A TV news team from Vancouver, B.C. recently reported the following book selling trend:

A total of 52 million books were sold in Canada in 2014 according to BookNet Canada, the keeper of the data. Of those, 55 per cent were paperbacks, 25 percent were hardcover, 17 percent were e-books and the other three percent were audio books or other.

“Our sales have been up 20 per cent from last year for the last three months straight,” said Caitlin Jesson, the manager of The Book Warehouse on West Broadway in Vancouver.

And Jesson says sales are up eight per cent overall at the parent company, Black Bond Books. It has 10 stores in and around Metro Vancouver.

Canada’s largest book seller, Indigo, also says physical book sales are growing but wouldn’t say by how much, while e-book sales have declined.

And the trend is not just happening in Canada. The largest book retailer in the U.K. says sales of Kindles have disappeared while physical book sales are up five per cent.

Why is this happening?

“I just don’t get the same satisfaction out of reading as I do when I have a real book in my hands,” says reader Lisa Hahn.

What are Canadians reading?

Crime and thriller fiction tops the list followed by fantasy-science fiction, general fiction, cookbooks and historical fiction, according to BookNet Canada. 

In Canada, shopping in person is still the most popular way to buy a book.The average buyer, according to BookNet Canada, is a college educated woman, over 45 who works fulltime and lives in an urban area.Ironically, sales of non-electronic books are also up online.

Fraser Direct is now Controlled Goods Registered

To enhance our Supply Change Management services, Fraser Direct is now registered with the Controlled Goods Program (CGP) at our Georgetown, Ontario and London, Ontario locations. 

The CGP plays a vital role in the prevention and detection of the unlawful examination, possession or transfer of controlled goods in Canada. Under the authorities of the Defence Production Act  and the Controlled Goods Regulations, the CGP's mandate is to strengthen Canada's defence trade controls through the mandatory registration and regulation of businesses and individuals who examine, possess and/or transfer controlled goods.

Fraser Direct combines CGP registration with our Partners in Protection (PIP) membership with Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) to further enhance cross border supply chain security for our clients.

For further information please contact:

Georgetown:

Bruce White, CCS
Customs Manager
905-877-4411 Ext 230
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London:

Steve Hogg
Director; Supply Chain Services
519 850 1555 ext. 615
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Safe Food for Canadians Act: What it means for import and export trade

The Government of Canada introduced the Safe Food for Canadians Act to modernize, simplify and strengthen rules for food commodities imported into Canada and to provide increased export opportunities for Canadian producers.

The legislation provides clear and consistent rules for food commodity importers so that consumers can be confident that all food on grocery shelves is safe, regardless of its origin.

It also enables Canadian exporters to be more competitive abroad and open access to an even greater number of international markets by further aligning our world class food safety system with that of our key trading partners.

New legislation to meet changing needs

The Safe Food for Canadians Act consolidates several pieces of legislation - the Canadian Agricultural Products Act, the Fish Inspection Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and the food provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act - which were created at various times over the past decades. They have served Canadians well, but the time has come to have new tools to manage today’s risks to food safety.

By consolidating and modernizing these statutes, industry will benefit from greater consistency in rules and regulations, which, in turn, will provide consumers with a safer food supply. The legislation also creates new export opportunities for Canadian producers, while enhancing safeguards for imported food commodities.

What new legislation means to food commodity importers and exporters

With the adoption of the Act, the Government of Canada has new authorities that will result in clearer rules for Canadian food commodity exporters and for trading partners importing food commodities to Canada.

Improved import controls

The new import control measures builds on Canada's existing suite of import safety measures by clearly prohibiting the entry of potentially unsafe food commodities into Canada. In addition, the Act includes provisions to register or licence importers, holding them accountable for the safety of the food commodities they bring into the country.

Authority to certify food commodities for export

In recent years, more countries have required that the foods they import be certified, reflecting a growing international effort to ensure food safety. The legislation provides the CFIA the authority to certify all food commodities for export, allowing for a consistent approach to Canadian export certification.

As well, the legislation is an important step in aligning Canada’s food safety system with our trading partners, such as with the Food Safety Modernization Act in the United States. Flexible, modern authorities will allow for timely responses to new international trade requirements.

Click on the following two CFIA websites to learn more: 

Safe Food for Canadians Act: What it means for import and export trade 

Strengthening Canada's World-Class Food Safety System

Please contact Bruce White at Fraser Direct if you required more information.

Bruce White, CCS
Manager, Customs
Fraser Direct Logistics
100 Armstrong Ave, Georgetown ON  L7G 5S4
Direct: 905-877-4411 Ext 230 | Fax: 905-877-2053
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.fraserdirect.ca

Changes to Wood Packaging Material Requirements between U.S., Canada

In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) announced a plan to lift the exemption of Canadian imports from the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM No. 15).

