#insurance and other industries. Cable transmission in these industries is 9

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The Hotel Hackers Are Hiding in the Remote Control Curtains

Three men dressed for business travel in jeans and dress shirts loaded backpacks into the trunk of a black coupe and wound their way through the center of a major European city. When they arrived at their hotel, they unloaded their luggage and waited giddily to pass through the revolving doors. They were checking into the hotel to hack it.

Hackers target financial institutions because that’s where the money is, and they target retail chains because that’s where people spend the money. Hotels might be a less obvious target, but they’re hacked almost as often because of the valuable data that passes through them, like credit cards and trade secrets. Thieves have targeted electronic door locks to burgle rooms and used malware attacks to log credit card swipes in real time. They’ve even used Wi-Fi to hijack hotels’ internal networks in search of corporate data. Just about all of the industry’s major players have reported breaches, including Hilton Worldwide Holdings, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Hyatt Hotels.

The group’s leader checked in at the front desk. One of his associates strolled along the length of the reception area, noting that the property used an outdated point-of-sale system, and another used a mobile app called Fing to scan for hidden networks. While they waited for the staff to finish preparing their room, the hackers took coffee on a terrace. They opened up the published code for the hotel website and exploited an outdated plug-in to compile a list of admin names.

Ultimately they were looking for a door. Sure, they could slip a thumb drive into the neglected register at the far end of the restaurant bar and log credit card numbers until somebody noticed the device. But they would rather find a way into the property management system, or PMS, which hotels use to take reservations, issue room keys, and store credit card data.

Better still would be to do what they did at a hotel in New York City. After plugging the internet cable from the room’s smart TV into a laptop, they got into the hotel’s PMS, which led to the chain’s corporate system. Emails Bloomberg Businessweek viewed show they gained access to credit card information for years’ worth of transactions across dozens of hotels.

If they had been crooks, the team would have sold the information on the black market, where a Visa with a high limit can go for about $20. These hackers, however, were good guys: IT consultants who were frustrated with their hospitality clients’ lax approach to security. To demonstrate the industry’s weaknesses, their leader arranged for a reporter to tag along on an audit of one of his clients’ hotels. The conditions: The hackers wouldn’t break into the personal devices of hotel guests, and neither the hotel, the city, nor the hackers could be named.

Once they got to their room, the hackers concentrated on finding the hotel’s internal network—the one used by staff, not the one guests use to stream pornography and FaceTime their families. In one famous example, hackers breached the internet-connected fish tank in the lobby of a Las Vegas casino and used that exploit to find a database of high rollers on the property’s internal network.

But this room was an older make, with a dumb TV, old phones, and a standard minibar, equipped with Heineken and Toblerone but no internet. Then one of the hackers started rooting around in the window frame. Nestled in a top corner was an internet port, designed to let guests open and close the curtains by remote control.

“This will be the way in,” the leader said.

How much of the responsibility for guarding electronic transmissions lies with hotels and how much with guests is “a nasty philosophical question,” says Mike Wilkinson, global director at Trustwave SpiderLabs. Mark Orlando, chief technology officer for cybersecurity at Raytheon IIS, advises corporate clients to avoid using personal devices altogether while on the road. That could mean requesting a loaner laptop or buying a burner phone. Even ordinary travelers should use virtual private networks to connect to the internet when outside the U.S., he says.

But no amount of personal digital security could have saved travelers from the massive attack Marriott International Inc. discovered last year. In early September 2018, an automated security tool flagged a suspicious query in the reservation database for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., a company Marriott had acquired two years earlier. In the weeks that followed, security investigators discovered a remote access trojan (RAT), software that lets hackers take control of a target computer, as well as another piece of malware that scours computer memory for usernames and passwords.

Clues left behind by the digital trespassers suggest they made off with as many as 383 million guest records, as well as more than 5 million unencrypted passport numbers and more than 9 million encrypted payment cards. Marriott hasn’t found any evidence of customer data showing up on dark-web marketplaces, CEO Arne Sorenson told a Senate committee hearing in March. That sounds like good news but may actually be bad. The lack of commercial intent indicated to security experts that the hack was carried out by a government, which might use the data to extrapolate information about politicians, intelligence assets, and business leaders.

“From an intelligence standpoint, there are some real advantages to understanding where high-profile people are going to be ahead of time,” says Gates Marshall, director of cyber services at CompliancePoint Inc., whose consulting clients include airports. “There’s a market for travel itineraries. It’s not a commercial market, it’s more of a geopolitical one.”

Sorenson has said he doesn’t know who’s responsible for the attack—and likely never will. Others have been more willing to point the finger, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who attributed the hack to China in an interview with Fox & Friends in December.

Hospitality companies long saw technology as antithetical to the human touch that represented good service. The industry’s admirable habit of promoting from the bottom up means it’s not uncommon to find IT executives who started their careers toting luggage. Former bellboys might understand how a hotel works better than a software engineer, but that doesn’t mean they understand network architecture.

