Chemical Sector
Even the best chemicals and plastics companies are behind the performance of top performers in other industry segments. We see deficiencies in the areas of: planning and process of orders, inventory management, information management and compliance.
Most chemical companies are now confronted by a chasm between their ambitions for growth and the diminishing growth potential of their current technologies and products. This chasm can be bridged by corporate renewal-the internal development of innovative new technologies and products or the acquisition of that development. Gaining a technical advantage is critical in the chemical industry. A company develops its key technologies through separation, catalysis, polymerization and waste reprocessing, which will determine whether a competitive advantage can be created.
Managing technology development as a process can lead to significant increases in R&D efficiency. A technology-review process ensures the relevance and viability of the technology to the business and ensures that sufficient rigor goes into any development. A technology-development team (from fields such as chemistry, catalysis, thermodynamics, regulatory, waste treatment) and a senior-review committee (business leaders and scientists) are also key to the process.
Specialty-chemical companies operate in an application-intense market where similar products are often sold across multiple customer segments. New product development can range from large, complex strategic efforts to small customer-specific reformulations. A new product developed as a single formulation may eventually be sold in a number of different forms to meet customers' unique requirements, which means that firms may spend significant resources on small project activities, such as custom formulations and technical service. Resources slated for new product development are diverted to small project support, and eventually the small projects overwhelm the organization's capacity.
As globalization creates new opportunities for growth and prosperity, it also represents a dynamic challenge for demand driven supply chains. Industry specific knowledge is not only key, it is a prerequisite. Expeditors understands the importance of:
- Speed/on-time delivery
- Proactive information-event driven visibility
- Shock sensitivity
- Security
- Door to door services
- Product integrity
- Loss prevention
- Regulatory compliance
- Cost/performance efficiency
- Minimized handling
- Market scalability