The change requires wood packaging materials (WPM), such as crates and pallets, moving from Canada to the U.S. to meet ISPM No. 15 requirements, including the necessary markings on the WPM.

The final regulation lifting the ISPM No. 15 exemption was delayed in 2013, but is scheduled to go into effect next month, July 2014. With the end of the U.S. exemption, trade experts anticipate that the exemptions pertaining to U.S. shipments to Canada will also be lifted and Canada’s D98-08 Entry Requirements for Wood Packaging Material into

Canada directive will be updated.
Source:  www.worldtradewt100.com

Bruce White, CCS
Manager, Customs
Fraser Direct Logistics
100 Armstrong Ave, Georgetown ON  L7G 5S4
Direct: 905-877-4411 Ext 230 | Fax: 905-877-2053
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.fraserdirect.ca

Partners in Protection (PIP) member

More companies outsource the reverse logistics function than any other part of the supply chain.

In fact, most Fortune 1000 retailers and consumer goods manufacturers outsource part or all of their reverse logistics processes, and experts expect this trend to continue growing globally over the next 20 years.

Why do companies such as Walmart, Dell, Target, HP, Unilever, Pfizer, The Home Depot, and Dollar General outsource reverse logistics when they have well-developed forward supply chain capabilities?

Why would some of the sharpest supply chain minds in the world decide to outsource reverse logistics?

The answer is: profits.

The average customer return rate for North American retailers is 8.1 percent of sales, according to the National Retail Federation. Add mandatory product recalls, removal of overstock and seasonal goods, fixtures, obsolete equipment, and recycling, and you get a sense of reverse logistics' true impact.

Many executives, however, never evaluate the effect of returns on their company until something goes wrong, and they take a major financial hit.

For many, it takes one of these events to get their attention and force them to look at the true cost of returns.

Outsourcing reverse logistics enables companies to focus on doing what they do best: produce and sell goods.

Processing returns is not like running a distribution center.

          There are no purchase orders to tell you what you will be receiving.

          There is no standard packaging for the goods customers return.

          You cannot simply use your warehouse management system in reverse.

In fact, the only thing reverse logistics and distribution processes have in common is the type of building used for storage and processing.

WORTH THE EFFORT

The potential bottom-line impact of process improvements can be much greater for reverse logistics than distribution.

While distribution enhancements can reduce payroll and transportation costs, improving reverse logistics can significantly increase the recovery rate on the value of the inventory processed. This can have a much more significant impact on an organization than simply boosting productivity.

Consider this: If a retailer had 1,000 stores that averaged an 8.1-percent return on sales, and it could increase the recovery rate on customer returns by 10 percent, the impact on the bottom line would be the same as opening eight new stores.

Manufacturers have a similar opportunity. The average manufacturer spends between nine percent and 14 percent of total sales on returns, according to an Aberdeen Group study.

Many manufacturers are driven by strong financial incentives to develop a quality reverse logistics process that could increase the bottom line by one or two percent of total sales.

THREE GOOD REASONS

But why outsource reverse logistics? Three good reasons: focus, flexibility, and financial benefits.

1. Focus.

Companies outsource reverse logistics to qualified third-party logistics (3PL) providers because 3PLs offer the focus and core competencies required to operate a state-of-the-art reverse logistics program. Companies that hire 3PLs gain the software, leadership, and experience required to start and maintain a reverse logistics process that delivers bottom-line results.
For most North American retailers and manufacturers, the "build or buy" analysis is an easy one. Outsourcing reverse logistics to an experienced 3PL can enable them to have an efficient process up and running in months, as opposed to the years it might take to develop similar capabilities in-house.

2. Flexibility.

3PLs offer retailers and manufacturers the flexibility needed to quickly implement an efficient returns process without impacting capital budgets. Most 3PLs either have existing facilities that can be leveraged, or will open facilities in the best locations to minimize transportation costs. These 3PLs provide all the infrastructure required, and build all facility, software, and equipment costs into their price.

3. Financial.

3PLs provide liability protection—for example, capping worker compensation at a standard monthly cost, regardless of the accident rate in the facility. They also build into their contracts a shrinkage allowance over the inventory they process. Most 3PL reverse logistics contracts include some form of price-per-piece cap. All these factors make budgeting and planning easy for those who outsource.

Outsourcing reverse logistics enables companies to focus on doing what they do best: produce and sell goods.

Meanwhile, their 3PL focuses on processing returns, and provides all the reporting and recommendations needed for an integrated, effective reverse logistics solution.

Reverse logistics is often treated like the unwanted stepchild of the supply chain family. Yet the financial impact of focusing resources on reverse logistics can significantly affect a company's profits and share price.

Do you know how much your reverse logistics process is costing you? Now is the time to find out—and enlist help.

Source: Curtis Greve, Reverse Logistics and Sustainability Council