By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTThomas L. Friedman points out in his bestseller, “The World is Flat” that globalization has created a shift in sourcing and manufacturing around the world, thereby creating complex global supply chains. Freight forwarders, who juggle multiple clients, are at the forefront of this accelerating change. Consider how airfreight has changed since 1919 when the market consisted of one converted Handley-Page bomber used by American Railway Express to carry 500 kilograms from Washington, DC to Chicago. Today airfreight is a $56 billion global business. With these remarkable changes, tracking and tracing of cargo and visibility are top on the list of shippers’ demands. “We are moving towards that very rapidly thanks to information technology that is giving companies the ability to have visibility,” observes Dr. Terry Harrison, professor of supply chain and information at Penn State University. “When Federal Express made it possible for shippers to know exactly where their shipments were at all times, they expected this to become the norm.” NVOCC Pilot Air Freight, based in Lima, PA, uses on-line web services integrated with a proprietary Wide Area Network with centralized processing, comprised of subsystems to support freight operations, and back office functionality. UPS Supply Chain Solutions uses the E2K system for its information management system. E2K functions range from automating customer service data to generating delivery reports, to tracing the movement of freight from origin to destination. “It calculates rates, determines routes and books shipments,” states Scott Szwast, UPS International Freight Marketing manager. “It feeds both the UPS Flex Global View and UPS Quantum View visibility tools that customers use to track their shipments as well as the UPS My Freight Web-based application for transactional freight shipment processing.” UPS Supply Chain Solutions also uses Gemini as a robust, stand-alone shipment processing system in the United States. It provides the direct feed into E2K for billing and report generation and import processing. “The key systems were adopted when UPS acquired Menlo Worldwide Forwarding late in 2004 and were widely integrated in 2006 with visibility systems and application for not only international and domestic air freight operations, but also for ocean freight operations,” Szwast explains. “UPS event management and visibility provides real-time information in the United States for effective customer information and shipment management.” Think globallyWith the linear flow of goods, funds and information now giving way to new distribution and transportation strategies, the heat is on for innovation. In that regard the freight forwarding industry is in a chrysalis mode. “It is emerging as something very different than it was to begin with,” Szwast says. Whereas freight forwarders used to be focused on routings and bookings, today they must be experts in global trade/supply chain options, inventory management, security, and finance trade. On top of that, they must be able to manage customer inventory movements around the world on a 24/7, 365-day basis.” A big challenge comes from the fact that global trade is no longer the sole province of the large multi-national conglomerate. “Today the majority of export declarations filed actually come from mid and small tier businesses,” he says. Even the products that are moving are more complex. Children’s toys, for example, may now include integrated circuits and substantial high-tech components. “The complexity contributes to greatly reduced product life cycles and much narrower market windows,” Szwast remarks. Compounding the problem, the pace of change in the marketplace has changed the pace of business. Retailers focused on Q/4 sales may find a 20-day ocean crossing viable. “But what if you have a four-hour commitment to service parts spread around the world?” Szwast asks. With heightened global competition, businesses t