There’s also a structural issue. Companies such as Marriott and Hilton are responsible for securing brand-wide databases that store reservations and loyalty program information. But the task of protecting the electronic locks or guest Wi-Fi at an individual property falls on the investors who own the hotels. Many of them operate on thin margins and would rather spend money on things their customers actually see, such as new carpeting or state-of-the-art televisions.

The result is a messy technological ecosystem that runs on old software. Many hotels use Opera, sold by Oracle Corp., as their PMS. A common version was designed for a legacy Windows operating system, and directs users to disable security features to make the software work. An instruction manual for the software starts with a step-by-step guide on how to lower your defenses: First, turn off data execution prevention, a feature that protects system memory from malicious code. Next, deactivate user account control, making it easier for hackers to gain administrator privileges. Finally, disable Windows Firewall. Now you’re ready to book reservations and take credit card payments. (Oracle’s security guide advises users to “harden” their operating systems after installation.)

Even worse, many hotels put their PMS online, letting hackers break in from thousands of miles away. Joshua Motta, CEO of cyber insurer Coalition Inc., ran a search of the admin page used to support Opera online and found 1,300 instances of the application running on the public internet, from Newfoundland to the Maldives. “All of a sudden your system is only as secure as a username and password,” Motta says, “which hackers have repeatedly shown isn’t terribly effective.” “Customers are encouraged to upgrade their systems and software to the most recent version to provide the highest level of security measures available,” says Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger.

While hotels are struggling with basic cybersecurity, they’re building massive databases of personal behavior. One of the ironies of the Marriott breach is that the company acquired Starwood because Sorenson thought adding its popular loyalty program and fancy hotels would give him a moat against digital middlemen, who seek to collect fees for helping travelers find hotel rooms. Marriott’s new heft would give customers more incentive to book directly with the company, cutting out Expedia, Booking.com, and other online travel agencies, as well as advertising giants Google and Facebook.

At some properties, hotel brands are already collecting data on what temperature you like your room and how you like your eggs, betting that knowing that stuff can translate into better service. Other kinds of customer data—the annual conferences you attend or the date of your wedding anniversary—are largely untapped marketing opportunities. Some companies are also experimenting with putting voice assistants in their rooms or using facial recognition to streamline check-in. Privacy issues abound, but even more mundane advances are fraught with trade-offs between convenience and security. It’s increasingly common for travelers to check in to a hotel from a mobile app, bypass the front desk, and get into their room by using their phone as an electronic key.

In an interview in June, Sorenson said that the hack had forced his company to take a harder look at how it manages cybersecurity, adopting forensic tools that it used in the wake of discovering the breach as part of its daily security hygiene. He also argued that privacy issues are manageable.

“The information that we want and you may want us to have, that allows us to better serve you, is often not that sensitive,” he said. “The fact that you like feather pillows, or a low floor, or a high floor. Now it is personal. But we’re not collecting information about which man or woman you show up in our hotel with and whether one’s a spouse and one’s not.”

The internet-connected drapery hadn’t led the hackers into the hotel PMS, but it did set the team on a frenzied search for other connections. One hacker dragged a chair into the vestibule and balanced on the arms, the better to lift a mahogany ceiling panel. Another found an internet port in the ceiling of the walk-in closet. Only one problem: No one had brought a 10-foot cord.

“We should call housekeeping and ask for a ladder,” one of them said. “We’re trying to hack into your network,” he joked. “Can I have a ladder? Of course, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you? ” Instead, they balanced an ironing board on an ottoman, rested a laptop on top of it all, and plugged in, using a network scanner tool to search for IP addresses that looked as if they could be hosting the PMS.

While they waited to find a signal, they took stock of the failures and successes of the hotel’s defenses. All things told, the security was better than the team expected, but it was still disconcertingly porous given the presumption of safety most guests think they have inside a hotel. If they were actually trying to breach the network, they would have tried to crack the hotel staff’s accounts to try to take control of the hotel website. At a minimum, it would have let them collect credit card info from every new booking. Before they’d checked in to their room, the leader had used his phone’s hotspot to create a new Wi-Fi network, naming it after the hotel. Within minutes, six devices had joined his spoofed network, exposing their internet activity to the hackers. (If he really wanted to go after guests, he would have used a device called a Wi-Fi pineapple to automate the process.)

It wasn’t all bad. When one of the hackers asked a waitress to charge his phone, she went out of her way to plug the device into a wall charger instead of her computer. More important, the hotel’s internal network was well protected.

Impatient to speed up the process, the team leader called his office and had a colleague look up the correct IP range for the hotel network. The PMS, however, didn’t respond. The door was locked.

But then another door opened. One of the hackers used a kind of attack called a distributed denial of service to kick a guest device, “Jamie’s iPad,” off the hotel Wi-Fi. That could have been the prelude to tricking her iPad into joining the spoofed network, and snooping on her communications. On the bright side, the hackers might never find out what Jamie likes for breakfast.

Source code: BY PATRICK CLARK 

Back doors to your personal data can be found in everything from smart fish tanks to Wi-Fi pineapples.

