Air freight continues to be an important mode for international freight forwarding in Australia and it is predominately used to transport high-value and time-critical goods to and from major capital cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Each week we receive a number of air freight quote enquiries from business owners seeking the fastest, cost effective air freight service. It is important for customers to check the air freight forwarder has a robust and effective operations strategy in place that defines their rules of engagement to ensure you receive a fast, cost effective air freight solution from an engaged provider that also focuses on customer relationships.

The majority of the companies that we speak with have multiple air freight shipments each quarter and therefore it is vital that you experience a 3PL relationship that is a partnership, not a commodity. To achieve a satisfactory service level, businesses ideally select providers that have certain management and engagements tactics in place to ensure the relationship stays engaged and is managed well.

Read on to learn 4 key tactics to look for that will enable the relationships between your business and a 3PL freight forwarder to grow and prosper.

Traditionally, managing a supply chain was a simple concept which predominately manufactured identical bulk products and made them available to market. Over a period of time, globalisation, technology and innovation has increased the need to customise products according to customer demand. Industries ranging from building materials, automobiles, electronics and consumer goods to apparels customise their goods as per the customers’ requirement to maintain a competitive edge.

When a company decides to customise its products, the diversity and innovation demands corresponding to the product may present a supply chain challenge. This challenge ideally needs to be overcome by customising your supply chain. Many businesses understand that customising their supply chain independently can be a huge task and choose to collaborate with a 3PL in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth to leverage the proficiency, networks and resources they have readily available.

Read on to learn 4 ways a 3PL Melbourne can assist you to customise your supply chain.

At BCR, in addition to being an international freight forwarder and 3PL provider with 7 warehouse locations across Australia, we work with air freight, sea freight and 3PL specialists to bring you useful information on air freight, sea freight and 3PL. While our usual blog content is focused on delivering interesting information for our customers, sometimes we share useful freight forwarding industry sector knowledge that supports us to continually evolve as a specialist 3PL provider and international freight forwarder.

Since the announcement of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that is scheduled to come into force over the next 12-36 months, we have started to explore how we, as an international air freight and sea freight forwarder, can leverage the agreement to be able to provide more transparent and predictable air freight, sea freight and logistics services to our customers. With a deep understanding that Australia’s transport and logistics services exports were valued at $2.8 billion in 2014, we see the TTP as significant expansion opportunity being that it is a regional Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiated between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Read on to learn how the transport and logistics TPP outcomes will enable expert 3PL providers to expand their air freight, sea freight, supply chain and logistics services.

Consolidation and deconsolidation are two important parts of many supply chains that can greatly assist businesses to achieve higher order fulfilment rates, optimised economic order sizes and help control costs. However, to achieve these benefits the planning should be robust with seamless execution. Smart businesses understand that their stakes in running consolidation and deconsolidation programs are very high and there is the real possibility of failure.

To avoid failure, smart businesses often engage experienced freight forwarders that have a demonstrated capability to consolidate and deconsolidate goods. Placed higher in the logistics value-chain, consolidation and deconsolidation operations are much more complex simple freight forwarding such as moving full container load (FCL) or less than a container load (LCL) of sea freight or air freight. It requires deep understanding of requirements, precise planning, agile operations and innovative IT systems to support such operations. Professional and experienced freight forwarders have developed all this expertise over a period of time and can deliver results for their customers.

Read on to learn 5 essential things freight forwarders assist with in consolidation and deconsolidation programs.

Each week we receive a number of enquiries from customers seeking a cost effective air freight quote to move their goods fast. As a leading international air freight forwarder, BCR has been generating air freight quotes for varying weights, volumes, dimensions and delivery timeframes for decades to ensure customers have their goods transported by the most time and cost effective air freight service.

It’s important for a customer to understand the type of carriers that are available and their schedules, if they have larger volumes and whether a passenger aircraft with a cargo allotment or a chartered aircraft will better suit their needs.

Read on to learn the service options for an air freight quote and the pros and cons to consider when thinking about an air freight charter.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has announced a new container weight verification requirement that will come into force as of 1 July 2016. As a global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping, the IMO is responsible to provide the shipping industry with a regulatory framework that is fair and effective, and can be universally adopted and implemented across the globe.

The new container weight verification regulation will be introduced as a result of the announced amendments to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea Convention) whereby as a condition for loading a packed container onto a ship for export, the container must have a verified weight. From 1 July 2016, shippers will be legally responsible for the verification of the packed container’s weight for all national and international sea freight.

Read on to learn what shippers and freight forwarders need to know about sea container weight verification requirements in 2016.

Executing a supply chain network on your own can be a humongous task with simultaneously securing your warehousing, transportation, distribution and freight forwarding functions. Even if you are only focused on developing one warehouse per state such as Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, it can be a challenge. Smart businesses understand the challenges they may experience executing on their own and tend to work with an established 3PL in Sydney to leverage industry expertise, networks, experience and resources.

A 3PL in Sydney is likely to have extensive experience servicing large customer bases and can therefore implement and execute faster for you and your business. An expert 3PL in Sydney will ideally have warehouse options ready to store your products in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Townsville, Adelaide, or Perth and established freight and land transportation linkages for first and last mile movements. 

Read on to learn 6 reasons to choose a 3pl that can assist you to execute your supply chain faster.

Outsourcing logistics to third party logistics companies is a strategic decision for any business. Businesses have many factors to consider when making a decision to outsource part of all of their logistics. These factors include the availability of capital required to set-up logistics, technology to run and automate operations, expert personnel including scalable operational teams and the ability to keep pace with overall business growth while running logistics in-house.

Smart businesses know that in today’s economic climate they need to be highly competitive and stay focussed on their core competencies as opposed to doing everything in-house. Outsourcing functions like logistics to third party logistics companies can deliver you with more time so you can focus on growing your business.

Read on to learn 4 things to consider when making your ‘to outsource or not outsource decision'.

Warehouse optimisation is an important part of the logistics function and remains a top priority for supply chain managers whether they are looking for a new set-up or improving an existing one. Whilst location and customer service levels represent major strategic elements, warehousing and associated costs form a considerable percentage of total supply chain costs. Accordingly, optimisation might enable supply chain managers to achieve higher order fulfilment rates while keeping costs low, and thus improving the bottom line for their businesses.

A third party logistics provider (3PL) in Brisbane can assist you to have an optimised warehouse solution at the right location by running efficient warehouse processes based on an optimal warehouse layout. Supported by the latest information technology your cargo is stored based on product characteristics. Further, the 3PL provider will seek to continuously improve operational performance to achieve highest efficiency levels.

Read on to learn 5 ways you can achieve warehouse optimisation with a 3PL in Brisbane.

Setting-up a warehouse is a tedious exercise.The first factor to consider is the sourcing of a suitable location that fits into your overall distribution strategy. As a business that is focused on customer satisfaction, you may want to be closer to your target markets which could mean constructing several warehouses which are closer to high consumer areas. Additional steps in the process include investigating potential sites, seeking construction services, planning the warehouse lay-out, setting up the warehouse infrastructure, designing the warehouse processes and selecting and training the manpower. 

It can take several months and a hefty investment of capital before your warehouse is operational. It is also worth considering the amount of time and hassle that is involved to set up the new warehouse and get your business expansion off the ground. Alternatively, you can utilise a 3PL warehouse to manage the fulfilment of your supply chain. A professional 3PL warehouse will customised its set up to your needs in a matter of days and assist you with a quicker implementation of a new warehouse location Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Townsville, Cairns or for that matter anywhere in Australia.

Read on to learn 4 ways to quickly implement of a new location with a 3PL warehouse.