Ron’s Report
With Donald Trump’s Inauguration behind us and his first executive orders enacted, we are going to have to be prepared for all of the inevitable changes to the international shipping and logistics industry as they come to us.
I am optimistic that President Trump will be good for trade and to our trading partners, while also remaining true to his word about creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans. Please find the beginning of my article about this subject for Supply Chain World below and feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns and how ShipOCI is prepared to deal with them.
Words of Encouragement for Nervous Logistics Pros in the Trump Trade Era
By Ron Atapattu
Ship OCIAs a rule, supply chain professionals are on constant hyper alert and nervous by nature, and few things make them more nervous than anticipating change. The onset of a new administration has many concerned that they will soon have to deal with, and adjust to, a new set of metrics on the horizon just as they’ve learned to deal with the status quo.
I understand how they feel. I spent my career fighting uncertainties and made a business providing companies around the world third party logistics solutions. Supply chain professionals are generally the ones being most squeezed from top, while being expected to generate efficiencies for their organizations. The light of accountability tends to shine brightest on them, even as they’re expected to assume an outsized portion of their companies’ supply chain risks.
I understand the pressures, but I think in this case, they should look forward to the change; and prepare for it. Even before trade agreements are dealt with, we can already see corporate decisions indicating a new attitude under the Trump Administration…
To read the full article please check it out HERE
The Latest on The Beacon Council
At our first meeting of the year for the Trade & Logistics Committee at The Beacon Council, I was pleased by not only the great turnout, but also by the enthusiasm and commitment shown by the committee members to pursue and achieve our goals and objectives. One of the exciting updates from our members includes news from the Global Trade & Logistics Accelerator (GTLA) which is a program designed to get businesses off the ground by leveraging education, mentorship and industry experience.
I know we are all looking forward to seeing some fantastic companies go through this program and become valuable members of the South Florida logistics industry!
As a group, we keep our Three Key Initiatives front and center:
Marketing South Florida Trade & Logistics opportunities, both locally and globally.
Develop opportunities for neglected communities to engage with, and profit in, the Miami-Dade logistics scene.
Find gainful employment for newly-developed logistics talent.
I feel very strongly about the progress we’re making and look forward to an incredible year!
– Ron Atapattu, Chair, Trade & Logistics Committee
The Latest on OCI
In addition to the Supply Chain World article Ron wrote, we were recently featured on the Entrepreneur Podcast Network! His interview revolves around the state of the logistics industry, his thoughts on the future, and what keeps him up at night.
EPN is the entrepreneur source for business advice, information, motivation, inspiration, and major live event coverage…hear the interview HERE
Where you can find us next:
We very excited to see the Inbound Logistics piece about the Panama Canal and what the new locks will mean for the international shipping world. Ron was interviewed by Sandra Beckwith back in October for this piece and we are very interested to see how it turns out. It should be hitting the mailboxes and inboxes by the first week of February.