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About Trademark Registration

Registration in Single Class The registration in single class, will gives protection under that class only. Otherwise we should go for multiple class registration, which will be expensive. For example ‘cococola’ is registered in the class relating to food and beverages and somebody is applying cococola in class relating to construction, then authorities will consider the second application also. Trademark application as a word mark: A word mark registers the word one would want to use and renders stronger and wider protection to one’s business. Once registration is granted for a word trademark, the applicant has the right to use and represent the word in any format or font which grants it extensive protection including exclusive rights to the word as a whole and also allows the applicant to depict it in various formats regardless of its style for all the goods and services in respect of the mark. In other words, by filing a word mark, one would prevent third parties from using one’s brand name in any regard. Trademark application as a logo: A logo on the other hand gives one the rights in the combination of images, design and words taken together. Therefore, the protection given to the words encompassed in a logo are limited in comparison with the standard word marks since the rights in a logo are entitled only to the logo as a whole. If one wishes to register a particular stylized appearance or a combination of stylized wording, orientation, shape, colour and design, filing a trademark as a logo would be appropriate. In other words, by filing a logo, one would prevent third parties from using the said logo or any other logo deceptively similar, rather than the words incorporated in the logo. Quite often, the brand name of businesses constitutes both of words and logos rather than just a logo. The safest way to protect the intellectual property in such instances would be to file the trademark as both as a word mark and as a logo. However, since filing multiple trademark applications would be an expensive affair, the next safest pick for businesses who are looking at cost efficiency would be to register the trademark as a word mark. Ideally, separate trademark applications for word as well as logo should be filed to attain the broadest protection for any business. While big companies might have the budget to justify such multiple applications, this may not seem economical for startup businesses. Hence, it is advisable to file the trademark as a word mark, giving one the next broadest protection against unwarranted infringers. An ideal example for such a scenario would be that of the well-known brand PEPSI. Since 1962 till date, PEPSI has changed its logo a significant number of times. Had it registered its initial trademark application as a logo in 1962 and ceased usage of the same each time a new logo was created, then it would have to file a new trademark application for every such new logo created. The initial trademark application would not protect any of the subsequently created logos. However, since PEPSI registered their trademark as a word mark, they were able to do away with such redundant hassles. Classification of goods and services – Name of the classes (Parts of an article or apparatus are, in general, classified with the actual article or apparatus, except where such parts constitute articles included in other classes). Class 1. Chemical used in industry, science, photography, agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesive used in industry Class 2 . Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and against deterioration of wood; colorants; mordents; raw natural resins; metals in foil and powder form for painters; decorators; printers and artists Class 3 . Bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning; polishing; scouring and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions, dentifrices Class 4 . Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; dust absorbing, wetting and binding compositions; fuels(including motor spirit) and illuminants; candles, wicks Class 5 . Pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary preparations; dietetic substances adapted for medical use, food for babies; plasters, materials for dressings; materials for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparation for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides Class 6. Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; materials of metal for railway tracks; non-electric cables and wires of common metal; ironmongery, small items of metal hardware; pipes and tubes of metal; safes; goods of common metal not included in other classes; ores Class 7 . Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs Class 8 . Hand tools and implements (hand-operated); cutlery; side arms; razors Class 9 . Scientific, nautical, surveying, electric, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire extinguishing apparatus Class 10 . Surgical, medical, dental and veterinary apparatus and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes and teeth; orthopaedic articles; suture materials Class 11 . Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes Class 12 . Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water Class 13 . Firearms; ammunition and projectiles; explosives; fire works Class 14 . Precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals or coated therewith, not included in other classes; jewellery, precious stones; horological and other chronometric instruments Class 15. Musical instruments Class 16 . Paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artists' materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging (not included in other classes); playing cards; printers' type; printing blocks Class 17 . Rubber, gutta percha, gum, asbestos, mica and goods made from these materials and not included in other classes; plastics in extruded form for use in manufacture; packing, stopping and insulating materials; flexible pipes, not of metal Class 18 . Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides, trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery Class 19 . Building materials, (non-metallic), non-metallic rigid pipes for building; asphalt, pitch and bitumen; non-metallic transportable buildings; monuments, not of metal. Class 20 . Furniture, mirrors, picture frames; goods(not included in other classes) of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, horn, bone, ivory, whalebone, shell, amber, mother- of-pearl, meerschaum and substitutes for all these materials, or of plastics Class 21 . Household or kitchen utensils and containers(not of precious metal or coated therewith); combs and sponges; brushes(except paints brushes); brush making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steelwool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain and earthenware not included in other classes Class 22 . Ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, tarpaulins, sails, sacks and bags (not included in other classes) padding and stuffing materials(except of rubber or plastics); raw fibrous textile materials Class 23 . Yarns and threads, for textile use Class 24 . Textiles and textile goods, not included in other classes; bed and table covers. Class 25 . Clothing, footwear, headgear Class 26 . Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks and eyes, pins and needles; artificial flowers Class 27 . Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings(non-textile) Class 28 . Games and playthings, gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees Class 29 . Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, fruit sauces; eggs, milk and milk products; edible oils and fats Class 30 . Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces, (condiments); spices; ice Class 31. Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, malt Class 32 . Beers, mineral and aerated waters, and other non-alcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages Class 33 .Alcoholic beverages(except beers) Class 34 . Tobacco, smokers' articles, matches SERVICES Class 35 .Advertising, business management, business administration, office functions. Class 36 .Insurance, financial affairs; monetary affairs; real estate affairs. Class 37 . Building construction; repair; installation services. Class 38. Telecommunications. Class 39. Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement. Class 40. Treatment of materials. Class 41. Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities. Class 42. Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software. Class 43. Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation. Class 44. Medical services, veterinary services, hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, horticulture and forestry services. Class 45. Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals. Read the full article

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How to Ship Anything - A Guide to the Freight Industry

This guide will have you fully prepared when the truck arrives.

