C.H. Robinson’s Santinello provides guidance for shippers dealing with Hurricane Dorian

With Hurricane Dorian bracing down on the United States Eastern seaboard, Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman had an opportunity to speak wirth Vince Santinello, Ocean Business Development & Route Manager at C.H. Robinson. Santinello provided an update on what C.H. Robinson is doing to help its shipper customers navigate their way through the logistics challenges presented by Hurricane Dorian and also prepare for future ocean disruptions. A transcript of their conversation follows below.  

Logistics Management: How is C.H. Robinson approaching the current situation with Hurricane Dorian?

Vince Santinello: We have been looking at the changing paths just over the course of this past weekend and have been providing customers with a lot of short notice updates. From an ocean perspective, we see ports and terminals that were open at the later part of last week now have all since closed and also seen vessel delays, including Miami, Everglades, Jacksonville, and almost all the way up the East Coast as far as just shy of the Carolinas right now.

LM: What needs to be top of mind for your shipper customers that could be impacted at this time?

Santinello: It is important for shippers to be in contact with supply chain professionals and to pay attention to timely updates to know how hurricanes might impact their own supply chains. That may be over the road or on an ocean as well. At C.H. Robinson, we leverage our logistics database and our predictive analytics technology to re-route shipments to keep goods and supplies flowing to the places where they are needed most and to keep carriers safe. Our experts are in constant communication with our carriers to prevent disruptions in supply chains and to really just ensure their customers have the latest and most up-to-date information as possible.

LM: Are there things that your customers are expecting, or asking for, from providers like C.H Robinson that are viewed as commonplace? What are some of they key things or risk management-type guidance are they looking for?

Santinello: From an ocean perspective, we are seeing a lot of communications surrounding updates and just understanding the terminals being closed and when they are being closed, as well as the potential for when they will be open, what vessel delays are being seen at this time into certain ports of call. And from that it is easy for us to determine if they need to utilize other plans.

LM: What are some examples of those other plans?

Santinello: That includes things like looking for C.H. Robinson to utilize our port services team, which allows us to utilize inland moves and help our customers hit deadlines to avoid further delays. We are in constant communication with our customers throughout the entire year, so that we are always looking at alternative solutions, whether that may be avoiding East Coast routings during this time of year, focusing more on West Coast options. It is a focus on diverting our customers’ entire portfolio to utilize some West Coast ports throughout the year, as well as some East Coast ports, so they are not entirely impacted by one situation like Hurricane Dorian. 

LM: What are some other examples of alternative shipping plans or solutions in these types of circumstances?

Santinello: We have to keep a very close eye of the status of port, vessel, and road closures. Our technology platform, Navisphere, really provides full visibility…and connectivity for customers and service providers and helps optimize capacity and the movement of freight in rapidly changing environments. Capacity is one of the large factors that come up from a service management perspective. And our experts in this area allow us to leverage our connectivity to bring in that additional capacity. If ports are closed, they are closed so it is really about not just being reactive to these situations; we have to be as proactive to them as possible. That is why we are always looking well in advance to know there are containers being loaded right now in Asia, for example, that won’t touch East Coast ports for another 35 days. So, when we look at that we have to anticipate, at this point in time, if there are there going to be storms a month from now to try to adjust and also have those communications now. That way, when freight hits the ports, if those ports are delayed, we can utilize other options such as expediting freight once it gets here in order to avoid those potential delays from getting any worse and impacting supply chains further up the line.

LM: For shippers and 3PLs that serve as the transportation and logistics arm for shippers, what are some other things that can help them or at least take into consideration?

Santinello: It comes right back to communication, which is key. We rely on our experts for ocean, air, and surface transportation to provide a full picture to our customers and what the impacts could be. We put out daily website updates, with information on re-routing shipments plans’ for delays, and we advise our customers to reach out to these experts within the CH. Robinson network to help them make those adjustments as the storm progresses, for things like holding shipments or re-route them through non-impacted areas. There is a large chunk of it that does become very reactive and staying close to your provider allows you to make those natural adjustments, because once a storm passes we need to be able to understand if ports and terminal and rail networks are impacted, or if there is flooding, and if those things will push service providers like ourselves to make those adjustments on the fly. Being able to have access to the network, coupled with the leverage that we have, allows us to do that more rapidly than others are able to do.

LM: What is currently happening with your team at the moment, as Hurricane Dorian moves along the Atlantic coast?       

Santinello: Our ocean, air, and surface transportation experts are meeting daily to provide a full picture on Dorian’s impact on supply chains. That information is what we are posting on our web site. We have had calls throughout the entire weekend, and, in doing so, it is really about talking to our customers now, which is a part of being as proactive as we can in this scenario to understand what freight is on what vessel currently, and if that vessel is going to be delayed in terms of its port of call. If so, do those customers have deadlines that they must hit or already have in place? Understanding that today allows us to start to put in a plan of action so that when these containers do arrive and able to be moved, considering everything is safe and ports are operating as normal, it allows us to look at questions like: do we have the available capacity to move this to local distribution centers in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas?, and do we need to transload these containers into trucks and have them team-driven to meet deadlines? These are all questions that our teams are asking our customers now and have been all of last week as well to ensure that, if they have deadlines, we know exactly what those are so that we can make the necessary adjustments now so when it gets there we can continue to move forward.

LM: What are some examples of lessons learned from other hurricanes like Sandy and Harvey, for example, that can be applicable for what is happening now?

Santinello: From an organizational standpoint, looking at what happened in past events like those two, is what has really driven our network as a whole to have constant daily communications from our ocean, air, and surface transportation groups each morning so that we are all on the same page and understand how we can help each other, rather than things being siloed-responsive. One of the things we looked at from an ocean perspective, in terms of how Harvey impacted us, was staying in constant communication and relying on our relationships with our ocean carriers to understand if there are going to be changes in port calls. Based on how that worked out last year, it allowed our customers to look at their plans heading into hurricane season this year, which led to some customers diversifying their port choices. Rather than a customer moving 100% of its freight via Savannah or Charleston, we now move 50% over West Coast ports and 50% over East Coast ports so that they can ensure their freight is still coming into their distribution center location and out to their customers, even if East Coast freight is going to be impacted and keep their supply chains flowing. I think that is one of the major things we have learned, in trying to be as proactive as possible with a very long-term perspective. And on a short-term perspective, it is getting ahead of our customers and understanding we need to have this shipment expedited once it is available.  

LM: What is your focus in regards to customer priorities for Hurricane Dorian? Do those based in Florida get a higher priority now?

Santinello: Our focus to our customers is all under one umbrella. I don’t think there are customers that get more attention than another. While the communication changes [based on geography] the conversations remain similar. As an example, the Port of Miami is currently closed, and it will assess once the storm shifts. For those customers, it is really just advising that the port is closed and once there is a further update, we will advise as such. Also, if there are urgent shipments on those vessels right now, we are going to have to possibly transload containers once they arrive. Further up the coast, the Port of Savannah is closed already and the Port of Charleston will close Wednesday and Thursday. It is the same thing in having that communication to see what is happening and then talking about it. Our teams and account managers are in constant communication with their customers, and, in my opinion, there is not one that receives more focus than anybody else. Our focus becomes basically all of the cargo that is going to be impacted and making sure we are staying in front of it.