supporting high-end customers, and supporting projects for VOXX’s Acoustic Research & 808/Logitech/LUXSHARE/EPSON/DENON/JVCKEENWOOD/CVTE .

Let it leverage its extensive experience to bring you the solutions you need.

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VOXX International

fortunate that we had the capacity to carry extra inventory and support those longer lead times. Again, keeping an eye on trends across the supply chain helped us be effective in our reactions; when we noticed everything slowing down, we started ordering heavily, and bringing in product to make sure we had sufficient quantities of inventory for the holiday season.

“Last fiscal year, which ended February 28th, we achieved double-digit sales growth.

We implemented three price increases, in order to adjust to the rising cost of materials and shipping, and if things stay constant, we expect to have restored our historical margins within the next few months.”

Remaining keenly aware of industry trends, and reacting early to geo-political factors, has also contributed to the enduring success of VOXX. “We have utilized every resource at our disposal, and while you can’t plan for a 25 percent tariff increase, or war breaking out in Europe, you can use the data and information available to identify the problem and react early. I think that is one of the things that VOXX International has done exceptionally well, and will continue to do,” Pat affirms.

It is clear that VOXX responded effectively to the various supply-chain challenges that arose between 2020 and 2022. “From a topline revenue standpoint, we’ve had strong growth over the last few years. Our consumer

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VOXX International www.voxxintl.com Products and services: Supplier and manufacturer of automotive and consumer electronics

“

Last fiscal year, which ended February 28th, we achieved double-digit sales growth

“

business, led by our Klipsch audio brand, has performed very well. A few years ago, we collaborated with Amazon to bring FireTV to the automobile. Based on this collaboration, we have won $530 million in new awards for FireTV and other products we supply to the OEM market.

“We launch FireTV on the new Jeep Wagoner in September, and have worked on a number of other Jeep designs that will roll out later this year. In addition, we are doing business with Ford, which is moving over to Fire TV as well.”

Alongside these exciting new ventures, VOXX has recently acquired Onkyo, a leading supplier of premier AV technology. This opens up a whole new market for VOXX, as Pat confirms: “Prior to the acquisition, our premium audio business was limited primarily to high-end speakers, so this really opens up new avenues for VOXX. “Through Onkyo, we have added 80 new experienced engineers, and completed a joint venture with Sharp Electronics Malaysia, who will be manufacturing the product,” he goes on. “We expect this business to generate over $200 million in sales as we expand worldwide and resolve current supply chain issues.”

The success of VOXX illustrates just how powerful the force of innovation can be.

Responding efficiently to both market trends and supply chain pressures has seen the company continuously go from strengthto-strength, and there is no doubt that it will continue shaping the global electronics market with creative and exciting new technologies for generations to come. scw-mag.com

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