As Chinese New Year Holidays are upon us effective from 8 February 2016, a traditional peak in sea freight to Australia will be experienced. All facets of the supply chain will be under pressure prior to this holiday. Trucking shortages in China may prove challenging as importers rush to ship orders before this annual time of year begins. These celebrations can extend for up to 2 weeks and this year they are early in comparison to 2015. Will this increase in demand be enough to achieve carriers’ ambitious rate hikes? Or will the imbalance in supply versus demand continue to threaten hopes for rate restoration?

Read on to learn more on the import sea freight Australia market conditions for major lanes including North East Asia, South East Asia, the United States and Europe, plus details on the Australian Destination Charges Review being conducted by shipping lines. 

Globalisation has forced supply chains to become fast and complex. The complexity of operations in a supply chain comes from a number of variables that need to be monitored and managed in order to achieve a desired outcome. Furthermore, a complex supply chain has more interconnections and parameters that can sometimes be non-linear and chaotic. There is also the dynamic nature of the system where small disruptions at one end of the chain propagate through and magnify itself to a large swing at other end. All these aspects can create a complex supply chain operation.

If left unchecked by Logistics Managers and Freight Managers, these levels of complexity can result in decreased efficiency and in worst cases, lead to catastrophic failures. In order to manage supply chain complexities, 3PL partners in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or any other location in Australia that stay abreast of global changes and have experience and expertise to manage their part of the operational complexity are an ideal solution to take a major load off your shoulders. A 3PL in Brisbane is likely to understand these requirements and can assist with complex supply chain requirements.  

Read on to learn 3 ways a 3PL Brisbane can assist you to manage a complex supply chain.

International Commercial Terms (Incoterms®) play a significant role when you are importing or exporting goods in and out of all major cities of Australia including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Irrespective of whether it’s the finished product, Work in Progress (WIP) inventory or raw material that you are importing or exporting, Incoterms® are a set of rules which define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers for the delivery of goods under sales contracts. They define the commercial parts, respective responsibilities and risks of the importer and exporter involved in the transaction. As it is common that one or more freight forwarders take part in the movement of goods through the freight forwarding chain, an Incoterm also assists in deciding who will pay the freight forwarders for their part of work. Therefore, it is best to have crystal clear understanding of Incoterms® before you initiate any international freight forwarding movement.

Some companies mutually decide the Incoterms® without analysing its impact and the associated risks and costs while others understand the complexity and importance of choosing the right Incoterm for their shipment. Expert freight forwarders have a deep understanding of all series of Incoterms® (2000 and 2010) and who the responsibility lies with for the transaction. Consulting with experienced freight forwarding companies can assist your business to ensure a mutually beneficial Incoterm is selected for international sea freight and air freight services. 

Read on to learn 6 ways to ensure you have chosen the right freight forwarding Incoterm.

Importing freight into Australia can be complicated and staying up to date on the sea freight market can be confusing. BCR is a customer focused international sea freight and air freight forwarding provider that works with small, medium and large sized companies in Australia. Each month we publish a Global Market Update to assist companies in staying informed on the ever-changing import sea freight market.

In this short edition, quickly learn about major trade lanes including 50% of capacity being removed from the North East Asia to Australia trade, the increased fees from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection effective 1 January and what is happening with major shipping line consolidation. We have also included a link to a recent BCR Blog on the fast approaching commencement of the Chinese-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Read on to learn the current global market conditions as we reach year end.

Every supply chain is unique in its own way and ideally includes a series of well-defined and tightly managed operations. Factors such as a lack of operations planning, unplanned processes, an inadequate network and infrastructure, unskilled resources, lack of technology use and inexperienced managers lead to operational inefficiencies, which directly impact supply chain performance.

Managing these factors along with your core business can be challenging, costly, risky and may cripple growth. A well-conceived and closely managed supply chain is likely to include professional assistance for planning, management and continuous improvement. Proactive businesses are ideally aware of these factors and the potential impact on operational efficiencies, and engage professional and experienced 3PL providers in Melbourne to avoid and manage their operational inefficiencies.

Read onto to learn benefits 3PL providers in Melbourne can deliver to reduce operational inefficiencies.

Supply chain sustainability is becoming a more widely discussed issue these days as businesses are expected to take more responsibility for the impact their supply chain has on the environment. Businesses worldwide are responding by adopting a more holistic approach and taking part in initiatives that reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain. New metrics have been introduced to measure the impact and success of sustainability initiatives being undertaken.

As third party logistics (3PL) services form an integral part of a customer’s supply chain, smart businesses understand that they need to collaborate with a 3PL in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or any city within Australia that is aware of the challenges associated with building a sustainable supply chain. An expert 3PL is likely to have already implemented sustainability initiatives into their operations processes in some aspects of logistics including reducing carbon footprints while transporting goods, the optimal use of and recycling packaging material, conservation of energy used in warehouses and proper disposal of waste material. 

Read on to learn 4 ways a 3PL in Sydney can assist you in reducing your supply chain’s environmental impact and build a more sustainable operation in the process.

A supply chain is a network which strategically manages the flow of material, money and information. Thus to attain a consumer-centric, innovative, and efficient supply chain, collaboration amongst all companies involved is required. In the past, many functions were handled internally and a 3PL was used for their traditional services like freight forwarding, transportation or warehouse management.

However, the rapid pace of innovation within logistics and supply chain and the opportunities for improvement have pushed 3PL providers to evolve from providing simple logistics services to more comprehensive 3PL services. In today’s economic market, 3PL companies have redefined their role based on the strategic coordination of their customers’ supply chain activities and the services they provide have become key ingredients in a successful supply chain. 3PLs are delivering more value becoming a key partner to their customers and contributing to their competitive advantage.

Read on to learn how effective 3PL collaboration can act as a catalyst for the success of your supply chain.

Staying up to date on the sea freight market into Australia can be challenging. Rates from China had a dramatic increase in October as more capacity was removed from the trade.

Read on to quickly learn about the current sea freight market conditions for major trade lanes, cost cutting and consolidation at major shipping lines and the DAWR Cost Recovery changes for importers. 

BCR, a leading independent Australian freight forwarder and third party logistics provider today announced the promotion of Mr. Amjad (Roc) Najjar to the role of National Operations and Freight Forwarding Manager.

Mr. Najjar, who has over 25 years of air freight, sea freight and freight forwarding experience at Australian-owned and global freight forwarders, joined BCR in early 2008.

Many businesses from all industries and sectors know that it is best to focus on their core competencies and outsource parts of their operations to experts who can manage it for them. Outsourcing your warehouse operation to a third party logistics company is a common outsourcing practice followed by businesses worldwide.

However, smart businesses ideally want to know if they are overspending by engaging a third party logistics (3PL) provider. Learning if this is the case is not to difficult if you understand the costs associated with operating a warehouse for any given scale and delivering an expected level of service.

Read on to understand the costs associated with warehouse operations to learn whether you are overspending on using a 3PL warehouse.