Shippers hit out at fluctuating rates, unreliable servises

Fluctuating freight rates and uncertain service reliability are currently plaguing international shippers, according to speakers at the recent TOC Container Supply Chain Europe 2012 conference in Antwerp, Belgium. According to a TOC release, freight rate stability, price transparency, service reliability and better forecasting are critical factors for improved container supply chain efficiency, being the consensus thinking at its conference. For example, Jason Keegan, head of logistics at Marks & Spencer, said that ocean shipping lines needed to think more like their customers and be “really” innovative. For many years the UK’s largest clothing retailer, M&S is fast developing into an international operation with over 370 stores globally and a focus on emerging markets, a strategy that will require a major restructuring of its global supply chain, according to Keegan. It currently sources from 750 factories with 300 suppliers globally. He maintained that complex supply chains not only needed higher service levels from carriers, but genuine interaction with all stakeholders in the logistics process. At the same time he questioned why the shipping industry could not deliver better reliability, and highlighted rapidly fluctuating freight rates and service changes/ closures with little or no notification as further evidence of lessthan- optimal customer service. This freight rate volatility tended to be the common chain of thought that ran through the conference.