Performing to the Maxx. The TJX Companies, parent of off-price retail clothing chains T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, has announced plans to implement RedPrairie's Workforce Management solution. TJX will use the DLx Labor planning and reporting system, which is part of the Workforce software suite, to schedule associates in the company's distribution centers, based on order fulfillment requirements. The software calculates the time necessary to complete the work based on previously agreed-upon standards and reports back to workers and supervisors on progress toward the goals.
Deere to its heart. SmartOps Corp., which provides enterprise-class supply chain optimization software, has entered into a commercial agreement with Deere & Co., the manufacturer of John Deere tractor products. The company will use the SmartOps Multistage Inventory Planning & Optimization software solution for its Commercial and Consumer Equipment Division. SmartOps has worked with Deere since 2003, achieving an $890 million reduction in finished-goods inventory and an increase in on-time shipments from factories to dealers.
HP IPG, the Latin American division for Hewlett Packard, has also selected SmartOps for its supply chain optimization software. The solution will help HP in Latin America determine the optimal inventory and product availability plans.
Why FKI loves New York. The U.S. Postal Service has awarded one of the largest material handling contracts it has ever awarded to FKI Logistex. The deal includes the design and implementation of a bulk and tray mail sorting and distribution system, as well as an airline receiving concourse, at the JFK International Service Center at New York's JFK Airport.
Across the Hudson River from JFK, FKI will be installing its Condor aisle-changing crane system at Preferred Freezer Services' warehouse in Newark, N.J. Preferred Freezer Services is a third-party logistics and freezer storage company that specializes in seafood products. The FKI contract totals $2.3 million.
Pallets-a-plenty. Procter & Gamble has renewed its contract with CHEP for pallet pooling in the United States. P&G
has been using CHEP pallets since the pool was created 14 years ago. Pallets full of P&G products are delivered daily to supermarkets, mass retail stores, food service providers, drug stores and convenience stores.
In other news, the Dean Specialty Foods Group is also joining the CHEP pallet pooling system. The company distributes pickles, relish and non-dairy creamers.
Down Argentine way. Terminal Zarate, a cargo port located outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has replaced its paper-based inventory system with a mobile computing solution from Psion Teklogix. The system provides employees with real-time information, which decreases picking times and increases productivity and inventory accuracy.
Striking a balance. Avnet Technology Solutions is implementing the Timogen Decision Manager from Timogen Systems. The Timogen Decision Manager helps manufacturers and distribution companies identify and resolve supply/demand imbalances across an extended supply chain.
The future is plastics. Cartonplast and Orbis Corp. have created a joint venture known as CORBI Plastics. The new company, to be headquartered in DeForest, Wis., will manufacture plastic divider sheets and manage pools of reusable plastic pallets, top frames and divider sheets that protect food, beverage and industrial products during processing, storage and distribution.
New bookings for Radio Beacon. Canadian Book Depot, an online retailer and distributor launched last June, has deployed Radio Beacon WMS in its warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario. The warehouse management system provides an on-demand inventory of its books. Radio Beacon has also installed a new warehouse management system for Del-Nat Tire Corp., a private-brand tire distributor. The WMS has been installed in the company's 500,000-square-foot DC in Memphis.
Cheers! City Brewing Co., a contract producer of alcoholic beverages, has selected HighJump's Supply Chain Advantage suite to manage its fast-growing distribution operations. City Brewing runs five high-volume distribution centers that process millions of cases of beverages annually. The company will use the software for its warehouse and yard management.
Well grounded. The Neptune Group, a garden supply e-tailer, has selected DHL for its ground deliveries. The company, which sells lawn and garden equipment, pond liners, waterfall pumps and pet supplies exclusively through eBay, will use DHL to provide express and ground delivery of these products directly to consumers and retail stores. DHL has also been selected by Airbus to handle shipments of spare airline parts at three facilities in France. In addition, DHL will help ensure that parts arrive on time for assembly of Airbus's A380 aircraft.
States across the Southeast woke up today to find that the immediate weather impacts from Hurricane Helene are done, but the impacts to people, businesses, and the supply chain continue to be a major headache, according to Everstream Analytics.
The primary problem is the collection of massive power outages caused by the storm’s punishing winds and rainfall, now affecting some 2 million customers across the Southeast region of the U.S.
One organization working to rush help to affected regions since the storm hit Florida’s western coast on Thursday night is the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). As it does after most serious storms, the group continues to marshal donated resources from supply chain service providers in order to store, stage, and deliver help where it’s needed.
Support for recovery efforts is coming from a massive injection of federal aid, since the White House declared states of emergency last week for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Affected states are also supporting the rush of materials to needed zones by suspending transportation requirement such as certain licensing agreements, fuel taxes, weight restrictions, and hours of service caps, ALAN said.
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
As the hours tick down toward a “seemingly imminent” strike by East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, experts are warning that the impacts of that move would mushroom well-beyond the actual strike locations, causing prevalent shipping delays, container ship congestion, port congestion on West coast ports, and stranded freight.
However, a strike now seems “nearly unavoidable,” as no bargaining sessions are scheduled prior to the September 30 contract expiration between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) in their negotiations over wages and automation, according to the transportation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.
The facilities affected would include some 45,000 port workers at 36 locations, including high-volume U.S. ports from Boston, New York / New Jersey, and Norfolk, to Savannah and Charleston, and down to New Orleans and Houston. With such widespread geography, a strike would likely lead to congestion from diverted traffic, as well as knock-on effects include the potential risk of increased freight rates and costly charges such as demurrage, detention, per diem, and dwell time fees on containers that may be slowed due to the congestion, according to an analysis by another transportation and logistics sector law firm, Benesch.
The weight of those combined blows means that many companies are already planning ways to minimize damage and recover quickly from the event. According to Scopelitis’ advice, mitigation measures could include: preparing for congestion on West coast ports, taking advantage of intermodal ground transportation where possible, looking for alternatives including air transport when necessary for urgent delivery, delaying shipping from East and Gulf coast ports until after the strike, and budgeting for increased freight and container fees.
Additional advice on softening the blow of a potential coastwide strike came from John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s. In a statement, he named six supply chain strategies for companies to consider: expedite certain shipments, reallocate existing inventory strategically, lock in alternative capacity with trucking and rail providers , communicate transparently with stakeholders to set realistic expectations for delivery timelines, shift sourcing to regional suppliers if possible, and utilize drop shipping to maintain sales.
National nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) kicked off its 2024 season this week with a call for volunteers. The group, which honors U.S. military veterans through a range of civic outreach programs, is seeking trucking companies and professional drivers to help deliver wreaths to cemeteries across the country for its annual wreath-laying ceremony, December 14.
“Wreaths Across America relies on the transportation industry to move the mission. The Honor Fleet, composed of dedicated carriers, professional drivers, and other transportation partners, guarantees the delivery of millions of sponsored veterans’ wreaths to their destination each year,” Courtney George, WAA’s director of trucking and industry relations, said in a statement Tuesday. “Transportation partners benefit from driver retention and recruitment, employee engagement, positive brand exposure, and the opportunity to give back to their community’s veterans and military families.”
WAA delivers wreaths to more than 4,500 locations nationwide, and as of this week had added more than 20 loads to be delivered this season. The wreaths are donated by sponsors from across the country, delivered by truckers, and laid at the graves of veterans by WAA volunteers.
Wreaths Across America
Transportation companies interested in joining the Honor Fleet can visit the WAA website to find an open lane or contact the WAA transportation team at trucking@wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information.