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IN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-July 2020

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Products

  • Enabling the real-time monitoring of shipment and container openings, Kizy’s embedded sensitive light sensor can provide information on changes of light and dark in the tracker’s surrounding environment. By collecting this information, the Kizy K-2 Tracker can mark events in the supply chain, from the opening of parcels and containers to the unpacking of goods.
  • The Mini Series Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) from IFCO are small units, one-quarter the size of conventional RPCs, designed to transport food items. The size of the RPCs allows retailers, growers, and suppliers to efficiently use space when transporting convenience food and fresh, pre-packed food for immediate consumption.
  • Grocers and meal kit suppliers can track food temperatures throughout the cold chain with Varcode’s new digital labeling technology, which uses digital smart barcode tags applied to each perishable food bag or box. The labels use a combination of precisely tuned chemicals and a printed layer to capture temperature variances when and where they occur.

    • The new H40-70UT Series, a sit-down, counterbalanced forklift from Hyster Company, is an economical materials handling solution for less demanding applications. The H40-70UT uses a high-strength overhead guard with profiled steel to provide protection and visibility, while the mast is designed to help minimize blind spots and provide a significant front field of view for operators.
    • Hyliion launched a fully electric, long-haul powertrain: the Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX), which leverages an existing fueling infrastructure to offer fleets net-negative GHG emissions and low operating cost. With an electric drivetrain and a natural gas-powered onboard generator to recharge the battery, the Hypertruck ERX provides more than 1,000 miles of range.
    • Atlas Molded Products’ DuraTherm Fold Flat is a space-saving molded polystyrene foam cooler that easily folds flat for transportation, storage, and reuse. Designed for product manufacturers leveraging direct-to-consumer distribution channels, Fold Flat offers thermally controlled transport windows for a range of products, from meal kits to temperature-sensitive medical and biological matter for life sciences.

    Services

    • Retailers, wholesalers, and other companies can now find digital commerce solutions from eMATE Consulting, a new firm co-founded by supply chain expert Gene Tyndall. The service helps shippers meet strategic and operational goals through digital enablement.
    • Crowley added more than 200 new refrigerated containers to keep perishables moving through the cold chain in the Central America and Caribbean markets. The units, which are in addition to 300 new reefers it received in January 2020, feature wireless asset monitoring technology and are equipped with environmentally friendly Star Cool refrigeration systems.
    • Shippers can improve existing e-commerce platforms or enter into e-commerce for the first time with ECOMPLETE, a new service from Hy-Tek Material Handling and its Johnson Stephens Consulting division. Customers can choose the modules or components they need, including facility acquisition, order and warehouse management, materials handling equipment, and operational readiness and support.
    • Companies looking to fast-track omnichannel capabilities or integrate order management systems can now avail of Accelerate Solutions from enVista, a software solutions and consulting firm. Leveraging enVista’s consulting teams and SaaS-based systems, Accelerate Solutions scales to meet shippers’ needs, from spearheading supply chain overhauls to expediting targeted capabilities such as vendor onboarding.
    • Pilot Freight Services now offers shortened home delivery times with multi-client warehouse services in Chicago, Columbus, Orlando, and Salt Lake City to meet retailer and e-commerce product storage and forward staging needs. Able to accommodate 20 to 10,000 pallets or more without a minimum timeframe commitment, Pilot’s warehouse stations are located near major population centers and position goods close to customers.
    • ExFreight Zeta, a digital freight forwarder, unveiled a new instant carbon calculator to provide shippers and 3PLs with estimated carbon emissions for all shipment modes at the time of rating and during actual transit. Data is collected and verified with all respective carriers and provided to the shipper.
    • DHL Express invested $5.3 million to relocate and expand its service center in Nashville, Tennessee. Designed to accommodate e-commerce growth, the new facility is situated near Nashville International Airport and is about 18,000 square feet larger than the previous location. It maximizes processing capabilities and enables earlier deliveries, benefiting international shippers in the greater Nashville market and surrounding areas.
    • Georgia Ports Authority’s Mason Mega Rail project, in the works for more than four years and designed to expand service to the Southeast and Midwestern United States, marked a major milestone. GPA put into operation the first nine of 18 new working tracks, designed to improve efficiency moving containers from trains to trucks.
    • 3PL Kenco Logistics opened an e-commerce fulfillment and distribution facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Scalable to more than 660,000 square feet, the 250,000-square-foot space is designed to serve e-commerce merchants and B2B customers.
    • Shippers can now gain flexible capacity for their transportation needs with Schneider’s new marketplace, Schneider FreightPower. Shippers can access Schneider’s trailer pools and more than 34,000 carriers to overcome capacity surges and can load on-site trailers based on their own production schedule.
    • Logistics company Gebrüder Weiss opened subsidiaries in Australia and New Zealand. Situated in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, and in Auckland, New Zealand, the new locations support imports from the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, including vehicles and automotive parts, electronics, and goods from the food and chemical industries. Pictured: Australia’s busiest container and general cargo port, the Port of Melbourne.
    • Sweden’s new freight port Stockholm Norvik Port welcomed its first containership in late May 2020 and its first scheduled freight train in June on its industrial branch line. The new line links Stockholm Norvik Port to the Swedish rail network.
    • The Deliverator, a three-wheel electric vehicle, is now available for rent in Los Angeles through the HyreCar platform, a carsharing marketplace. Vehicle maker Arcimoto and HyreCar launched the rental program to provide an efficient last-mile option. Arcimoto’s vehicle has a 100-city-mile range, a 500-pound carrying capacity, and 20+ cubic feet of cargo space.

