Guiding lights in global logistics and transportation management

 

October 27, 2010 -  KUALA LUMPUR: Epitomising the "Malaysia Boleh!" spirit, BDP International's innovative Malaysian duo Joyce Teoh and Karen Gan made the country proud with their success in creating a system which helps to effectively manage core assets of chemical, oil and gas companies worldwide.

This new system was launched yesterday by BDP International, a leading global logistics and transportation management firm. The new system helps keep track of the flotilla of ISO-tanks and multiple element gas containers (MEGC's) worldwide.

"Even though perfecting this software was exhausting over the past six months, it is worthwhile seeing Malaysia being acknowledged and making a name in the world," said Teoh, regional manager of business development solutions at BDP International.

"It was fantastic working with such a supporting and encouraging team here at BDP Malaysia. We have much to thank our regional director of business development solutions and mentor Hoo Ching Dew for his vision in creating the system."

As for Gan, the BDP business development solutions executive for Asia Pacific, she said "The past few months, we were just burning lots and lots of candles at both ends. Much of our success came with support and patience of our families."

The BDPSmart Tower system is a product of the duo's winning idea at the company's One BDPFusion Challenge, a competition designed to tap into its global talent pool for entrepreneurial thinking on how best to meet the challenges of the current environment and position the company for future growth.

Sometimes referred to as "intrapreneurship" or the "wisdom of crowds", the programme sought to elicit ideas which might lie outside the normal purview of senior management - an opportunity well taken by the two.

"When we first arrived at Philadelphia in the US for the finals," we were the only Asian representatives and the only all-women team there, said Teoh. Even tougher was the fact we had to impress a panel of 50 judges at the finals."

Their winning idea: 'Where Will Your Money $leep Tonight' focused on providing special chemical tank or asset management services for improved control of tank equipment in the supply chain through better access to information, improved monitoring and visibility of tank movement and avoidance of waste and costly penalties.

"We were then announced winners at the BDP Christmas party a few days later. It was an awesome feeling emerging as winners. We wasted no time sharing the news with our bosses back in Malaysia. This industry opens its doors of opportunity to both men and women alike," said Gan.

Said Teoh: "The next challenge for us would be to develop a system which monitors industrial cylinders, an asset which is smaller than the tanks but equally difficult to monitor."

The company estimates under-utilisation of such assets could cost oil, chemical and gas companies more than US$1.5 billion each year in unrealised revenue.

The aim of the system is to strategically manage it and at the same time, make tracking visible for clients, asset owners and shipping companies to monitor the movements of these assets, increasing productivity.

Tsunami kills 113     

    

October 27, 2010 -  JAKARTA - A powerful earthquake triggered a 3m-high tsunami that pounded remote island villages in western Indonesia, killing at least 113 people and leaving up to 500 missing, an official said yesterday.

A group of foreigners - nine Australians and a Japanese - in an area popular with surfers were reported missing earlier yesterday. But they were found late last night, unharmed.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, which struck in the Mentawai Islands area west of Padang on Sumatra late on Monday, swept away 10 villages, officials said.

Casualty numbers and reports of damage are likely to climb once rescuers reach the affected areas. But strong winds and rough sea conditions are hampering the rescue effort.

The quake, which created a panic in the Sumatran town of Padang, occurred along the same fault that ruptured in 2004, triggering the monster Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Water from Monday's tsunami advanced as far as 600m inland in some places, causing damage in the North and South Pagai Islands and surrounding islets, said Mr Mudjiharto, head of the Indonesian Health Ministry's crisis centre.

BDP International is functioning normally throughout Indonesia currently. The part of Sumatra which was stricken is not a commercial area and is far from our nearest BDP branch office on that island therefore there is no interruptions in any services or communications.

Japan and US sign open skies agreement 

  

October 26, 2010 -  (TOKYO) Japan and the United States signed an 'open skies' deal yesterday to further liberalise commercial aviation and allow more airline alliance cooperation on flights between North America and Asia.

Tokyo and Washington agreed on the framework in December 2009 in an effort to allow carriers from the two countries to work together more closely in setting fares, routes and schedules and cutting costs.

At a ceremony in Tokyo yesterday, Japanese Transport Minister Sumio Mabuchi and US ambassador to Japan John Roos signed the memorandum of understanding paving the way for airlines to implement the deal.

'As of today's signing, Japanese and US aviation industries are fully liberalised,' said a Japanese transport ministry statement.