If you are reading this guide, the chances are that you have not shipped before, or you are new to how the process works; however, you could be part of a warehouse crew and are familiar with most of this stuff already. This guide will cover all of the cornerstones of the freight industry and will map out the road to preparedness for shippers. For people who have less than 150 pounds (68 kilograms) in total commodity weight (something in a small box), service has to be requested from a parcel carrier such as UPS, FedEx, or DHX. Small items for parcel carriers are not the subject of this shipping guide. This is about shipping pallets, crates, and big trucks carrying big things. The shipping industry is highly detail-oriented, and it is important to be ready in full confidence by getting an understanding of how to be ready to ship your items effectively.

I: Short Glossary of Essential Terms

shipper – the origin party to the shipment from where the freight is picking up. consignee – the destination/receiving party where the freight is delivering. freight class – the rating assigned to LTL shipments based upon density density – the amount of space a shipment occupies (a measurement in pounds per cubic foot) FTL – full truckload LTL – less than truck load

II: What type of truck is required?

There may be vehicle and trailer requirements depending on the weight and dimensions of the commodity being transported. There are many various types of trailers that are attached to the truck. For example, a flatbed is an open air platform with no covering. Also, a step-deck flatbed has a lowered center so as to acquire enough vertical space for tall items in order to clear bridges. A dry van is the most typical type of enclosed trailer, which is what you would consider to be a typical semi-truck trailer or commonly called a 53-foot van. Many smaller delivery box trucks of 40′ or 24′ in length are more accessible for small business and residential deliveries where a longer vehicle attempting to exit a tight street/facility access is difficult and dangerous.

The weight and dimensions of the load will determine whether the shipment is a full truckload (FTL), a less than truckload (LTL), or a volume/partial truckload (VPTL or PTL). A shipment totaling only a few pallets or a few crates, generally not using more than 10 to 16 feet of trailer space (depending on carrier), means that your shipment qualifies as LTL. These types of shipments require your commodity be assigned a freight class via an item classification system. Note for FTL or flatbed customers, prepare to make arrangements to load and unload the shipment from the truck especially if the desired goal is to save money. The maximum weight for a truckload is usually around 40 to 44 thousand pounds (18 to ~20 thousand kilograms ). If your shipment occupies 12-14 linear feet or more of trailer space, then it qualifies as a volume or partial load.

III: Getting ready to ship

a. Do you need to palletize or crate your item?

The first step to preparing for a shipment is selecting a handling unit that allows for your item(s) to be transported efficiently and safely. A handling unit is considered a forklift-ready preparation of the item to be shipped with. Oftentimes, the slot where forklifts and pallet jacks are inserted under the freight is called “cribbing”. In a lot of cases, however, large items to be loaded on a flatbed truck can just be hoisted on to the truck with a forklift or other loading equipment and moved as a piece and strapped to the platform appropriately (and possibly even covered with tarps for weather protection). Sometimes, ramps may even be available to drive or move vehicles or equipment on to the truck bed. In general cases when you need to palletize the shipment, standard pallets most commonly suffice to accommodate the handling of the items, but the following is an extensive list of the types of shipping handling units:

– Pallets, also known as skids, are forklift-maneuverable platforms, the standard sizes being 40″ x 48″ or 48″ x 48″ (length by width) and most commonly composed of plywood, though metal pallets are often used, too. They are usually about 40 pounds in weight. One can easily locate them behind most retail outlets or shopping centers, and they can also be obtained for free at other places. A general rule when loading your pallet is to not try to stack up the pallets any taller than 6-8 feet. Shrink wrap and/or straps are then commonly used to secure the items to the pallet. We recommend the items always boxed up or covered with cardboard. In the example of engines, motor, and transmissions, a standard pallet with straps will usually suffice perfectly.

– Crates are forklift-maneuverable plywood boxes constructed by either the shipper or appropriate local crating service or even purchased from a vendor of pre-assembled crates. Crating is frequently necessary for furniture like sofas and couches and is a logical practice in order to protect any bulky or delicate items during the shipping process. Open crates are sometimes used as well, which is a box of wood framed around the item(s) on the pallet instead of completely enclosed in plywood as with a normal crate. Further, the crate’s contents more than likely need to be secured or strapped down inside as well.

– Carton is the industry term for cardboard boxes for the items. It’s not often, but sometimes a carrier will accept a loose box or two without palletizing.

