Schneider Logistics has launched a new Inland Logistics Management service, which synchronizes international and domestic supply chains.


Developed in collaboration with an international retailer in 2009, the service provides a single snapshot of activity from multiple supply chain trading entities, including steamship lines, terminals, custom brokers, dray carriers and distribution centers, said Todd Ericksrud, vice president of Inland Logistics Management for Schneider Logistics.

With this information, Schneider can couple international milestone visibility with port dray management.

"Schneider's Inland Logistics Management service integrates port drayage, container management and technology while providing actionable data from every step in the international supply chain in a way never done before," said Ericksrud. "Not only is the new service saving shippers millions, it allows extensive supply chain visibility within an organization. From supply chain leaders to buyers and everyone in between, this tool allows everyone to have visibility to milestone and item level details so that products can be imported and exported more efficiently."

During development of the new service, the resulting data, visibility and control allowed the international retailer and Schneider to manage 20 events and identify hidden supply chain costs. The shipper eliminated seven days in-transit and reduced its annual dray cost by 20 percent.

"This innovation really represents the first major solution that tackles importers' age-old issue of dealing with the 'dray and port black hole'- the lack of visibility to port-related activities," said John Ferguson, vice president of international services for Schneider Logistics. "Until now, shippers relied on a single dray provider in every market and were not able to take advantage of port diversification and the scale advantage of a national program. The Inland Logistics Management service allows us to create one central container management system across multiple ports and many dray providers to deliver more consistent, reliable pricing and capacity for customers."

In early 2010, the team leading Schneider's international services moved into new office space in the Savannah, Ga., area, close to the Port of Savannah.

"Both our customers and dray drivers benefit from the relocation," said Ferguson. "Our drivers can now move containers more easily in and out of the port simply because we're closer to the point of entry for imports."

More info: www.schneider.com