The deal allows carriers to work 'more closely in setting fares, arrange flight schedules and routes and coordinate on cost savings through increasing code share flights and other operational methods,' said Geoffrey Tudor, a Tokyo-based analyst at Japan Aviation Management Research.

While the carriers have already begun some code-sharing operations, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will also gain immunity from US anti-trust laws to allow closer collaboration with their partners.

As international airline regulations can generally impede cross border takeovers or majority shareholdings by foreign investors, anti-trust immunity is one way around such barriers, said Mr Tudor.

Japan Airlines, which is in the midst of a state-led restructuring after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year, is part of the Oneworld alliance with American Airlines.

American persuaded JAL to remain part of the alliance earlier this year after a push by Delta Air Lines to lure it into its rival SkyTeam grouping.

All Nippon Airways is a member of the Star Alliance with newly merged United Airlines and Continental Airlines.

'Two big groupings - the ANA-United team and the JAL-AA team - create a more competitive environment,' said Mr Tudor, adding that the bigger networks will enable 'cheaper fares and more frequent flights on key routes'.

The accord will also enable cost cuts and more flexibility in a tough business environment, said Takahiko Kishi, an aviation analyst with Mizuho Investors Securities.

In August, JAL announced details of a rehabilitation plan that will see thousands of job cuts as well as route closures and a debt waiver.

In a related move, the Japanese government is aiming to widen similar pacts with Asian countries, which would allow new airlines and budget carriers to enter Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports, the Nikkei daily said yesterday.

Japan is aiming to widen deals with nine Asian nations and regions, including South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore as it looks to expand the number of landing slots at the Tokyo airports, the Nikkei said.

It also aims to sign similar deals with China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines and others in the near future, it said.

Haneda airport opened a new runway and passenger terminal last week to make it the city's second international hub alongside Narita airport, located outside the city centre, and boost the capital's stature as an Asian gateway.

Doctors Favor Reach-Style Regulation at Senate Hearing    

  

October 27, 2010 -  CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta was among those who testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee at a hearing on toxic chemicals and children's environmental health. Dr. Gupta, a neurosurgeon who hosted a special on chemicals and health that aired on CNN earlier this year, expressed support for Reach-style regulation in the U.S. Other speakers at the hearing included Dr. Frederica Perera, director of Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCEH) at Columbia University, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Regarding fears that Reach-style regulation would harm innovation and profits, Gupta said that, as part of his research for CNN, he spoke with chemists who claimed that such regulation would "spark innovation." "They were confident industry would find ways to make products using fewer hazardous chemicals and emerge as profitable as ever," Gupta says. Industry has cited Canada's chemicals management system as a possible model for the U.S., as opposed to Reach.

Dr. Perera also voiced support for "a preventive chemicals policy," though she did not mention Reach. CCEH studies have found high concentrations of bisephenol-A (BPA), phthalates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs) in pregnant women and young children in the New York City area. From 70% to 100% of pregnant women and children had some traces of those chemicals in the CCEH studies. BPA, phthalates and PDBEs are considered to be endocrine disruptors, which interfere with hormone production and activity, Dr. Perera told the committee.

Industry has quarreled with characterizing BPA as a toxin, citing inconclusive evidence. Earlier this month, European authorities declined to revise the E.U.'s BPA exposure standard, saying that studies showing adverse impacts on lab animals were not conclusive enough to merit a change.

Jackson spoke about the need to update the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to give EPA more authority to manage chemicals. This includes establishing standards based on scientific risk assessments, the right to request information from chemical makers and set compliance deadlines, and the encouragement of green chemistry. EPA has previously said that TSCA reform should include greater transparency of chemical information and a "reasonable certainty of no harm" standard.

Staff strike grounds some Finnair flights

  

October 26, 2010 -  (HELSINKI) The Finnish Aviation Union launched an open-ended strike yesterday causing national airline Finnair to cancel nine flights, including international flights to Stockholm, Geneva and Budapest.

'We are trying to cancel flights that are easier to find alternative transport for,' Finnair spokeswoman Inka Ikonen told AFP.

She added that if the strike continued for more days, international flights were likely to be harder hit.

Currently, passengers are being re-routed through other airlines or, in the case of domestic travel, via bus, she said.

The strike by ground crew and other airline support services over pay and conditions was called after both the union and the employers' umbrella organisation, the Association of Support Service Industries, rejected a compromise put forth by national labour mediator Esa Lonka on Sunday.

