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Some are serious, some are a stretch, but there's no denying that this year's list is exceedingly influential.
Maybe some aren’t so fabulous, but they’re significant in their own right. This year’s eclectic list of the people, places, and things that are shaping global trade has a fair amount of villains to offset the victors, which seems to accurately reflect the mixed bag that was 2009.
So what’s getting a lot of play this time? Energy (where we’re going to get it, in what form, and at what price), and money (where we’re going to get it, in what form, and at what price). In other words, volatile fuel prices are once again a top concern, however the promise of renewable energy is definitely a bright spot. At the same time, we’re finally pulling out of a serious recession that not only dampened trade, but trade finance and investment.
Thankfully, the counterbalance has been provided by motivators, educators, and downright tenacious people who continue to inspire with new ideas, innovations, and business insights that make putting together a list like our Fabulous 50+1 both fun and thought-provoking.
- Lara L. Sowinski
The Olympics and World Cup
Global sporting events on the scale of the Olympics and the World Cup are catalysts for massive infrastructure build-outs. In 2008, Beijing’s rail and airport facilities and systems technologies got a major overhaul, not to mention upgrades to roadways, buildings, and other structures. Even the public’s perception of “Brand China” moved up the rankings, according to Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index. Now it’s South Africa’s turn and the payoff will be no less dramatic. Aside from the infrastructure improvements, “the indirect impact may be more meaningful for a sustainable economic lift in subsequent years…it will help change the perceptions that a large number of foreign investors hold of Africa and South Africa,” remarked Standard Bank economist Goolam Ballim.CrisisCommons
Founded in March 2009, CrisisCommons is a “mash-up” of citizen volunteers, IT professionals, crisis response organizations, relief agencies, and non-profits who set up CrisisCamps to deal with events like the Haitian earthquake and the Gulf Coast oil spill. Following the Haitian earthquake, CrisisCommons set up social networks for people to find missing friends and family, generated maps of affected areas, and created inventories of needed items such as food and clothing. The nimble, collaborative nature of the CrisisCommons network is a good one for supply chain executives to emulate.
Steve Jobs
First, some staggering stats: In January, Apple sold its 250 millionth iPod. In February, the company’s iTunes store sold its 10 billionth song. The man behind the success is Steve Jobs, of course. Last November, Fortune named Jobs “CEO of the Decade” and said history will remember him as “an individual who relentlessly pursued new opportunities,” chasing “new possibilities without being deterred by whatever obstacles he encountered.” Without a doubt, Apple is golden-even when its iPad supply chain experienced snags, the company chocked it up to “surprisingly strong” demand, and hardly anyone seemed to mind. Maybe that’s because Jobs and Apple are “building a whole experience and culture around that technology,” observed one analyst.National Export Initiative
President Obama’s goal is to double U.S. exports over the next five years and support 2 million jobs in the process. Small- and medium-sized enterprises stand to benefit the most from the National Export Initiative with improved access to credit for exports and help with connections to overseas buyers. During the first three months of 2010, the U.S. Ex-Im Bank authorized $1 billion in small business financings and added 112 new small business clients-many of whom were first-time exporters.100 Percent Air Cargo Screening
The pending implementation of 100 percent air cargo screening for freight carried on passenger aircraft, set to take effect in August, could potentially cause significant disruption for global supply chains. Insiders worry that the industry, both carriers and the shipping community, aren’t prepared with either the proper equipment or processes to handle the stringent screening rules. Worse yet, some seem to think that the DHS will delay implementation-that’s denial we can’t afford.Avalanche
The Avalanche phishing gang is an electronic crime syndicate that used advanced malware to rack up two-thirds of all phishing attacks detected worldwide in the second half of 2009, targeting some 40 banks and online service providers, as well as vulnerable or non-responsive domain name registrars and registries, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). “The losses by banks and individual Internet users were staggering,” noted the director of Key Account Management and Domain Security at Afilias, a global provider of Internet infrastructure services. The good news is that the industry has developed some very effective counter-measures. A coordinated action against Avalanche’s infrastructure, starting last November, has led to an ongoing, significant reduction in attacks through April 2010.Clean Truck Programs