– Containers are metal trailers that are loaded onto flatbed trucks and most often used in international shipping. When your item moves by sea and doesn’t occupy a full container, it is consolidated with other items inside of a container. When the container is moved short distances (for example, from the port), this is called drayage.

– Reels are used for wire, cable, and other wrapped material. They are usually placed on the truck as a standalone piece, but if there is a significant quantity of them or weigh over 75 pounds (about 34 kilograms), they will need to be palletized prior to dispatch.

– Rolls, similar to reels, are used to move items that are wrapped around like hoses, bubble wrap, etc. Carpet is often shipped as standalone rolls without palletizing.

– Drums and cylinders are great containers to go on top of pallets or small skids- many already have cribbing on them. The only difference between drums and cylinders would be the material it’s made from.

– Tubes are used often for shipments that are not very heavy. The most common ones are made with cardboard, with plastic end caps to hold the items inside. A shipper may want to put some tape over the sealed lids for extra security. Tubes are not shipped very often on LTL carriers. This is mainly used to ship via parcel carriers.

– Totes are similar to buckets, typically made of a plastic derivative with the cribbing prepared at the bottom for forklift and pallet jack access.

– Loose pieces are not usually allowed by LTL carriers as a pallet provides stability from pieces bouncing around in a truck and getting damaged. This is usually just listed on the shipping documentation and confirmed by the carrier for acceptance. The items may have wheels and are loaded on the truck as they are. Pieces are also counted by how many boxes are being shipped or the number of objects inside a box.

b. Shipment is ready!

So far, we have mentioned several different types of preparations for shipping, but learning to think with a mindset in terms of item protection and logistics will improve your overall experience in shipping. Learn to realize when ramps on a flatbed are required to load, say, golf carts (or other wheeled items or vehicles) on to the truck. Another scenario might demand a step deck truck if the freight is 9 feet in height or even a little taller. Putting the freight in cardboard boxes and strapping pallet is often a great and simple way to ship. There are even foam packing materials you can stuff inside the packaging for extra protection. Definitely recommended! We also suggest strapping or tying down the freight as well. For furniture shippers, another great solution is to get some foam furniture pads to strap to your pieces on the pallet for protection. Sometimes, people place blankets over the surface of the items for protection purposes. Again, in any LTL shipment, the freight shall be secured on to the skid or made forklift-ready with another handling unit prior to time of pickup. In FTL shipments, the shipper needs to be prepared to load and unload with a logistics strategy for such.

Now you have decided the appropriate way to ship. Your freight is secured and ready to be loaded. Choosing the right handling unit, packing the shipment appropriately, and choosing any necessary special services are the most integral stages of being prepared to ship. People need to be innovative as to any packing materials they utilize for protecting the commodity. It’s important to keep safety of the cargo in mind and to allow proper time to prepare for shipping. Later on we will discuss comprehensive liability insurance options, but now, let’s discuss what constitutes a special service.

c. Weighing and measuring the shipment

Obtaining a precise weight measurement for the freight can often present difficulties as LTL carriers price shipments based upon the weight as well as the freight class. You may be a shipping veteran reading this article with an industrial weight scale at your warehouse, so this may be a topic you are familiar with, but residential shippers do not often have access to a scale, and we have some tips on how to obtain an accurate weight measurement. Try locating the details of any and all model numbers for your products online, and a weight measurement may be found. In cases when you only have boxes to palletize, stand on a scale and weigh yourself first. Then, stand on the scale with boxes and subtract your body weight from the measurement, and you can target an accurate weight that way. Remember, the pallet will add about 40 pounds to the shipment, and crates may add up to or even more than 50-60 pounds. When you have your shipment prepared, it is time to bring out the tape measure and obtain the length, width, and height (L x W x H).

d. Special services

The industry is shaped around a regular model of business-to-business shipments. Anything else required is typically assessed in an accessorial surcharge. There are a number of accessorial types such as liftgates, residential service, inside pickups & deliveries, limited access entry, or appointment surcharges.

The prime example of this is for those who require a method to load the items on or off of the truck will need to order a hydraulic liftgate, which is a steel mechanical platform on the back of a truck. If a liftgate has been requested, the truck driver will come equipped with a pallet jack, another type of heavy lifting device used by LTL carriers used to wheel the freight into the proper position for loading/unloading. If the shipment is light enough to be lifted manually on to the truck or the shipper has a forklift or other hoisting device, customers can forego this excess cost.

Residential pickups and deliveries mean an automatic appointment is scheduled to ensure the someone is present at time of service and usually imply that a liftgate truck will be required as well. Carriers will sometime send a smaller, 24-foot truck to accommodate the tighter turns associated with residential streets; however, this is not always the case. You may also have your freight ready in your garage (as long as there aren’t any huge hills on the driveway).

Another accessorial is classified as an inside pickup or delivery when the truck driver is asked to enter inside a building for pickup or delivery when the freight is not prepared at the roadside or the loading dock.

Oftentimes, trucks are requested to enter into limited access areas like storage facilities, schools, farms, churches, prisons, and other places with gated entry. As a visit to a construction site or trade show may be classified distinctly, it is still comparable in nature and costs nearly the same.

