Grant Opperman shares David James’ belief that Apple changed the world for supply chain partners. He says the new communications infrastructure is changing the way supply chain partners communicate because it is enabling everyone to tap into capabilities that were previously the domain of the Fortune 500. Morgan uses Apple’s iPhone to communicate real-time shipment tracking reports and recipient signatures to its global customer base.

President and Chief Strategy Officer, Grant Opperman, focuses on diversity in the workplace. Diversity provides a whole new world of opportunity and competitive advantage for those who are willing to take on the challenges. At D.W. Morgan, we spend a lot more time learning about new tools—how to use each one and what unique value it offers. Article starts on page 33.

Our original editorial, published in Inbound Logistics, can be found here.

The Five Inventories: Invisible to Customers, Crucial to the Bottom Line

It’s even more timely today than when we originally posted the piece in 2005. That’s because of enormous pressure to reduce the amount of goods in warehouses. Now, much of an OEM’s critical stock is in motion, where it’s sometimes invisible or inaccessible.

Morgan has made its name managing The Fifth Inventory™ in the world’s key outsourced, manufacturing and distribution hubs. We have our own assets on scene–from trucks and drivers to management personnel, real-time visibility technology and, yes, warehouses. So, whether your goods are rolling through Chongqing or Chicago, Penang or Philly, Guadalajara or Georgia, we have that inventory under control.

Think about your inventory in transit: Can you see it? Do you know who’s carrying the goods, and are they complying with all S.O.P. and security requirements? Then, think about how Morgan can help you manage your Fifth Inventory™ wherever those goods move throughout the world.

In our industry, we have to work quickly in order to keep our customers happy, and one of the ways we do this is by establishing facilities in strategic locations that complement both our customer base and our specific capabilities. Not only that, but we train our own personnel in each of these locations, exactly the same way as their counterparts abroad.

A recent article in Inbound Logistics discussed the mountains of data that are now being used to decide where companies store and distribute goods. Local transportation, airports, regulations, labor costs, reliability of the route and consumer demand all factor into these decisions. But regional factors play a bigger role than you might think.

Put simply, it’s a matter of anticipating where the global manufacturing supply chain is going. We’re not faddish in rushing off to the latest hotspot. Three years ago, everyone was talking about Hanoi. Others leapt, we considered, and it turns out there are some huge issues there that have kept them from really blossoming as an adequate manufacturing center.

Still, we look at where the manufacturing is going. Right now, that’s inland China and Brazil. And there are reasons, both economic and social, that both regions are more likely to succeed in the long run. If we’ve anticipated correctly, which I assure you we have, having established facilities in these areas will help us continue that efficiency and quality of service that we guarantee for our customers.