We know lots of Dangerous Goods professionals are on vacation this week, but the supply chain never takes a holiday. That’s why we’d like to take a few moments to share our thanks for everyone who helps keep our highways, skies, rails and oceans safe. Thank you to the truckers, pilots, train drivers and others…
The Hazmatters Podcast is back—with a snapshot of the air cargo supply chain
When mainstream news and ordinary people are talking about the global supply chain, you know the situation is serious. Most years, everyone just expects whatever they need to be available everywhere. Kiwis for your Saturday morning fruit plate? Aluminum parts for your new shower install? Microchips for your SUV assembly line? They’d be there right…
Top 7 ways to handle the stress of hazmat supply chain disruptions
This is not the easiest time to be a supply chain pro. A perfect storm of complications—an ongoing pandemic, the explosion of eCommerce, maritime misadventures, raw material shortages, labor shortages, and actual storms—are causing global disruptions like we haven’t seen in decades. Just in time for peak holiday shipping season. If you work in the…
The ABCs of the modern supply chain: Automation, Blockchain and Compliance
Trucks drive themselves hundreds of miles on public highways. Warehouse workers’ glasses tell them which items to pick. Overseas transactions worth millions are consummated with the flick of a wand. This is not your father’s supply chain. Heck, it’s not even your older brother’s supply chain. If you find your head spinning at the pace…
Webinar: Can technology help you survive today’s supply chain?
In times like these, your shipping operation really can’t afford any stubborn inefficiencies. The capacity of the global supply chain is strained to its limits. Unpredictable disruptions happen every day. It’s never been harder to find qualified workers. And peak holiday shipping season is here, which makes all of the above even scarier. If your…
What will lithium battery shippers do without Section II Packing Instructions?
On January 1, 2022, the new, 63rd Edition IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations will take effect. One of the most significant changes from previous regulations is that Packing Instructions PI 965 and PI 968 have been revised to remove Section II. Readers of this blog will now likely have one of the following reactions: What the…
Common hazmat shipping errors to avoid this holiday season
Two things most shippers are (or should be) keenly aware of right now: The global supply chain is enduring disruptions like we haven’t seen in decades. The holidays are coming. Yes, we’re heading into peak shipping season—which strains supply chains even in the best of years—at a time when inventories are already thin, shortages strike…
Which sites have the best hazmat information for eCommerce shippers?
During the recent Dangerous Goods Symposium, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Hazardous Materials Program Specialist Vinny Desiderio described the ongoing challenges USPS has with eCommerce shippers who don’t know (or act as if they don’t know) they’re shipping hazmat. Some of them—purveyors of ammunition, smoke grenades and chemicals such as calcium carbide—almost certainly know better. The…
What if Dangerous Goods regulatory publications were made into movies?
Why aren’t people more excited about the release of new Dangerous Goods regulatory publications? Sure, they’re long and intimidating, but that didn’t stop the Game of Thrones series from becoming best-sellers. And no, they’re not very entertaining, but they are completely essential for their role in keeping hazmat shipments safe and compliant. Every organization in…
2021 DG Symposium recap, part 3: Final thoughts and a secret message
The 2021 Dangerous Goods Symposium delivered everything a supply chain professional could want. 18 virtual sessions over two weeks addressed every significant Dangerous Goods regulatory update—domestic and international, via land, sea and air—along with deeper dives on training, e-commerce, anti-terrorism measures, C-suite priorities and, naturally, lithium battery transport. (Want to go back and watch a…