'There are a number of issues, from the quality of the contracts to questions of salary,' union spokesman Juha-Matti Koskinen told AFP, although he declined to list specifics for fear it would make negotiations more difficult.

There has been no word on when the two sides would come back to the negotiating table.

Mexico's Open-Door Policy      

    

October 25, 2010 - Mexico is trying to make itself more business-friendly, and it's embarked on a 12-step program to do it. Since August, the Mexican government has taken steps to streamline the process of starting a business, and while the ultimate goal is to boost Mexican exports, U.S. companies will benefit as well.

"The whole intention is to enhance the competitiveness of Mexico by reducing the cost of doing business in our country," said Jose Luis Paz Vega, director of the North American Free Trade Agreement and trade office at the Mexican Embassy in Washington. He spoke at a recent luncheon hosted by the National Foreign Trade Council.

What's good for Mexican exports also benefits U.S. exporters, Paz said. Mexico, which imported $139 billion in U.S. goods last year, is the third-largest U.S. export market behind Canada and China. Mexico bought more U.S. goods than the U.K., France, Belgium, and the Netherlands combined.

"As Mexico exports grow, that means an increase in U.S. exports, too," Paz said. "For every dollar that Mexico exports to the world, 35 cents is U.S. content. When Mexico exports, the U.S. exports." By contrast, he said U.S. content amounts to about 3.5 cents for every dollar China exports.

Paz said Mexico wanted to remove the government as an obstacle to doing business. For example, startup companies can use an online portal to secure the necessary licenses and permits, register a trademark and secure business insurance. Companies handling food products also can receive sanitary and phytosanitary certificates.

"We want to facilitate all these operations in sectors where we have identified bottlenecks, and solve them so that business operators can be more efficient and more productive," Paz said.

Doing business in Mexico also benefits President Obama's national export initiative. In the five years spanning the export initiative, Mexico will consume an additional $11 billion in goods, which would create 66,000 U.S. jobs.

But for U.S. exports to get the most out of the program, the U.S. and Mexico must resolve their escalating battle over cross-border trucking. Since 2009, Mexico has imposed tariffs on U.S. goods valued at more than $2 billion in retaliation for Washington's refusal to admit Mexican trucks, as called for under NAFTA. U.S. labor groups have vigorously opposed allowing Mexican trucks to cross the border.

In 2007, the Bush administration began a pilot project that admitted a limited number of Mexican trucking companies into the U.S. The Democratic Congress stopped funding of the project in 2009, and Paz called for a "program that is permanent, that has certainty, and complies with NAFTA."

Still, he said the Obama administration appears ready to resolve the issue. "I think they are waiting until the right time to do it," he said. "Unfortunately, that time has not come now for 15 years."

Meanwhile, Mexico's new policy also eliminates a requirement mandating certification of such high-value items as consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. If a product meets U.S. standards, it doesn't have to be recertified for the Mexican market.

"It's not opening up new markets, it's reducing the costs and delays involved currently. It should speed things up a bit," said Joshua Rosenberg, director of global policy for the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents the largest U.S. IT companies.

On average, he said, a company that sells a broad range of products in Mexico will pay an estimated $500,000 a year for safety certification. Companies with smaller product lines still pay $250,000 to $500,000.

"Then there are the intangible costs, which could add another $500,000 per year," Rosenberg said. "Expensive product samples are tied up in Mexico for testing. There may be unforeseen administrative problems that cause time-to-market delays, and make it difficult for companies to manage resources."

But a trade association official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the new certification policy applies to a limited number of products and doesn't serve the interests of manufacturers or Mexican consumers. The industry is looking for a way that safety standards organizations can be accredited to certify goods in Mexico as well as the U.S. and Canada. It's something that was called for in the rules published after the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.

Mexico waited more than 10 years before establishing accreditation standards, the official said. Now the government will accept another country's safety certificates, which could effectively abolish Mexico's own standardization process. Would the U.S. reciprocate and accept safety certificates from Mexican organizations? "Not in a hundred years," the trade association official said.

Safety certification in Mexico has been a long, expensive process, and the new policy puts at a disadvantage companies that have already spent time and money to get their goods certified. At the same time, the official said, Mexican consumers still have restricted choices: A Mexican Best Buy may offer four models of coffee makers, while a Best Buy in Texas may have a dozen or more for sale.

"This is not what anybody in industry asked for," the official said. "They ought to do some things internally to streamline the process. Whether this is the way to do it, I have my questions. We're saying give us a system that works. If the citizens of Mexico feel that this doesn't work, then give us another system."