CPG Companies Discuss Transportation Contingencies

Oct. 25, 2010
Transplace, provider of transportation management solutions and logistics technology, held its fourth annual CPG Summit with key consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to address industry challenges and strategies for dealing with those challenges. Hosted by Sunny Delight at its Cincinnati headquarters, representatives from Del Monte, Colgate-Palmolive and Clement Pappas participated in the open forum covering key issues, including: network optimization, truck capacity, collaboration and sustainability.

“We’ve taken an active stance when it comes to our social responsibility and sustainability efforts, and we use Transplace as a strategic partner for continuous improvement in this area,” said Jim Glendon, supply chain director for Sunny Delight. “Transplace assisted Sunny Delight in becoming a SmartWay partner, and they are also providing the necessary tools to help in meeting our sustainability goals. We continue to look for innovative ways to improve our operations and reduce our carbon footprint.”

Where truck capacity is concerned, attendees discussed how to prepare for a tightening. Options include establishing dedicated fleet programs, pursuing continuous moves/tours, and securing 12 to 18 month or longer carrier commitments.

“Transplace actively sets up dedicated fleets to help remedy this issue around truck capacity,” said Mark McEntire, vice president of operations at Transplace. “We also work with our customers on a varied mix of national, regional and niche carriers. Both of these available options make for a solid carrier strategy when approaching issues like capacity.”

Attendees reviewed their company networks to identify facilities that are in optimal locations to provide opportunities for transportation savings. The next factor covered was total product amount, a critical component for success in the management of product lines and infrastructures within existing networks.

Lastly, shipper collaboration was brought up, with a focus on how attendees could work more closely together using carrier bases across different regions of the country for collaborative moves, sharing capacity and the potential of sharing warehousing space.