Former Agility Executive Will Oversee Continued Expansion of SinoNRS and Integrated Factory-to-Store Import Solutions for U.S. Retailers National Retail Systems, Inc. (NRS), a leading provider of logistics services to U.S. retailers, pharmaceutical companies and consumer goods manufacturers, announced the appointment of Patrick Ahern to the new position of Vice President, International.

Ahern will have responsibility for the continued expansion of SinoNRS, an exclusive joint venture NRS formed with Sinotrans to provide integrated factory-to-store retail logistics solutions. He brings extensive experience to NRS, having executed logistics solutions for clients around the world over the past 18 years. As the international team leader, he is charged with delivering offshore operations control for clients in order to decrease overall unit costs through improved management of origin cargo operations and information flows.

"In retail logistics today, the pressure is swinging back to suppliers to gain more control of inventory flows into the distribution centers, retail stores or domestic inventory positions," Ahern said. "Retailers want to reduce inventory carrying costs significantly and are asking vendors to refine purchasing terms."

"This inventory control focus reaches from the distribution centers in the U.S. to the factories in China," he continued. "Typical FOB purchase orders are being examined from an inventory control perspective, resulting in more consistent orders, safety stock awareness and consolidation at the point of origin."

Focus is growing on reducing inland China logistics costs, Ahern said. "The concern for retailers is that they do not want to sacrifice security for lower cost. Leveraging our unique partnership with Sinotrans, NRS is perfectly positioned to make a real difference for our customers," he said.

"China is where the heavy lifting needs to be done to refine U.S. distribution. It's no longer awareness but expertise at origin."

Ahern joins NRS from Agility Logistics. Before that, he worked at Panalpina World Transport, Air Tiger Express and AEI Quality Global Logistics.