Tentative Agreement Reached in West Coast Port Saga
After nine long months, the west coast port labor dispute may finally be coming to an end, as both sides tentatively agreed to contract terms. The deal is still waiting for official approval by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which is expecting to hold a vote in April. The west coast ports in question typically handle $1 trillion of cargo annually, but in recent weeks they have become parking lots for many ships holding backlogged cargo.
It is estimated that getting through the backlogged cargo will take months. Aside from this issue, there are other ripple effects impacting various companies at different stages of the supply chain. One example is the capacity reduction at several automotive plants across Canada.
The full story, including a recap of the negotiation process, can be read here.
The Modern Slavery Bill: Flawed, but a step in the right direction
It is estimated that over 21 million people are victims of forced labor. No matter the industry, be it food or high street fashion, slave labor is far too often a part of the supply chain process. One example was brought to light by the Guardian after the results of its investigation into the prawn supply chain were released. A specific clause within the UK’s Modern Slavery Bill is expected to become law by May this year and stipulates that businesses in Britain are required to disclose the actions they have taken to eradicate their supply chains of slavery.
While this law may be a step in the right direction, some argue that it is weak and lacks proper guidance as to what exactly companies are to include in their reports. Furthermore, there is no regulatory body in place to ensure that this law is actually enforced.
Click here to read the full article.
The SCM Global 100
This week, we published an article with a curated list of some great places to start in terms networking opportunities for supply chain managers on social media. We were, however, not the only ones that produced a list of resources in the field of supply chain management. SupplyChainOpz released a SCM Global 100 list that included the world’s best supply chain blogs. The blogs listed cover a wide array of supply chain topics such as 3PL, WMS, TQM, material handling and procurement. Factors such as timeliness of information, number of followers and social shares were used to create this list of resources. We were of course honored to find that the Inventory and Supply Chain Optimization Blog made the cut!
Click here to view the full list of supply chain blogs.
Have a nice weekend!