Los Angeles-Long Beach. New York-New Jersey. Seattle-Tacoma. Oakland. Houston. The Port of Virginia. The list of U.S. port complexes that have implemented clean truck programs continues to expand. Diesel pollution from trucks has been slashed by 80 percent at the port of LA-LB, with particulate matter (toxic soot) cut by 200 tons annually and nitrogen oxides cut by 74 percent. The programs aren’t without controversy, but overall they’re supported by the trade and certainly by the communities that surround the ports.The Aerotropolis
The aerotropolis concept was coined by John D. “Jack” Kasarda, and is described as the transformation of city airports into airport cities. According to the aerotropolis.com web site: “Major airports have become key nodes in global production and enterprise systems offering them speed, agility, and connectivity. They are also powerful engines of local economic development, attracting aviation-linked businesses of all types to their environs…time-sensitive manufacturing and distribution; hotel, entertainment, retail, convention, trade and exhibition complexes; and office buildings that house air-travel intensive executives and professionals.” The next aerotropolis could develop around the Piedmont Triad International Airport, which boasts a supporting web of rail and highway routes that could eventually link to major ports in South and North Carolina.Online Trading Portals and Platforms
Bringing traders together to enhance visibility and collaboration continues to gain traction, especially as companies like GT Nexus raise the bar. Currently, GT Nexus is the world’s only industry-backed, on-demand global trade and logistics control platform. Over 40,000 registered users, including buyers, sellers, banks, and logistics providers use the GT Nexus “pay as you go” model to optimize the global flow of goods and trade information from order point to final payment. Customers include Nestlé, Xerox, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, Weyerhaeuser, and The Home Depot.
Eyjafjallajokull
Let’s just call it Iceland’s volcano-the one that grounded air traffic in Europe, and by extension throughout the world, for days, which aside from the passenger nightmare caused a major migraine for supply chains. Playing the ‘what if’ game with supply chains never gets boring with plenty of natural disasters to go around.Banks--the Ones that are Lending Again
Trade finance took a hard hit as the global economy stumbled this past year or so, but finally the purse strings seem to be loosening. Commercial banks are lending more, report traders, and certainly the U.S. Ex-Im Bank is doing its part to grease the financial wheels. Also helping are a number of new, or at least improved, products and services that are making it easier for traders to qualify for trade finance.Worldport
The $1 billion expansion of UPS’ Worldport hub in Louisville, Kentucky-the most technologically advanced air package sorting facility in the world-was completed this spring after four years of work. The beefed up facility increases package-processing capacity by almost 20 percent and increases the number of aircraft parking bays at the facility to seventy.Biofuels
We’re all familiar with common biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. However, there are some more exotic ones that could one day be equally prevalent, such as algae and geobacter. Several test flights have already been conducted with plant-based fuels made by UOP, a division of Honeywell. “The properties of the fuel are fabulous,” reported an executive with Boeing. The fuel does not freeze at high-altitude temperatures, delivers the same or more power to the engines, and is lighter, as well.CargoNet
Launched earlier this year, CargoNet is a national database and information sharing system between industry and law enforcement designed to reduce cargo theft in the U.S. The initiative couldn’t be more timely-cargo theft is on the rise, in part because of the economy, but also because more product value is being transported in trailers these days. “It’s relatively easy now for individual loads to contain $1 million worth of cargo. And if the thieves get caught, we’d be lucky if they’d get six months of jail time,” noted an executive from Schneider National in an interview with Fleet Owner.Robotics
A survey conducted by the UK’s Material Handling Industry Association finds that automated order picking and palletizing are some of the operations that companies are currently looking to automate, and robotics will help them reach that goal. While the automotive and electronics sectors have used robotics for years, more recent growth has occurred in the consumer goods sector, particularly food, beverage, and pharmaceuticals.Food Chain Security