    Technology

    • Global supply chain firm GEODIS launched GEODIS e-Logistics to help companies manage e-commerce order fulfillment. The platform provides a real-time overview of all available inventory and determines the most appropriate supply source, delivery method, and returns options.
    • Shippers can now get free visibility and freight audit analysis from RateLinx, which will provide insights and actionable steps in less than 30 days. With these insights and recommendations, the logistics visibility and analytics platform aims to help companies improve operational efficiency.
    • AfterShip, a shipping and tracking platform for online retailers, made its e-commerce shipping API, Postmen, free with no limit on shipping volumes. Postmen helps shippers reduce costs by integrating courier selection, cost and delivery time estimates, and shipping label printing into their existing shipping infrastructure at no added cost.
    • Shippers can now take advantage of new features on American Airlines’ online booking platform on aacargo.com. The enhancements include the ability to make allotment bookings, a flight schedule search capability that doesn’t require a log-in, and an interactive claims form.
    • Transportation management software AscendTMS added data from predictive supply chain visibility solutions provider FourKites to enhance its platform with freight insights. Shippers using AscendTMS can now obtain real-time rate data, transit insight data, regional freight flows, border crossing times, port congestion information, and other freight flow information for free.
    • Alibaba.com, Alibaba Group’s first business unit and a B2B trading platform, introduced Alibaba.com Freight, powered by digital freight marketplace Freightos, which enables U.S. small and mid-sized businesses to seamlessly arrange bulk shipments. The solution lets SMBs compare, book, manage, and track ocean and air freight in real time.
    • Supply chain software provider BluJay Solutions launched its Transportation Modeling application, built in collaboration with LLamasoft, a provider of AI-powered supply chain analytics software. The application equips shippers with analytics to evaluate multiple scenarios and the tradeoffs of making changes to operational policy and their potential to improve service and reduce costs.
    • Shippers gain visibility of the entire shipment lifecycle with digital freight technology company Loadsmart’s new Multimodal Services offering, which added transload services. Warehouses can opt to integrate their WMS with Loadsmart or use its free web-based platform to manage containers, assign goods to trailers, and arrange inland pickups.
    • Shippers can now use advanced matching capabilities to more easily find available carriers for their truckload shipments and leverage improved map visualization through Trimble MAPS on the latest Community Load Match platform. The latest version of Community Load Match comes from a joint Trimble-Kuebix team; Trimble acquired Kuebix in January 2020.
    • Healthcare supply chain stakeholders can now collaborate in real time to identify, track, and resolve issues before they become costly supply chain disruptions that risk patient safety with TraceLink’s Agile Issue Management (AIM). Built on TraceLink’s Digital Supply Network, the AIM collaborative platform allows internal cross-functional teams and external partners to view and work together on supply chain issues, quality reviews, documentation, and change requests.
    • Zebra Technologies introduced Zebra MotionWorks Warehouse, a location solution that modernizes warehouse operations by tracking assets, automating transactions, improving worker productivity, and reducing shipping errors. Designed for warehouses with cross-docking workflows or high-volume staging areas that require quick turns, the solution can track items even while they’re in motion.
    • Digital supply chain solutions provider Kinaxis is helping manufacturers accelerate their digital supply chain transition with its new RapidValue platform. The solution enables companies to perform finished goods and key supply components planning, replace disparate Excel sheets with connected, collaborative workbooks and alerts, and lay the foundation for what-next scenario planning.
    • Retailers can now offer consumers a short-term virtual shopping experience in a digital environment with a new solution from retail space marketplace Storefront and experiential e-commerce platform Obsess. The virtual store sits on top of existing e-commerce platforms, reducing the need for extended development work. Virtual showrooms are fully branded, customizable, and feature the retailer’s inventory.
    • Manhattan Associates’ new Manhattan Active Warehouse Management solution is a cloud-native enterprise-class warehouse management system that unifies distribution management functions and can automatically scale up to meet fluctuations in demand. Manhattan Active WM’s Unified Control screens allow management team members to quickly visualize, diagnose, and take action anywhere in their supply chain.
    • Panasonic’s new TOUGHBOOK A3 is designed for warehousing, logistics, and transportation, with an octa-core processor and an insertable stylus. Supporting 4G LTE and FirstNet connectivity, the tablet offers 9 hours of battery life and is equipped with an optional integrated barcode reader and insertable smart card reader.

