Evolving chemical industry logistics efficiency and safety

Global sales of chemicals have more than doubled since 2005, driven by emerging economies and particularly China – where, despite weak current chemical sales volumes, global market share is predicted to reach 40% or more by 2020.

To accommodate this increasing globalization, chemical manufacturers have had to adapt the way they do business and manufacture worldwide, identifying new growth opportunities wherever they might occur.

One aspect of succeeding in this new environment is to ensure that supply chains are as adaptable and efficient as possible, even as they become more complex. Which must be done whilst keeping safety in transit as an absolute priority.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) and Deloitte have produced a report – Chemical Logistics Vision 2020 – that proposes recommendations for sustainable future logistics strategies within the industry.

These include:

• Improving both horizontal and vertical integration along the supply chain to improve efficiency and productivity of asset deployment.
• Developing sustainable logistics strategies with a shift to alternative transport modes, as well as increasing vehicle utilization levels and product swaps.
• Continuously improving supply chain safety and security of all logistics service providers and chemical companies throughout Europe.
• More sophisticated supply chain organization and logistics processes, requiring better training of supply chain staff.

This drive for efficiency with safety is a familiar environment for Cordstrap, the world leader in cargo securing and the number one partner in this area to the chemical industry. Cordstrap’s resource – with five manufacturing locations and operations
in 50 countries worldwide – means cargo-securing solutions can be provided wherever the industry requires them. And over 50 years experience of dealing with the typical loads of the chemical industry – whether drums, IBC’s, big bags, pails or super sacks – gives an understanding of the need to keep control of total cost of ownership and ensure time and cost efficiency are maximized during cargo securing.

At the same time, all Cordstrap’s solutions are tested for maximum safety and reliability, are fully CTU compliant and are accepted and approved by regulatory bodies including the IMO and AAR. All strapping and lashing solutions meet the requirements of the DNV classification society and our headquarters in Oostrum is ISO 9001:2015 certified.

Cordstrap also offers every chemical industry customer the opportunity to participate in a Secure Cargo Training program – and provides training in cargo securing to surveyors and other regulatory bodies. On-site training from experts is also available.

As chemical manufacturers respond to the logistical and legislative evolution of the industry, Cordstrap are working in partnership with them to ensure the global shipping security of their products will always be as efficient and safe as possible.