The farm-to-fork concept is appetizing when you’re shopping at the local farmers’ market, but “from where?”-to-fork is the scenario for most of the U.S. food chain. Recent news reports of Americans getting sick from spinach, beef, and peanut butter, with the FDA unable to identify the grower, means the time is ripe for a genuine change in how we track and trace something as important as the food we consume. The technology is there, now it’s about putting the process in place.The Great Recession
Yes, it was truly a game-changer. It re-ordered our world in myriad ways, not just economically, but behaviorally as well. On the positive side, it forced global supply chains to rethink operations, strategies, and ‘adapt or die.’ For example, the level of collaboration among supply chain partners (and even competitors) post-recession has reached epic levels.Wales: A Small Country with Big Energy Ambitions
Welsh coal fueled the Industrial Revolution in Britain, and now the country is making a wholesale embrace of renewables as a clean and sustainable power source for the future. Marine sources will be tapped for about half of Wales’ renewable energy sources, a third will come from wind, and the remainder will come mainly from biomass. Some of the companies at the forefront of the renewables effort include Sharp Electronics, which operates one of the company’s most technically advanced solar module manufacturing plants in Wrexham; Dyesol, a leading developer of third generation solar cell technology; Pure Wafer in Swansea; and Western Wood Energy Plant in Port Talbot, the country’s first commercial scale biomass project.Regulatory Overload
ACE. OASIS. C-TPAT. 10+2. PREDICT. The acronyms go on forever in the world of U.S. government regulations and foreign trade. Since 9/11, the pace has quickened due to the heightened focus on securing the supply chain. The trick is striking a balance between trade facilitation and security, and that’s TBD.Wal-mart
The 800-pound gorilla in the room is going green in a big way, and their sustainability efforts earn the world’s largest retailer a spot on this year’s list. Not only will the company’s commitments to sustainability prompt profound changes throughout its massive supplier network, the steps Wal-mart is taking will reverberate far and wide in the supply chain world.Sweden
The country held on to its number one spot as the most competitive economy in the European Union, followed by Finland and Denmark, according to the World Economic Forum study released in May. However, “While some progress has been made, much remains to be achieved in order to fully harness Europe’s economic potential,” Klaus Schwab, the WEF’s founder and chairman, said in a statement. “Accelerating the reform process” across the EU “will be critical for ensuring that the region gets back to growth,” he said.New Orleans
You can’t keep a good city down. Hurricane Katrina tried, but the city rallied back with a commitment to improve living conditions, schools, and diversify its business community. In the foreign trade sector alone, the opportunities that exist in the New Orleans region today far exceed those that existed pre-Katrina, and that’s saying a lot because the city was already a dynamic player on the global trade stage. Obviously, the impact of the BP oil spill is a terrible blow, especially to the fishing industry. But given the tenacity of the people in New Orleans, there’s no doubt they will find a way to emerge stronger after this punch too.DENSO's Barcode Scanner
The DENSO ADC QK12 scanner can read barcodes displayed on the LCD screens of cell phones and other mobile devices. Unlike conventional scanners, the QK12 picks up differing contrasts, colors, and reflections, even when the lighting’s bad. When a user holds a mobile phone up to the scanner, it automatically senses a barcode is present and immediately reads it. A USB port allows quick connection to a PC.
Cargoshell
A collapsible shipping container made of composite materials that are not only lighter than steel, and therefore cheaper to transport, but space-saving, better at controlling temperature, and more energy efficient. Cargoshells can also be fitted with float bags that together with the built-in GPS can make them easier to retrieve if they go overboard.The Return of Customer Service
Remember when the customer was king? The silver lining of the global recession cloud has been a return to a more honest and, well, respectful business climate. That’s right, many shippers and suppliers that WT100 has spoken to over the past year say that despite the dismal economy, the willingness to maintain and improve relationships has been quite evident. The lesson: remember who your customers are when times are good, and they’ll be there when times are tough.Skype
All you need is a computer, an Internet connection, and a webcam for video calls, and you can ‘Skype’ your overseas office for free. The voice-over-Internet service, which boasts more than 560 million users worldwide, last month added group video chat to its menu of services. Although it’s free now, Skype plans to eventually charge for the group video chat service.
