• TPMTech
  • February 23 – 24, 2023 | Hilton Long Beach

April Zobel

The Andersons Inc.

Profit Center Manager, Export Container

April Zobel is the profit center manager, Export Containers for The Andersons Inc., a diversified agricultural company conducting business across North America in the grain, ethanol, plant nutrient, and rail sectors. Zobel oversees the logistics and freight activities for the company’s grain and feeds ingredient export program, a program that exports 100,000 TEU annually. She joined The Andersons upon the company’s January 2019 acquisition of Lansing Trade Group, one of the largest US agricultural exporters. Zobel began her logistics career in 2005 with DHL in Des Moines, Iowa, and subsequently worked for Netflix, MachineryLink Logistics, and Touton USA. She joined Lansing’s export program in 2013 and currently sits on the board of directors on the New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX). She holds a bachelor’s in corporate communication from Simpson College of Indianola.

Sessions With April Zobel

Thursday, 23 February

  • 04:00pm - 04:30pm (PST) / 24/feb/2023 12:00 am - 24/feb/2023 12:30 am

    Solving the ERD Thorn in the Side of Exporters

    Earliest return date, or ERD, is a bad word for US exporters. It's a deadline imposed by container lines, stipulating the date at which a laden export box can enter a marine terminal. The reason it's a bad word? Because ERDs tend to change, and sometimes frequently, creating operational nightmares for exporters and their logistics partners. In some sense, there's no getting around the reality that ERDs have to change due to schedule changes outside of a carrier's control. But either way, exporters need a path toward manage ERD volatility. Enter technology. A clutch of technology providers are working on solutions to help convey ERD changes to exporters in a more efficient way. In this session, providers will describe how they are helping the export community manage this confounding situation.

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