Target says supply chain disruptions demand more collaboration

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jun 22, 2015 5:40PM EDT

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SAN DIEGO – Increasingly frequent disruptions to global supply chains pose a growing threat to U.S. importers and distribution networks, demanding more intensive collaboration among shippers, logistics companies and domestic transport operators, a leading retail shipper said on Monday.

“There have been a number of disruptions even since the West Coast port crisis,” said Josh Dolan, senior director of international transportation for $72.6 billion retailer Target. “The ability to work throughout supply chains with business partners is more critical than ever.”

Labor negotiations alone weren’t to blame for the congestion that gripped U.S. West Coast ports from last November through March. “A number of things compounded that experience,” Dolan told more than 300 transportation executives at the SMC3 Connections 2015 conference in San Diego.

At the top of his list: the chassis shortage, a drayage driver shortage, “the challenges around mega-vessels,” including the bunching of port calls, and “the challenges around the carrier alliances themselves,” said Dolan, who was named honorary chairman of the three-day conference.

“Those challenges have spilled over into causing upheaval in the entire domestic supply chain network,” Dolan said. “A number of our competitors have reported they struggled through the last round of earnings results, and a number of them cited the West Coast ports.”

Dolan joined Target late last year, as the company began implementing some sweeping changes in its business, including shutting down its Canadian operations and “delayering” management, he said. “We’ve refocused and committed to investing in our supply chain.”

In the first quarter, sales increased 2.8 percent to $17.1 billion, reflecting a 2.3 percent increase in comparable sales combined with sales from new stores. “Our results are attributable in part ot the work our team did through those (West Coast port and weather) challenges,” Dolan said.