Indra Nooyi
PepsiCo is the largest food and beverage company in North America and CEO Indra Nooyi has a recipe for success. For starters, she wants to cut back on sodium in the company’s snack foods by 25 percent by 2015, trim saturated fat by 15 percent and added sugars in drinks by 25 percent by 2020. The company’s first quarter profit was boosted by growth in international markets and improved supply chain efficiencies.Boeing's 787 Dreamliner
Boeing’s long range, mid-sized airliner is the most fuel-efficient jet in the world and the first from a major manufacturer to use composite materials for most of its construction. The technologically advanced 787 will also provide airlines with up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity.Cloud 2.0
Simply put, making software available online, or in the cloud, with a “pay as you go” model has been finally taking off in the mainstream. But hold onto your apps, because Cloud 2.0 is right around the corner, says Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce.com. “It’s about enabling a whole new level of capabilities for business users delivered on the next generation of BlackBerries, iPhones, and iPads. It’s about all these cloud services providing a greater level of collaboration, social computing, communication, entertainment, and information management,” he says.TIGER Grants
The TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provides $1.5 billion for roughly 50 rail, transit, intermodal, port, bridge, and highway projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia. “TIGER grants will tackle the kind of major transportation projects that have been difficult to build under other funding programs,” commented U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.The BRIC Countries
Brazil, Russia, India, and China, or the BRIC countries, comprise a powerhouse bloc of emerging countries that in addition to helping drive the global economy, represent a goldmine for U.S. traders not only as a source of cheap manufacturing, but as a growing destination for American goods and services. And, Asia is a hotbed for innovation-161 of the U.S. Fortune 500 have established R&D centers in China and India and more are planned.Green Warehouses
Modern warehouses are leaner, greener, and cheaper to operate. Roofing applications cut down on heating/cooling costs and even support solar panels or gardens, lighting designs optimize sunlight and energy efficiency, while landscaping reduces unnecessary mowing and irrigation and promotes graywater processing. Green goes hand-in-hand with lean, and shows up on the bottom line.Boxes--Thinking Outside Them, and About Them
Smart supply chains are incorporating redesigned packaging to optimize shipping while simultaneously improving the environment. Consumer packaged goods companies like P&G, for instance, have slimmed down packages and cartons to get more product into ocean containers and truck trailers, while biodegradable materials are increasingly being used to lessen the impact on planet earth.Don Krusel
Prince Rupert Port Authority President & CEO Don Krusel makes the cut for his vision and hard work towards putting the Port of Prince Rupert on the map. Although it’s a relatively new player in the Asia-U.S. trade lane for containerized cargo, the port’s been making impressive strides in the past few years. Equally important is the economic impact the port has had on British Columbia’s northern communities and western Canada. A study released in April shows that port-related activities are annually contributing C$280 million in GDP and C$500 million in economic output for regional and provincial economies, along with 2,700 full-time jobs.The Water Disclosure Questionnaire
A decade ago, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) took the lead in getting companies across the global to report on their carbon footprint. In April, the UK-based organization began sending out a Water Disclosure Questionnaire to the largest 300 global companies, with the results to be summarized in a report in late 2010. According to Will Sarni, founder and CEO of Domani Consulting, “I fully expect the CDP Water Disclosure Questionnaire to be transformative in terms of raising awareness of water as a strategic business initiative.”Burning Man
Described as “an annual art event and temporary community based on radical self expression and self-reliance in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada,” for logistics wonks it’s a classic study in getting stuff from point A to B with limited to zero infrastructure, harsh conditions, marginal room for error, and a requirement to tread lightly on the environment. Setting up the temporary Burning Man community involves more than just the art, it’s generators, light and radio towers, Artica (the ever popular ice sales), and of course, porta potties.Dynalifter
While the appearance may be similar, that’s only one of a few things this airship shares with its blimp cousins. Defense contractors were initially excited about the possibilities of dropping huge payloads and cargo pods in remote locations, but the prospects for project cargo are just as enticing. Think power plants in Africa, infrastructure projects in China-anywhere you need to get heavy equipment and materials in place without the road- or water-ways to help transport them.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
The U.S. military has a solid reputation for championing logistics best practices and the private sector has benefited from many of these advancements. But now, like organizations in the private sector, the Department of Defense is under pressure to rein in spending, and one area under review is logistics. While the military’s spending in prior years operated like a “gusher,” according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, that’s being “turned off, and will stay off for a good period of time.” Secretary Gates is starting with reform of “steep institutional and political challenges,” however he’s also adding incentives for more weapons spending if other costs are reduced. It seems this time that private sector best practices, of the management kind, may now benefit the military.Rising Fuel Prices
The wild card is here to stay, especially now that the economy is showing signs of life again. This one variable has the power to throw the best supply chain planning and landed cost analysis into a tailspin. What’s worse is there’s not much that companies can do as a contingency when their sourcing strategy is entrenched in a single country. How high will fuel prices go this year? Good question.SmartWay and the EPA
The EPA launched SmartWay in 2004 to boost the transportation industry’s environmental performance. Today, over 2,000 organizations are participating in the program, ranging from trucking firms, railroads, and retailers, including Wal-Mart, Nike, Sharp Electronics, and Tyson Foods. SmartWay-certified carriers also make it easier for shippers to measure their supply chain’s carbon footprint.Heartland Corridor
Modifying bridges to accommodate double-stack trains from the Port of Virginia to Chicago will shave 200 miles off the existing route and one day’s transit time. The Heartland Corridor is due to open this summer and is another example of North America’s railroad resurrection. Meanwhile, the Crescent Corridor rail route is being studied-it would cross 14 states and eventually connect Texas and New Jersey.U.S. Automakers in China, Foreign Automakers in the U.S.