When the commodity needs to stay chilled or even frozen, this may require a refrigerated truck (also known as “reefer”) if you need to ship with multimodal shipping services, which lowers carrier availability and raises fuel and resource requirements. The use of dry ice for a pallet or two may help you circumvent excess costs of frozen shipping while still keeping your items chilled during transit.

Appointments for pickups and/or deliveries are included in residential service fees, but you should have the means to determine if there will be a small extra cost from the carrier. Usually, a call can be made to the consignee for delivery within 30 minutes to an hour prior to truck arrival, but if you wish to hold it for appointment time, you will get a phone call and a precise time for pickup, instead of a 3-4 hour time window.

There are special regulations when shipping hazardous materials (HAZMAT). Anything that is considered flammable receives a small HAZMAT charge, and documentation will be needed to determine the UN (United Nations) number. Any active batteries will also need to be disconnected prior to pickup. Paint, fertilizer, glue and sealants, ammonia, or oil are all examples of commodities that are classified as HAZMAT.

Comprehensive insurance policies may be purchased to secure yourself against damages and losses. For new items, the liability included with a basic freight quote is set at $10/pound. For used or pre-owned items, that figure comes down to about $.10/pound. It’s important to ensure that you have accounted for the value of the commodity. Remember, the freight must still be prepared/palletized for shipping to qualify for coverage. Also, don’t forget to inspect for damages on arrival and notate anything visible to the delivery receipt when signing at delivery time.

Occasionally, companies will ship over maximum weight and over-dimensional objects. These may require permits and, if applicable, police escorts for the driver. These are only in certain, special cases when the shipment is huge or occupies over 8 feet in width.

e. International ocean & air shipping

International freight usually transports via ocean container to save the most on freight costs. This is referred to as FCL (full containerized load) and LCL (less than containerized load). Container ship freight as well as air freight are rated by volume in cubic meters except to Hawaii and other major U.S. island freight lanes which are rated in cubic feet. Alaska is a notable exception for which freight is rated by the pound in the busy ocean barge lanes between Seattle-Tacoma harbors to Alaska’s major port cities. Air cargo is frequently used on products that must be expedited to prevent business loss due to delays in other modes of freight transportation and is more expensive than shipping by boat; however, this still requires business days transit times on both ends, unlike airline passenger traffic. Air cargo uses different volume-based measurements depending on the carrier but are basically calculated from cubic centimeters or inches.

When shipping internationally, the main added element to be understood is importation costs which is assumed by the Importer of Record (generally the consignee), but this could be a third party as well. Often the actual freight charges are less than the combined import costs of the destination charges paid by the consignee in local currency and customs, duties, and local sales tax in addition to a customs broker’s service fees. Clearly, these larger set of details and costs are dependent on the country of import in addition to the carrier. It’s often required and best advised to use a local customs broker when importing in order to correctly assess total import costs with duties and taxes in addition to properly filing entry paperwork with the government of the country of import.

IV. Making the pickup

Before a truck is dispatched, a shipping agreement will be sent to the billed party for the quoted freight rate, and payment arrangements are made. Many people opt to charge a credit or debit card to pay for the freight, but if you ship frequently, other options may be available. Then, the shipper will receive their shipping documentation.

The Bill of Lading is the only document essential to get the freight on a truck, although sometimes other documentation is required, especially when dealing with border crossings. At time of pickup, you will need this document printed out to hand to the driver. This document has all of the itemized details for the shipment, including any freight classes, NMFC item numbers, item details and dimensions, addresses, and all the rest of it. It is necessary to have the document in hand and to be prepared to load. After pickup has been made, all that is left is tracking and delivery.

Unfortunately, trucking companies are not moving companies, and sometimes they will not hesitate to refuse a load and drive off in their truck without the item(s) to be picked up aboard. This usually occurs when the shipper is unprepared to meet the truck for loading, has the freight improperly packaged/palletized, or the driver is made to delay or wait too long. Obviously, being properly prepared is a key priority to successful shipping.

V. Tracking and delivery

All right! So, your shipment has been picked up, and it’s on the way! People like to know the latest status of their shipment, so that’s why most carriers have made it easy to find this information online. With most carriers, the shipment will be assigned a PRO tracking number at the time of pickup and made available in the carrier’s billing system usually the day after pick-up & processing in the origin terminal. Once the number is made available, one can view the tracking info on the carrier’s website, or you can call the carrier and identify the shipment with the PRO number. This is how to decipher approximately when the actual delivery will take place. As delivery time approaches for LTL shipments, keep in mind if you need to schedule an appointment or to get advanced notice if you are not regularly at the delivery location. Again, residential deliveries are all held for about one day while an appointment is scheduled. The shipment has been completed as of the point when the delivery receipt (Proof of Delivery) has been signed and released by the carrier to the consignee at delivery. Make sure to inspect and notate any visible damages to that document before signing for the freight.