    Transportation

    • Port Everglades is the newest stop on Evergreen Line’s CAJ weekly container shipping service to and from Panama, Jamaica, and Haiti. Evergreen has three vessels in the service rotation, which includes calls at Manzanillo, Panama; Colon-Coco Solo, Panama; Kingston, Jamaica; Port Au Prince, Haiti; Port Everglades; New Orleans; and Houston before returning to Manzanillo, Panama.
    • A new cargo route from China to Europe is now available for e-commerce shippers with the expanding partnership between Cainiao Network and air cargo carrier group Volga-Dnepr Group and strategic partner CargoLogicAir. Operated via Madrid and Liege, Belgium, the service includes distribution across Europe through Cainiao’s network of terminals, ensuring delivery time frames from China to Europe are kept within 10 days.
    • Pittsburgh International Airport and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport reached an agreement to work together to streamline the air cargo supply chain. The agreement will allow both airports to collaborate on finding solutions for moving air freight faster and more efficiently by exchanging information in airport management; exploring alliances between air cargo industries; and seeking cooperative marketing opportunities.
    • CEVA Logistics now offers a truck-rail-truck solution to keep freight moving across Asia. The multimodal solution is designed for shippers in Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand sourcing goods from China.
    • Newly established Safeen Feeders commenced a feeder service linking Abu Dhabi to ports serving the United Arab Emirates, the broader Gulf region, and Indian subcontinent. The service is executed in partnership with Bengal Tiger Line, a feeder service operator, through a vessel sharing agreement, with a rotation that calls on nine regional ports located across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Pakistan, and Western India.
    • ZIM launched a dedicated service from South China to Los Angeles: the Speedy ZIM E-Commerce Xpress (ZEX). The ZEX service from Yantian and DaChan Bay, South China, to Los Angeles is among the fastest on the market, with a transit time of 12 days. ZEX service deploys five Sprinter vessels to support time-sensitive cargo.
    • Eighteen megaships now link the Port of Oakland to Asia, including Saudi Arabia, with the launch of a vessel service. A highlight of the new service is the first-ever direct link between Oakland and the Middle East. Each ship in the service has capacity to carry 14,000 20-foot containers, and the service calls on ports in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, China, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.
    • To accommodate the needs of mango exporters, Dachser México continues to serve five European destinations: Frankfurt, Germany; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and London during Mexico’s mango growing season, which extends into September.
    • Virgin Atlantic increased its cargo-only flights by 35% to nearly 600 in June 2020 with the launch of new routes including Beijing and Brussels. The airline’s growing schedule means customers now have access to direct cargo capacity connecting London, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Lagos, Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Brussels.