General Motors and Volkswagen are now China’s best-selling automakers, and in 2009, GM sold a record 1.09 million vehicles in China. Meanwhile, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW all have manufacturing facilities in the U.S. Not only are supply chains more complex today, the sourcing and production inputs that make up finished goods certainly aren’t as clear cut as they once were. The auto industry alone illustrates how futile (and nearly impossible) it would be to revert to protectionist trade policies.Haiti's Earthquake and the HELP Act
From a supply chain standpoint, the earthquake illustrated the vulnerabilities with global supply chains, particularly when they’re dependent on sourcing from third-world countries. The good news: last month, Congress passed a measure to bolster the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act, which would expand duty-free access to the U.S. market for Haitian textiles and apparel exports through 2020.China's Great Firewall
China’s censorship regime, charged with making sure Internet content conforms to official directives, was thrust into the spotlight this year when Google announced that is would stop censoring its Web search results in China. Although Beijing spun the story as a commercial dispute, the matter exposed China’s growing inability to control the Internet. Yet, with 384 million Internet users in the country (more than the entire U.S. population), it’s getting more difficult to stuff the genie back in the bottle.Square
E-commerce took a big leap forward in May with the rollout of Square, the new mobile credit card payment system for iPhone and Android. As explained in Fast Company: “With Square, anyone can accept credit or debit card payments by downloading the app and plugging a little plastic cube into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android phone. After a quick swipe of the card through the reader, the merchant turns the device over to the customer to sign his or her name on the touchscreen using a finger instead of a pen.”U.S. Manufacturing
This past year we covered a growing trend by a number of U.S. companies who decided to bring their overseas sourcing and/or manufacturing activities back to the U.S. We wrote about several of them, including Tesla Motors and Environmental Packaging Technologies, in the March issue. The Made in the U.S.A. label has enjoyed some renewed panache lately, especially for some iconic American brands like Airstream trailers, Pendelton blankets, and White’s Boots, to name a few.Industry Trade Shows
Corporate travel got the budget ax at many companies this past year, and the downside, especially in the Sign Up for Our Webinar! age, is that executives got even less face time with colleagues to network, share ideas, and just plain hang out and socialize (without a keyboard). For those who were fortunate enough to get out of the office this past year, the human interaction was worth the effort. Business is still built on personal relationships.Supply Chain Schools
As supply chains have become more complex in recent years, so too have the skill-sets that are necessary to manage them. The number of supply chain education programs and their quality have grown substantially, and the sector has likewise benefited greatly. Hats off to the academics and logisticians who continue to advance the science to increasingly higher levels.The Biggest, Baddest Box Ship
The MSC Daniela is presently the world’s biggest containership, capable of carrying 14,000 TEUs. The ship’s configuration is unusual-it can carry about 7,572 TEUs on deck and about 7,428 in the hold. It’s also the first vessel to be constructed with a split engine room, an accommodation design that brings the bridge forward on the vessel, leaving more container space aft that can be stacked higher. South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries was the shipbuilder.
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