Dear Ahab, With all the geopolitical turmoil and its effect on the supply chain, what is the best way to get ahead of the curve on geopolitics? – Port Proactive
Well, unless you’re able to broker peace on multiple international fronts, you are going to be at the mercy of the ebbs and flows of these geopolitical situations. Understand that diversions around Africa, or a war that impacts the Black Sea, are conditions that impact everyone, even the competitors you’re trying to outmaneuver. If you’ve worked with heady logistics consultants and made plans for every contingency, your supply chain playbook should stand up to whatever tests it faces.
The bottom line is that these planning phases are critical to keeping your supply chain functional. As we have all learned from the recent past, if there’s a leak in your logistics plan, whether it’s a vulnerability to strike, geopolitics, storms, or drought, today’s volatile market is sure to expose it. So, the best practice here is simple, plan ahead and create as many contingency plans as possible. Contingency planning in logistics has never been more important to international organizations.
Dear Ahab, I’ve been reading a lot about how vessel sharing alliances are shuffling this year, with Maersk joining Hapag-Lloyd, Premier Alliance pushing on without Hapag, and MSC striking out on its own. While the boardroom politics of these alliances could probably make for a good tv drama, I’m curious: How can I capitalize on the new alliance landscape as a customer? – Ally Cat
Dear Ally Cat: The best way to look at the reshuffling of alliances is to think of it like a reset for the shipping industry: Everyone’s going to unload cargo from their ships and reload based on who their new allies are. Carriers will need to get used to working with some new people, or without some old ones, and the impact of these changes will move right along to your cargo.
But remember, there are always growing pains with new alliances as the logistics of changing partnerships and relationships are highly complex. Therefore, if you are looking on finding ways to capitalize on the new alliances, the best thing to do is work with a logistics consultant who has very strong industry relationships. These relationships will allow them to advocate on your behalf if your cargo encounters delays while the new alliances work through their kinks. A seasoned and well-connected logistics consultant can also determine which new alliance might work best for you because they can tell you at the drop of a hat, “here’s who’s moving the most efficiently, here’s how you can capitalize.” Every alliance promises added efficiency and service reliability, but having someone reliable you can turn to who can confirm those promises is one of the best investments you can make.
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