At BCR, as a freight forwarder, customs broker and 3PL provider, we understand how challenging it can be to stay up to date with the frequent changes that happen within the sea freight, air freight and freight forwarding industry. To assist Logistics Managers and Managing Directors, we regularly update the market on the most relevant and the most important changes. In this blog, we will update you on changes that start coming into effect 1 April. These changes, which relate to increased surcharges from container terminals and toll road operators, are likely to impact all freight forwarding customers, any company that imports/exports to and from Australia and any business that uses the road network in Sydney and Melbourne.

Read on to learn what is changing so that you and your business can be prepared.

3PL companies provide cost effective, end-to-end supply chain logistics services to businesses. The services offered by 3PL providers include warehousing, freight forwarding, domestic transportation, customs clearance and value-added services. Many business owners and CEOs in Australia get the most out of their logistics with the assistance of professional 3PL providers. However, before you first engage with a 3PL company, there are a few facts to be aware of and some misconceptions that need to be clarified. Some common misconceptions associated with aligning with a third-party logistics company include increased overall costs, more hectic work, business security breaches and losing control over logistics operations.

However, in most cases, outsourcing to a 3PL provider assists in making a business more organised, efficient and profitable. The expertise and resources available from a third-party logistics provider assist in reducing overall costs and free up your in-house resources which enables you and your team to focus on growth plans for your business.

Read on to learn 5 facts about third-party logistics providers and how they can enable the growth of your company.

Excellent customer service is vital for the success of any business today, whether in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or any city in Australia.

Fulfilment of customer expectations and needs alongside management of costs, inventory and operational issues are essential, and require a versatile supply chain. Versatility allows your business to shape and mould according to evolving customer requirements.

Managing and maintaining a versatile supply chain in-house can be a costly and challenging task. Providers of 3PL Brisbane have been long-trusted to bring business customers economic solutions. Outsourcing your warehousing and or freight forwarding to a 3PL Brisbane will bring versatility to your supply chain, including versatile warehousing, technologies, transport solutions and value-added services.

Read on to discover how 3PL Brisbane increases business versatility and customer satisfaction.

As an international freight forwarder and 3PL provider, we are focused on being a source of information on matters that impact our valued customers. In this short update, quickly learn about the new format for packing declarations (mandatory to use by June 2017) and a change in container damage reports.

Chinese New Year 2017 is coming to a close and the international freight forwarding market is again in flux. For imports, blank sailings have been announced as the demand for sea freight space declines, and for exports, a lack of 20’ food quality (FQ) containers is frustrating exporters.  Read on to quickly learn about the international sea freight import market and export equipment.

Competition, globalisation and ease of substitution have increased the complexity for Logistics Managers in Australia. They know that every missed deadline has a direct impact on sales, brand image and business growth. Therefore, they are always under pressure when it comes to the selection of the best transportation mode to deliver their cargo securely and within the deadlines. Of the options for the transportation of products, the use of air freight to and from Australia is the best option if the goods must be delivered in a minimum timeframe. It is frequently used for carrying urgent, sensitive and time bound deliveries. Also, consider that it is the most expensive option and hence has to deliver on the purpose, which is mainly to meet the deadline. Smart business managers know that with features like high reliability, a large network, high availability and the availability of professional air freight forwarders in Australia, air freight is the ideal transportation mode to fuldeliver their cargo on time.

Read on to learn more about the features and services available with air freight in Australia and how this freight forwarding service can assist you in meeting your deadline.

A frequent question we are asked around this time of year is about Blank Sailings. A Blank Sailing is when an organised group of shipping lines omit specific sailings in order to decrease capacity which increases demand and price. Many times, Blank Sailings are part of a larger program called a Slack Season Program. Will Blank Sailings be active during the 2017 Chinese New Year Period? Read on to learn more.

Sea freight operations allow businesses to ship their bulky cargo economically and with a lower carbon footprint. To capitalise fully on the benefits of this mode of transport, certain tasks need to be completed. If not, there is the potential they will lead to sea freight failure, which can stop managers from achieving their targets. Poorly defined incoterms, inappropriate documentation, deficient packaging, incomplete communication and spot dealing are 5 main reasons. These reasons increase cost, delay the shipment and have a negative impact on brand image. All these reasons have an individual impact on sea freight and need special knowledge and attention. Many CEOs and Operations Managers in Australia understand that these situational reasons occur frequently and outsourcing to a professional freight forwarder in Australia assists them in eliminating these reasons to avoid sea freight failure.

Read on to learn 5 reasons for sea freight failure and how a professional freight forwarder can assist your business to eliminate them.

Sea freight is the lowest price mode of international transportation. When it comes to bulky and regular large volume shipments, businesses mostly rely on sea freight over air freight due to economy and the flexibility that it offers. While many Operations Managers believe that they are maximising their spend on sea freight, there may be more that you can do to get more out of it. In this blog, we will share 4 lesser-known solutions for using sea freight. These secrets include opting for single-window services negotiation, using a well-drafted yearly contract, impeccable documentation and getting a door-to-door solution. Apart from making your sea freight more economical, these solutions will also assist you to make your sea freight faster, more reliable and more customer-centric.

Read on to learn about 4 secrets that may assist you to make your sea freight operation more economical.

Managing the demand and supply gap effectively is a key responsibility area (KRA) for any Operations Manager. It’s a continuous challenge which requires managing uncertainty arising due to the two main factors of demand/supply quantity fluctuations and lead time deviations. While managing demand/supply fluctuations requires Operations Managers to work closely with sales and supplier organisations, pipeline stock and transport lead time deviations can be effectively reduced by engaging closely with experienced and professional providers of 3PL Brisbane. Experienced and professional providers of 3PL Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne understand the criticality of stock accuracy and transport lead time deviations in meeting demand while keeping the cost low. They assist in managing stock accuracy at various stocking points, deciding the optimal transport mode, providing complete supply chain visibility and bringing their long-established relationship for seamless execution to ensure minimum deviations in supply plans and schedules. This provides an advantage to their customers in minimising the impact of the demand-supply gap.

Read on to learn how advanced solutions developed by providers of 3PL Brisbane can assist in managing demand and supply efficiently.