Maneuvering freight through challenging international areas

Every month, Inbound Logistics magazine runs a “10 Tips” column, offering advice on a specific topic related to shipping and logistics. For the July issue, they asked us to put together some industry tips on “Maneuvering Freight Through Challenging International Areas.” I put together some of my thoughts on the subject, which were published this week.

I gave suggestions on locating an airport with customs facilities, finding local agents, navigating security and border issues, and various other tactics. These tips should be helpful to anyone looking to move freight into areas like Japan, with its continuing earthquake/tsunami recovery, or countries like Iraq or Afghanistan, where war has made transportation much more difficult.

To read my full list of tips, check out the piece on Inbound Logistics’ website. And if you have any questions on the topic, feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to get back to you.

Pilot Detroit doubles its footprint

Back in June I told you about the Pilot Houston station moving to a new space, and now the Detroit station has followed suit. As of a few weeks ago, all Pilot operations in Detroit are being housed at a new facility, more than double the size of their previous space. The move was necessitated by significant sustained growth across the station's domestic, international and home delivery business.

With this location change, the automotive group -- which was previously displaced due to a lack of room -- has moved back in with the rest of the Pilot group in Detroit.

I spoke with Zach Pollock, the station manager, who was very excited about the 12 dock doors in the new facility. The station recently launched a cartage trucking operation, which has been extremely successful thus far, but was limited by the old facility's limited number of docks. With this increased capacity, the team will be able to load and unload multiple trucks at once, increasing the flow of freight they can handle.

Congratulations to the team on the move!

Pilot Freight Services

11400 Metro Airport Center Dr., Suite 200

Romulus, MI 48174

Phone: 734-941-4090

FAX: 734-941-3677

Continue reading below for the press release we put out this morning on the news.

Pilot opens first European station

Back in January, I mentioned that there was big news coming for Pilot this year, including new locations both here in the states and abroad. After months of hard work by Gordon Branov, Gilles Auzanneau, Alexandra Ryan and many others, I am excited to announce that Pilot has opened its first European station, in Amsterdam.

Opening a full Pilot station in Amsterdam (AMS) will transform our company. Today, our customers' businesses often rely on international shipping or logistics. In order to offer the best possible customer service and transit times in Europe, as well as our sophisticated logistics solutions, we simply had to have our own people in place. And Amsterdam was the clear choice for where the first European station should go.

Amsterdam's Schipol airport and the Port of Rotterdam are two of the largest cargo portals in the world. Because of this, Amsterdam is home to enormous logistics programs, and is the perfect gateway to Western Europe. Its central location will allow us to offer overnight service to several major destinations, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland.

Additionally, AMS will give companies exporting freight from Europe easier access to our network in North America, Asia and many other countries around the world. While we expect much of the initial traffic through the Amsterdam station to be coming from the U.S. to European destinations, we anticipate that over time we'll see many more European companies taking advantage of our well-established domestic network.

The Amsterdam station will be managed by two Pilot veterans, Gilles Auzanneau and Alexandra Ryan. These long-time Pilot employees and international shipping experts are both previous winners of Pilot's Globetrotter award, and will bring the mix of operational and sales expertise that our customers expect from Pilot. The station will be overseen by our executive vice president of business development, Gordon Branov.

This is an important shift for Pilot. It marks our commitment to our international product, and stakes our claim as a global force in transportation and logistics. We expect AMS to lead to additional stations in other international locations. Stay tuned for more announcements later this year!

Pilot Houston moves up in the world

As Pilot has grown and expanded as a company, stations across the country have found it necessary to move to larger facilities to keep up with that growth. The latest station to make their move is Houston, which has moved into a new location, adjacent to the Houston Intercontinental Airport. The new facility features over 18,500 square feet of warehouse space (compared to 9,950 sq. ft. at the old location) and more than 3,000 sq. ft. of office space (up from 1,750).

I spoke with Brian Nelson, District Manager for the Houston station, who explained that recent growth—in terms of both business and personnel—precipitated this move. Over the past 12 to 15 months, the station has taken on at least five new warehousing customers, whose freight is shipped to the warehouse, where it is inventoried and stored, and eventually shipped out domestically.

In addition to obvious advantages of having more space to work with, Brian expressed to me that he is happy to be in a brand new space that is better equipped to host meetings with customers, and to showcase Pilot's offerings.

Congratulations to the team in Houston on the big move!

Pilot Freight Services

18951 Kenswick Drive, Suite 160

Humble, TX 77338

Phone: (281) 590-1197 

Fax: (281) 590-1582

How valuable is your 3PL?

After putting together her last article on how 3PLs can minimize risks and handle challenges, Gail Dutton from WT100 Magazine turned her attention to how 3PL providers can provide the most value to customers.

When I spoke with her on the topic, we discussed the importance of various factors in the 3PL relationship, including having a strong process in place and having good local knowledge, particularly in the case of international imports and exports.

As I told Gail, the key to success in the logistics process is to “partner with the right vendor and document expectations as well as how the process will actually work. Having a clear statement of work, and understanding what the customer wants, makes it easier to design an efficient system for them.”

To read the full article, head over to the WT100 website.

Starting out 2011 on a high note

Considering the fact that Pilot achieved such amazing milestones in 2010, it may seem hard to believe that the first quarter of 2011 brought in 34 percent higher revenue than Q1 of last year. Well, believe it!

At our National Sales Meeting in March, I told the Pilot team that we expect to hit $500 million in revenue for the year. And with a nearly $115 million Q1, we're well on the way to hitting that mark.

I have to give a special shout out to our automotive group, which had an impressive first quarter compared to last year, marking 13 percent growth and setting a new bar for themselves. The business unit is an area that we see great potential in, and I'm thrilled to see them doing so well.

For more information, read our full press release below.

Risks and challenges in the 3PL world

Earlier this year, I spoke with one of the writers from WT100, Gail Dutton (who interviewed John Kelemen last year), and her latest story has come out—focusing on how 3PLs can minimize risks. In the article, Getting Past the Fear Factor, Gail addresses various issues of concern for shippers, ranging from delays and damaged cargo to civil unrest and regulatory changes. More importantly, she covers how 3PLs and transportation providers are helping their customers navigate these issues.

I talked to Gail a lot about how Pilot is helping our clients move into new markets—specifically in Latin America and Europe. We're seeing more and more customers showing interest in Latin America, thanks to the closeness to U.S. markets, and the availability of inexpensive labor. I explained that one of the best tactics in working internationally can be choosing great local partners. These partners are carefully vetted by us, but often have far more expertise on their region than we do, allowing our customers to benefit from that knowledge.

We also spoke about the growing trend of "merge and deliver" services, and how these can really help ensure customer satisfaction. Historically, manufacturing or service companies would ship parts directly to the customer before an install. That led to delays and confusion, as components were invariably misplaced. However, merge and deliver services eliminate that issue by having the different deliveries ship to Pilot sites. Before an installation team is scheduled, Pilot confirms that all the components have arrived at its warehouse, and coordinates their delivery with the installation team and the store.

To read the full story, head over to WT100’s website.