Logistics is more than moving cargo from Point A to Point B
Posted On December 1, 2019
Say a company wants to buy some marble from Italy for its new headquarters, or needs to get a new piece of equipment shipped from Germany. But it’s not in the import business and isn’t sure of the best, most efficient way to get its purchases shipped across the pond.
That’s where a company like Page & Jones comes in, a third-party logistics provider that specializes in international shipping. In a recent episode of “What’s Working With Cam Marston,” we talked with Page & Jones Chief Operating Officer Bill Kraus, who described what the company does as “like a travel agent for cargo.”
It’s not just about getting a load of goods from Point A to Point B, he says, but getting it there as quickly and efficiently as possible. Because in shipping, time is literally money.
“In logistics, delays not only stall production or postpone getting finished product to the marketplace, but it can further be punishing to the parties involved if there’s storage or demurrage and detention charges,” Kraus says. “These costs can be exponential.”
Kraus explains what demurrage is and why it’s important to avoid, shares some of the challenges in transporting goods across international borders, and tells us why it’s important to have a network of partners around the world in this line of work.
Closer to home in Mobile, Kraus tells us how tariffs have impacted business and what the widening of the shipping channel into the Port of Mobile will mean.
Page & Jones has seen a lot of changes since opening for business in 1892. Kraus says there’s a lot more competition now, but also a lot more business in a global economy.
Join us for a lively discussion about moving cargo around the world.