VI. Saving money

Freight costs can be intimidating and expensive; thus, saving money takes top priority. For starters, residential shippers can save money if they are willing and able to visit the freight terminal to pick up or drop off their LTL shipment in a pickup truck or other suitable vehicle. For example, since YRC Freight assesses $50 per residential entry and $50 per liftgate, the shipper saves $100 on the bill by going to the terminal; however, sometimes this is not a feasible means, and the special services are still required because the customer cannot get the items at the terminal or there is not one close enough to go to. Another way that shippers can save money on LTL shipments is if the item is crated, the item will receive a better freight class and, therefore, a more competitive rate. For instance, say someone was shipping an engine and decided to put it in a crate, the freight class would drop from 85 to 70, and the freight rate would come down a little bit. Another case when the freight class would drop is when the item is disassembled (a sofa taken apart or machinery disassembled). These types of shipments are referred to as knocked down (KD) as opposed to a fully-assembled item known as standing upright (SU). A rule of thumb is that the more compact a shipment is (the less space it occupies), the better the freight class will be from the LTL carriers. For truckloads, shippers need to be mindful that they need to be prepared to load within two hours or quicker. Any extra time usually implies higher prices to compensate the carrier for the time spent waiting. Flatbed trucks cost more than standard vans, so if you can find a way to load your shipment into a van, you can save money; however, you may require the ability to load the shipment horizontally on to the truck. On another note, refrigerated and frozen shipments are very expensive. With the use of dry ice or styrofoam coolers with ice packs, a customer may be able to forego the high pricing of temperature-controlled trucking.

a. Upcharges and rate changes

Everybody hates when rate increases occur, but occasionally a bill will be adjusted. This guide is laid out in such a way that should minimize the hassles of working with trucking companies and, therefore, the amount of re-bills you will receive (if any).

Detention charges are assessed by carriers when the driver is forced to wait more than about 90 minutes to make the pickup or dropoff. When detention charges are levied, this often reflects poor planning beforehand.

A dry run fee is usually assessed when the carrier visits a location for pickup or delivery, and no one is present. Again, it is imperative to be ready to load with the Bill of Lading in hand at time of service.

When the freight is not measured properly, an LTL carrier will apply a re-classification if the commodity is assigned a freight class according to its density.

In shipments where the delivery address is changed, a re-consignment fee is a small addition to the total freight cost.

VII. Conclusion

Though there are other scenarios that call for rate changes (port visits, trailer drops, etc.), this guide should educate the reader on good practices, how to avoid these situations, and on what to expect from shipping carriers in the freight industry. As with other ventures in life, shipping requires planning and adequate time for preparation. With experience, you will become intimately acquainted with all the aspects of shipping and logistics. From pickup to delivery, this guide covers every single part of the process, though there are other subjects within the freight industry to elaborate on that could double the size of this guide. When proper attention and planning is made for shipping, customers will avoid excess upcharges and the hassles of working with trucking companies. Shipping can also be expensive, so make sure to go find a broker who can set you up with competitive freight rates. Good luck and thanks for reading.

Source by Henry Tyler Smith How to Ship Anything - A Guide to the Freight Industry

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Potential Area for Investment in Nepal

Here I’m going to write some Potential Area for Investment in Nepal. For Complete info in this topic click here Potential Area for Investment in Nepal .

(For Complete info in Current Investing Environment in Nepal click here Business Environment in Nepal )

a.       Energy:

Nepal is rich in water resources with multiple sources of water, including glaciers, snowmelt from the Himalayas, rainfall and groundwater. Nepal’s theoretical capacity of hydropower is around 80,000 MW, out of which 43,000 MW is estimated to be economically feasible. However, installed capacity is only 750 MW of electricity, despite the fact that peak domestic demand (suppressed) is well over 1,000 MW. Demand for electricity is increasing at 7–9% per year. Nepal is targeting graduating from least developed country (LDC) status to developing country status by 2022 and aims to become a middle income country by 2030. To meet its growth aspirations, Nepal will need to add 6,000+ MW (which requires investment of approximately USD 10 billion). Consequently, a lot of industries and infrastructure projects are in the pipe- line opening up huge opportunities. In addition to energy development, investment opportunities lie in the up gradation and expansion of distribution systems (for which investment of approximately USD 2 billion is required) and transmission systems (for which investment of approximately USD 4.45 billion is required). The Power Trade Agreement (PTA) signed with India has opened up a large market for exporting electricity to India. The SAARC Framework agreement on Energy Cooperation signed during the 18th SAARC Summit in 2014 will pave the way for the eventual formation of a regional energy market.

b.      Tourism:

With the world’s highest mountain range, the Himalayas, and 8 of the 10 highest peaks in world, Nepal has long been popular among mountaineers, trekkers and adventure seekers. It also offers beautiful lakes, steep rivers and gorges, unique wildlife, historic monuments, impressive fine arts, significant religious sites and exotic cultures attracting a wide array of travelers for a variety of reasons. Nepal is also a destination for religious tourism and pilgrimages. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and Pashupatinath and other Hindu pilgrimage sites are the main attractions for people following Buddhism and Hinduism. There are opportunities in developing tourism infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, roads, airports, etc). There is also great potential for expanding the market for meetings, international conferences and events (MICE). Plans to upgrade the current international airport are underway, which will increase the tourist traffic significantly. The expansion of existing tourism products and introduction of new and innovative products has potential to attract different types of tourists and extend their average length of stay.

