As Global Shop 2016 celebrates another successful event, it’s a good time to reflect on the industry, specifically how brand and a merchandise presentation is directly tied to the success of a retailer.
U.S.-based retailers have long realized that relying on domestic growth will not yield shareholder return to the level that meets the street’s expectations.
As 2016 begins, it’s a great time to reflect on the challenges conquered in 2015 and the obstacles that need to be addressed in the coming year.
It’s scary to think about this but Black Friday and the holiday retail season are just around the corner. The leaves will soon be changing and the Thanksgiving turkey will be in the oven in the blink of an eye. And what does that mean for our clients? Holiday Rollout planning is already underway.
Many hospitality executives often press to discover the true value of our core competencies. “Why does ‘so-and-so’ work with you?” “Where do you provide the biggest return?” “What service makes you an industry leader?” The underlying answer is a simple one: people work with us because we are willing to do the hard part of the logistics planning.
As retailers flock to The Mall of San Juan in Puerto Rico, many are facing delays and setbacks. Of these issues, the following are most present: • Registering with the Hacienda • Capacity issues on the barge • Specialty containers for the barge • Site challenges as the mall is not finished • Difficult delivery schedule • Rising import taxes
From April 26-29th, Atlanta hosted the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. A colleague and I attended to both meet with existing clients and start new relationships. The show was a success for everyone involved so I wanted to share a few highlights of our trip.
In elementary school, teachers always told the class: “When you point a finger at someone there are four fingers pointing back at you.” Picture this scenario: Fixtures sourced in China are delivered to a new store project in the U.S. Three days before they are to be installed in the store, the general contractor calls you and says the transportation company damaged the fixtures when bringing them in from China. You call the transportation company and they claim the general contractor received the fixtures and accepted the fixtures as they were delivered.
I spend most of my days speaking to retailers who usually fall under one of three categories: 1. They know they have to “deal” with construction material transportation and warehousing so they attempt to solicit help from their internal team who manages merchandise deliveries. 2. They know they should address their construction material transportation and warehousing but they try to ignore it and hope the problem goes away. 3.They push their entire construction material transportation and warehousing to a hodgepodge of their manufacturing vendors or their general contractor.
It’s the first quarter and a New Year – the perfect time to ‘take a breath’ and reexamine past processes. Issues with the previous fourth quarter can be looked at with fresh eyes. With the right partners, new ideas and different ways to achieve success can be discovered.
Whether you are a procurement professional for a top retailer, a general contractor embarking on a hotel project, or a senior living purchasing agent, it’s critical to look at local installation crews. The cost savings and knowledge level of local crews are paramount for a successful project.
I usually don’t like to give away the farm, however our true competitive advantage in the global marketplace lies with our Project Managers and our Coordinators. The work these dedicated people do on a daily basis would make the average person’s head spin!! Below I am going to highlight a few things that really set our system apart from our competition.
I speak to customers every day, and when it comes to the question of professional FF&E installation, the opinions are vast and widely based on past experiences with installers. From a senior living firm with 500+ facilities to a general contractor with 10 projects a year, the question they often ask is, “why should I pay more for professional installation of my furniture?”
Of all the places around the world to work, China is in a category all by itself. While it is still a communist country, it felt as if I was in any other Asian capitalistic country, with a few exceptions, of course.
I often hear this debate among my peers and customers in the hospitality industry – is warehousing a good idea? Of course, theoretically speaking, the use of a warehouse is ideal for every project. The problem is, the added flexibility of having all of the construction and FF&E material within a few miles of the project usually doesn’t result in the highest ROI.
When moving high-end exhibits, precious historical artifacts and expensive art pieces, two factors stand alone in importance: temperature and relative humidity levels! Not having these controlled can cause as much damage over time as any single event. Many priceless pieces must have precise controls in place during transportation to ensure the artifacts don’t suffer damage in transit.
A daunting task for any hotelier is a capital renovation. With the ever-changing brand standards of the varied flags that fly over hotels these days, one can get lost in the details. From an endless list of approved manufacturers to the selection of a general contractor, renovating a hotel can be a head-spinning experience.
When traveling overseas, without proper preparation before you go can make your trip a living nightmare. Here are just a few of my tips for project managers, or really anyone, traveling overseas.
You have a museum or science center exhibit that needs to be transported. But this isn’t your normal type of exhibit – this one has a value of $50 million, and that’s not even accounting for any invaluable, historically significant or irreplaceable artifacts! Now what?
We are certainly living in a global economy in 2014. The world is getting much smaller because of the internet and ever-increasing advancements in technology. Due to the ease of communications and travel today, more and more U.S.-based companies are considering or making preparations for international expansion. Of course, operating in a different or multiple countries, each with distinct transportation guidelines and customs procedures – not to mention the actual freight process, whether by air or by sea – can be a daunting task.
I often hear logistics providers trumpeting their value and expertise. But to a certain degree the barrier to entry in this industry is fairly simple – especially if you are non-asset based. So it really makes sense to vet the providers you are looking at prior to making a decision on who you’re going to entrust to be your logistics provider.
When it comes to complex challenges in moving museum-quality exhibits from one venue to another, the aspect least thought about is storage. However, storage is a major concern to the museums, exhibit manufacturers and companies that manage the touring of these high-grade exhibits.
We’re happy to announce that Planes Moving and Storage was named a 2014 “Top Workplace in Cincinnati” by the Cincinnati Enquirer!
We've worked hard over the past few months to create an online environment as unique and state-of-the-art as our company. This site launch is a part of a larger effort to re-brand Planes Specialized Logistics. It represents our revitalized approach to communicating the future of logistics.
