Supply Chain weekly wrap-up: 04/20/18 – 04/26/18

Brands still have a way to go with supply chain transparency

This week, it’s Fashion Revolution Week where consumers are encouraged to demand for greater transparency in the fashion supply chain for the 5^th anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse. To coincide with that, Fashion Revolution, a non-profit organization, published this year’s Fashion Transparency Index in which it awards points to 150 of the world’s biggest fashion brands and retailers based on information they publish about their supply chain, suppliers and environmental impact and then ranks them accordingly.

For the second year in a row, Adidas and Reebok have topped the chart. Since last year, there have been some improvements in the transparency field. Overall, 98 out of the 150 brands and retailers, including Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss, displayed a 5% increase in their transparency efforts across a variety of principles, such as traceability, human rights and the environment. Furthermore, there have been increases in the number of brands publishing at least tier 1 supplier lists and details about their processing facilities.

However, not everyone involved matched their success, with only 10 brands scoring higher than 50% and not a single brand scoring higher than 60%. Moreover, 14 brands, including Dior, scored zero because they didn’t disclose any information. There is still a lot of unknown information regarding the full journey of our clothes due to a lack of disclosure perhaps because of the risk of compromising competitiveness or controversial issues being brought to light.

More information can be found here.

First rail freight service for Peel Ports

On Monday, it was revealed that Peel Ports, one of the UK’s largest port operators, is working with DB Cargo UK, the largest freight company in the UK, to launch a new rail service designed for containers passing through the Port of Liverpool for the first time. This new service will offer a smooth route, between the docks at Liverpool and Scotland, for shipping lines, forwarders and cargo-owners. The service is set to begin on May 8 and will primarily run 3 days a week with a maximum of 30 carriages transporting over 40 containers each trip.

The carriages will be loaded in Liverpool and transported to Mossend terminal in Glasgow where the goods will be forwarded to destinations across Scotland. The returning service to Liverpool will transport Scottish products that will then be exported mainly to America. Scottish family business Walker Shortbread will be one of the first to take advantage of this service. These express rail services offer a simpler, more efficient and sustainable solution for cargo-owners and they help Peel Ports continue with its strategy to create a multi-modal logistics hub.

To read more about this new rail service, click here.

Amazon can now deliver to your car

More and more companies are looking for ways to make deliveries more convenient for consumers. On Tuesday, Amazon rolled out a new program where packages can be delivered to your trunk. Previously, the ecommerce giant conducted an in-car delivery pilot project with Audi in Germany back in 2015 and last year, there were discussions of a partnership with Phrame to get access to customers’ trunks via smart locks. This time, Amazon is collaborating with General Motors (GM) and Volvo to launch this service in 37 cities in the US after successful beta tests were conducted over the last six months. The in-car delivery service will use connected technologies embedded in numerous modern vehicles.

Initially, this program will only be available for Prime users and they must own a 2015 or newer model of GM and Volvo vehicles that have active OnStar and Volvo on Call features. Your car needs to be added to the Amazon Key app with a vehicle description to access this delivery service. This way, couriers have all the correct information, along with the car’s GPS location and license plate number, to find your car. The car needs to be parked within a certain radius of the delivery address given. Moreover, the courier has their own device to verify the car, scan the parcel and then request for the vehicle to be unlocked by the connected car services. Customers receive multiple notifications throughout the delivery process and can block access to the car at any time.

To find out more, click here.

Have a great weekend!

Header photo: sebra/shutterstock.com