(For Complete info in this topic click here Potential Area for Investment in Nepal)

c.       Infrastructure:

Only about 19% of roads in Nepal are all weather roads and 2 out of the 75 districts are still not connected by roads. Hence, there are many opportunities to expand the road network, for which the government is seeking to form public-private partnerships. Nepal’s main highways require expansion to accommodate the increase in traffic, which is another area for public-private partnerships. In order to cater to the needs of the growing population, the development of mass public transportation systems – bus-rapid transport (BRT), railways, monorails, airports has been prioritized. To finance these projects, the government is looking at public - private partnerships. Eight north-south corridors (roads) linking China and India through Nepal, a cross-border railway line connecting Kathmandu with China, five cross-border railway lines, ultimately connecting Kathmandu with India, a railway line along the East-West Highway, and cable cars in the hilly regions are planned.

 d.      Agriculture:

Nepal’s geography, topography, water resources and ample supply of labor give Nepal a comparative advantage in agricultural production. Nepal’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture, which accounted for about 32% of GDP and absorbs about two- thirds of the labor market. Only 25% of the total land area is cultivable land; another 33% comprised of forest land and the rest is mountains. The lowlands of the terai region produce an agricultural surplus, which caters to the needs of the food-deficient in hill areas. The Agriculture Development Strategy 2014 recommends spending NPR 502 billion in 10 years. Nepal Government is currently focusing on the modernization, diversification, commercialization and marketing of the agriculture sector. Towards this, the government plans to make available agricultural inputs, such as irrigation, electricity, transportation and agro-credit. The Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2010 focuses on the development of cardamom, ginger, honey, lentils, tea, noodles and medicinal herbs/essentials oil as priority export products. The Trade Policy 2015 reemphasizes the need to develop these products. Good opportunities exist in agriculture production; processing, packaging and branding. Also nontimber forest products, cardamom, ginger, aquaculture, vegetables, floriculture, tea, coffee and honey offer many opportunities. There are good opportunities in input markets (such as for seeds, nurseries, fertilizers, agricultural infra- structure and technology, and agriculture financing) and, due to favorable climatic conditions, the focus on high value organic crops is increasing.

e.      Information and Communication Technology:

Nepal’s ICT sector is one of the fastest emerging sectors in the country, with huge potential for growth in the coming years. All the services related to the ICT sector are open to foreign direct investment, except for media. For telecommunications, 80% foreign ownership is allowed. The Government of Nepal has identified IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2010 as one of the five priority potential export service sectors. The Trade Policy 2015 also reemphasizes the importance of developing this sector. As there are only two major telecommunications companies (NTC and Ncell) dominating the sector, there is room for new firms to enter the market. Foreign BPO companies can tap into the young English-speaking population and benefit from the cost advantages offered by the low wages and low establishment and operating costs. The time zone in Nepal is also favorable for companies looking to outsource from America or Europe. There are unmet needs for the use of ICTs in governmental agencies and the private sector.

(For Complete info in this topic click here Potential Area for Investment in Nepal)

f.        Health and Education:

Opportunities exist in developing education infrastructure, including upgrading and building educational institutions and even education cities (medical, IT, engineering, management etc.), for which the government is seeking to engage in private-public partnerships. Every year, thousands of students go abroad for further studies spending large sums of money. With more and better education institutions within country, this could be avoided. The government is also looking to develop health infrastructure, including modernization and increasing the capacity of health facilities and mobilizing privately-run hospitals by means of public private partnerships. In terms of pharmaceuticals, there are persistent shortages of quality medicines in the market presenting opportunities for manufacturers of pharmaceutical goods.

g.       Financial Sector:

Although the financial sector of Nepal is growing at a rapid pace, still 60% of Nepal’s population has no bank accounts and only 61% are served by formal financial institutions. Also, banking services are heavily concentrated in urban areas whereas 56% of the adults use banking products as compared to 36% in rural areas. Thus financial sector of Nepal still has a large untapped market for banking and financial services. Similarly, Nepal’s Insurance market has also huge potential as the penetration rate is only 1.31% in 2011.

(For Complete info in this topic click here Potential Area for Investment in Nepal)

h.      Mines and Minerals:

Nepal has an abundance of minerals used in industry and construction, including limestone (most abundant), coal, talc, red clay, granite and marble, gold, and precious and semi-precious stones (tourmaline, aqua- marine, ruby and sapphire). Recent studies have shown that Nepal may have 2.5 billion metric tons of cement grade limestone. Nepal has an estimated 5 billion metric tons of dolomite and 180 million metric tons of high grade magnetite. In recent times, the western part of Nepal has witnessed gas and oil seepage, confirming the presence of oil and natural gas in Nepal. About 10 petroleum and natural gas exploration sites have been identified so far. Nepal has more than 20 million metric tons of ore reserves in more than 80 locations. Copper occurs in Nepal in more than 107 locations.

Follow here for How to Setup Business in Nepal http://bizserve.com.np/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/DBIN-Part-2.pdf