UPS INTERVIEW
The reduced air freight capacity saw UPS advise customers to look to alternatives – diversifying transportation modes on the cross-border side – such as sea / air , less than container load ( LCL ), and rail .
“ Those products existed in the UPS Supply Chain Solutions business unit ,” he says . “ A lot of customers wanted to make sure that their freight coming from Asia was able to reach either the Americas or Europe . Utilising various transportation modes is part of the supply chain reconfiguration . It was set before the pandemic , but accelerated by COVID-19 .”
The trade dispute between the US and China caused many customers to look at shifting their production , or at least reviewing their production , from China to Southeast Asia – countries like Vietnam and Indonesia .
“ We also saw a desire from customers to shorten the supply chain by near-shoring . I think it ' s going to prompt more and more
“ The digital revolution is underway and supply chain is no exception ”
PHILIPPE GILBERT PRESIDENT
UPS SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS ,
interest in shorter supply chains in the Americas and in Europe . It ' s something we are following closely , and also talking about with our customers . We can help them solve those complex supply chain problems .”
One key aspect of ‘ new normal ’ business that we keep hearing about from senior executives is the increasing need for collaboration . Rather than losing ‘ control ’ of processes , collaboration with trusted service providers can support economies of scale , greater flexibility , reduced risk and more expertise .
“ We are talking with a number of service providers to see how we can together support our customers ,” says Gilbert . “ Innovation is a key element of success and we are focusing
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