Omni Logistics

In an interview with Logistics and Transportation Review, Rich Joseph, Senior Vice President of Operations, introduces the concept of nearshoring and how it impacts the logistics industry. He also talks about how they maintain a customer-centric focus with the help of automation and streamlined communications. 

What are some of the major challenges and trends that have been impacting the logistics industry lately?

One of the latest trends in the logistics industry is the concept of nearshoring.

Nearshoring is the strategic practice of transferring a business operation or process to a nearby country or region. An example of nearshoring is, a company based in the U.S. outsourcing to a third-party in Mexico.

As the global supply chain expands, continued tensions between the US and impactful international trading partners have led domestic organizations to pursue nearshoring as a component of their long-term logistics strategy.

One meaningful advantage of working with a logistics provider who is leveraging nearshoring capabilities includes cost savings, particularly as it relates to the transportation of goods. In general, the lesser distance that products need to travel by a singular mode to get to their destination, the less costly the freight movement and the quicker the commodity arrives to the consignee.

Nearshoring is also leveraged as a mechanism for reducing supply chain risk by moving closer to the customer and/or end user from a geographical perspective.

Some of the challenges that come with nearshoring are inadequate infrastructure as it relates to the energy supply of certain locations around the globe. The training and development of a skilled workforce in a novel nearshoring location can also be a hurdle for a domestic organization to overcome.

Omni Logistics offers an expansive, “best-in class” footprint in Mexico with six Sales & Operations Stations as well as access to 10 warehouses and growing, strategically located near cross border points as well as ocean ports.

What are some major predicaments in the logistics industry?

One of the major challenges facing the logistics industry, now more than ever before, is cybersecurity. The more digital exposure a logistics company has, the bigger target they have on their back for cybercrime. Cybercriminals use techniques such as hacking, phishing, ransomware, and countless other scams for malicious reasons and personal gain. Many large logistics companies have experienced some form of data breach, malware, or cyberattack within the past few years and these breaches are becoming alarmingly common. Several of these organizations that have been compromised have a significant amount of international exposure as well.

“Advances in nearshoring, cybersecurity, and automation are transforming the logistics industry and enabling technology focused companies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and provide greater service and transparency to their customers”

Supply chain security is of the utmost importance in today’s world of increasingly creative cybercriminals. The cost of prevention is significantly less expensive and burdensome than the cost of reacting to a cyberattack, which can sideline a company from its normal day-to-day operations indefinitely until the breach has been resolved. Moreover, sensitive customer data is oftentimes targeted and exposed by these nefarious cybercriminals which can lead to significant issues for both the logistics provider and the compromised data of their client.

Having a secure logistics platform is table-stakes for vendors in today’s marketplace and innovative cybersecurity solutions will continue to play an outsized role in determining future partnerships for logistics companies.

What is a project that you have been working on, and what technological and process elements are you leveraging to make the project successful?

Our organization is working on the integration of several businesses to its legacy ecosystem simultaneously as we have scaled rapidly over the past several years.

While the growth of our business is wonderful, especially in the current market, it comes with its own set of challenges. Specifically, we are focused on ensuring that all of our domestic operations are working within the same subset of transportation & warehousing management systems. The benefits to everyone reading off the idiomatic “same sheet of music” are countless with the overarching goal of garnering greater efficiencies and strengthened communication between different business units while driving down the costs of duplicating efforts and redundant workflows.

Thanks to the tireless work of several brilliant contributors, we are almost at the finish line of these integrations with the legacy Omni enterprise.

We have made significant progress with the help of automation, streamlined communications, modifying processes, all while maintaining a customer-centric focus with all of our enterprise initiatives.

What are some of the technological trends as far as the future in the logistics industry is concerned?

Business process and workflow automation is going to continue to be one of the focal points of any tech-enabled logistics company. This also means working to leverage automation in a way that is mutually-beneficial for our people as well as our clients. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to deliver the best available technological solutions for both our internal and external stakeholders in partnership with some of the best operators this industry has to offer from Omni Logistics.

Similar to automation, the growth of robotics is transforming many verticals of the logistics industry. Robotics has a wide-range of applications from warehouse operations to last-mile delivery. By leveraging robotics to execute repetitive tasks and reducing the need for manual labor, logistics organizations can improve efficiency, reduce labor costs, and minimize shipping errors. There are also benefits to be garnered via more accurate order-fulfillment and inventory management. Not to mention the fact that robots can operate 24/7/365.

How can budding and evolving companies reach you for suggestions to streamline their business?

As a multi-billion-dollar freight forwarder, we have access to a vast array of world-class technology and people resources to help our 7000+ customers navigate the constantly evolving domestic and international supply chain world. With 4500 + global associates, we operate within 100+ locations in over 21 countries, ship over 1.4 billion pounds annually, and offer 5 million+ SQ FT of office and warehousing space and growing.

Omni has made significant investments in developing mode-specific capabilities ranging from international airfreight consolidation to expedited brokerage. Specifically, our business is structured around seven product groups that are supported by domestic and international shared services and unparalleled back-office capabilities.

These product groups include Domestic Ground, International Air, Truckload & Expedited Brokerage, Warehousing, E-Commerce Fulfillment, and Ocean Freight.

If you’d like to get in touch with us directly, there is a short form at the bottom of our landing page https://omnilogistics.com/ that, once completed will automatically connect you with the appropriate business unit to support your unique logistics needs.