Labelmaster: Gaps in Dangerous Goods Shipping Operations

The past two years have put tremendous pressure on the global supply chain. While the industry fared well in keeping goods moving, several problematic areas came to light in organizations’ ability to keep dangerous goods (DG) safe and compliant moving forward.

To better understand the global DG landscape, Labelmaster, IATA and Hazardous Cargo Bulletin have partnered for the past 6 years to develop the annual Global Dangerous Goods Confidence Outlook, the industry’s only global survey examining challenges and attitudes of DG pros  in relation to supply chain DG management. Last year’s survey of 465 DG pros examined how their organizations managed the pandemic and the ability of their operations to meet supply chain needs. The survey uncovered a need for greater awareness among senior leadership and further investment in DG training and technology.

Navigating Supply Chain Challenges

The survey found that organizations struggled with receiving goods in a timely manner, a lack of carrier availability, training/recertifying employees and keeping teams up-to-date on new and existing compliance rules.

Despite this range of supply chain challenges, DG pros feel their organizations managed the pandemic reasonably well.

• 80% agree their companies coped well during the pandemic
• 62% agree their supply chain IT capabilities supported DG management well during the pandemic

Organizational Performance Gaps

Though positive overall, DG pros identified several critical organizational issues that need to be addressed. The highest priorities include organizational awareness and infrastructure (50%), training curriculum that meets goals and supports remote learning (46%), harmonized regulations and interpretations (44%) and DG technology (42%).

Given these issues, DG pros acknowledge some significant performance gaps.

• Infrastructure: Only 25% believe their company’s current infrastructure is equipped to meet future needs, and less than 20% believe existing tech at their company supports future DG needs
• Compliance training: 41% feel their current training/recertification curriculum is not equipped to meet future needs
• Organizational awareness: 31% feel their company’s senior leaders are not aware of their DG supply chain challenges, and 36% indicate their companies only adhere to the minimum requirements

However, despite needing better resources when it comes to shipping DG, organizational support is not expected to grow with future spending on DG management: Less (15%), the same (60%) and more (25%).

Though organizations feel positive overall about how they have managed the pandemic, DG pros recognize potential challenges on the horizon if these management gaps are left unaddressed.

Additionally, in order to thrive in the future supply chain landscape, senior leadership needs to recognize the critical role DG management plays. The right investments must be made in the training, technology and resources needed to not only keep the supply chain running (even when major disruptions arise) but provide real business value and differentiation.

To view the recent survey results, visit https://www.labelmaster.com/dg-confidence-outlook, and keep an eye out for the 2022 report examining how DG operations have changed over the past year, and which areas have been the most problematic, scheduled to be release in August.

Robert Finn

Vice President