With Hurricane Beryl still fresh in our minds, one question has begun to stand out for importers across the continent: How can importers adapt and overcome natural disasters that hit their supply chain?
This question will be increasingly important to answer as climate change rears its ugly head across the globe. Most scientists agree that these increasingly dramatic weather conditions are, at the most optimistic, going to be around for the long haul, so how can your business best adapt to the coming mudslides, wildfires, hurricanes, and heatwaves? The answer lies in who your company chooses to work with to facilitate trade on the global stage. The old myopic views of supply chain management, logistics, and brokerage are fading to dust, and you must be looking for organizations that are looking forward with clear eyes.
Two primary actors will help facilitate your shipments when a natural disaster hits – your Customs Broker and your Freight Management Team.
For freight management, you are looking for adaptability. When mother nature accosts your supply chain, the key to success is aligning yourself with a freight forwarder with a broad range of global contacts, a forward-thinking logistics strategy, and a keen understanding of the risks inherent in an increasingly tumultuous world. After all, how light your supply chain is on its feet comes down to who you have trusted to build it.
The other important factor is the Customs Brokerage team you work with when the disruption occurs. It may come as a surprise, but many brokers, like our team at PCB, have built-in contingencies for when disaster strikes your supply chain. They operate with full departments across many different shipment types around the clock, and they have the knowledge and necessary relationships needed to facilitate a solution in collaboration with the broker and government agencies on the other side of the transaction. It behooves everyone to keep trade moving, but not all brokers have the same capacity or influence to do what needs to be done when the storm touches down.
If you are looking for an example, PCB Global Trade Management aims to be the kind of collaborator you should seek as a facilitator and trade partner in 2024. We recognize that it’s not enough for a broker just to fill out forms and file entries. Over the last few years, PCB has worked to develop a more dynamic and collaborative relationship with our clients, other brokers, and the relevant government bodies vital to resolving crises abroad. Our goal is to serve as problem solvers and solution makers, and that is precisely the kind of organization you will want on your side when the next disaster arrives.
Article provided by PCB Global Trade Management
