It has been some time since the UK and EU agreed to an extension of Article 50 and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit hangs over UK and EU businesses once again. The new UK Prime Minister and his cabinet are seemingly intent on leaving the EU on the 31^st October regardless. The UK Parliament has various factions planning ways to a try and stop a no deal exit from the EU and the EU seem equally unwilling to budge on the integrity of the single market even if that means a no-deal Brexit.

The Brexit uncertainty continues

Although the UK Government has tried to inject some certainty, conflicting statements such as the chances of a no-deal Brexit are ‘a million to one’ when also “turbo charging” no-deal preparations does little to help companies decide when to commit to no-deal solutions. 

As the transportation landscape continues to change, it is creating expanded opportunities for 3PLs to grow their transportation business, provide a better customer experience, and create innovative new services. To capitalize on these opportunities, 3PLs need to balance agility, staff costs, and freight margin to ensure their growth is scalable. With new capabilities for the Descartes Transportation Manager™ solution, our customers have new tools and capabilities to take advantage of these types of growth opportunities.

While last year the transportation sector contended with the great capacity crunch, this year, with dropping rates, 3PLs are focused on ensuring network fit and differentiating through value-added services. Descartes has significantly expanded its transportation capabilities to better serve 3PLs. These capabilities include:

A couple of weeks ago SCLA (Supply Chain Leaders in Action) held its annual conference in Fort Meyers, Florida. The event brings together thought leaders from a spectrum of companies including shippers, road carriers, rail carriers, ports, 3PLs, and software providers. It was my first year attending, and I was struck by the collaborative culture of learning and innovation among companies and competitors. My participation was in the transportation area, and I have summarized the event to help share the insights I took from the event.

Supply chain optimization software can help identify missed opportunities

Optimization technologies are powerful tools for improving supply chain performance; however, most companies leave lots of money on the table when they deploy them. Getting the most from them requires that companies spend time thinking about how they will be applied, how they will measure the results and how to define success. The following points hold true whether optimizing across your private fleet, optimizing your freight with third-party carriers or optimizing across suppliers and partners.