For ocean carriers, 2020 will be a year of reckoning, as regulatory and market pressures force them to shelve expansion plans and slash costs. But over at the nation's ports, it's a different story.
Gary Frantz is a contributing editor for DC Velocity and its sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly, and a veteran communications executive with more than 30 years of experience in the transportation and logistics industries. He's served as communications director and strategic media relations counselor for companies including XPO Logistics, Con-way, Menlo Logistics, GT Nexus, Circle International Group, and Consolidated Freightways. Gary is currently principal of GNF Communications LLC, a consultancy providing freelance writing, editorial and media strategy services. He's a proud graduate of the Journalism program at California State University–Chico.
Ports and containership operators have turned the page on a challenging 2019 in which they persevered through a weakening global economy, slackening demand, shifting trade flows, trade and tariff battles between the U.S. and China, and a resulting pause in capital investment by the world's industrial and manufacturing companies as they wait to see how the battles play out. The one bright spot was the American consumer, whose strong consumption continued to buoy an otherwise tepid economy.
Going into the new year, maritime players are faced with many of these same macroeconomic as well as shipping-specific business issues. Notably, the maritime industry also enters 2020 dealing with perhaps its biggest challenge in decades: IMO 2020, the International Maritime Organization's global regulation to limit sulfur emissions from oceangoing ships, which took effect January 1st.
Under the new regulation, ships are required to use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.5% or less, down from 3.5%—or otherwise equip vessels with exhaust-cleaning systems, or "scrubbers," to meet lower sulfur oxide (SOx) emission requirements. (Alternatively, they can meet the mandate by investing in new ships powered exclusively by liquefied natural gas.) It's a sweeping mandate that affects all ship line operators and the approximately 60,000 vessels that ply the world's oceans moving some 90% of global trade.
The greening of ocean shipping is expected to have significant health and environmental benefits. Oceangoing vessels burn an estimated 3.9 million barrels of fuel per day, generating about 90% of sulfur emissions worldwide, according to an estimate by investment firm Goldman Sachs. The IMO projects that the changeover to low-sulfur fuels and scrubbers will reduce sulfur oxide emissions from ships globally by 77% from 2020 to 2025, reducing acid rain and avoiding some 570,000 premature deaths worldwide from conditions like strokes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and pulmonary diseases.
But those benefits will come at a price. Two of the world's biggest containership operators, A.P. Møller -Maersk (Maersk) and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), have stated that their costs for compliance and changes to their fuel supplies due to IMO 2020 will likely exceed $2 billion annually—costs that will inevitably be passed on to customers. A number of ship lines have already put in place fuel-surcharge mechanisms for both short contracts (or spot rates) and long-term contracts to help recover the majority of the extra expense. As the added costs of compliance ripple through global supply chains, Goldman Sachs estimates the impact in higher shipping costs could be as much as $40 billion.
SWITCHOVER UNDERWAY
Ship lines have spent most of the last year getting ready for IMO 2020. Søren Skou is chief executive officer of Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, operating 725 vessels worldwide that serve 343 ports in 121 countries. In the company's recent quarterly earnings call, Skou noted that Maersk is well prepared for IMO 2020. It started the fuel switchover in December, has lined up agreements with low-sulfur fuel suppliers globally, and will "mainly comply by using low-sulfur fuel in our vessels and scrubbers [on] a little more than 10% of our fleet," he said.
All this will cost Maersk a pretty penny. Although the total cost of its emissions-reduction efforts is unknown at this point, the company says the additional expenses likely will run into the billions of dollars. "We cannot pay this [increased cost] ourselves," Skou said, adding that Maersk has focused on structuring contracts and spot rates "so our customers will help us pay for this." He noted that the price adjustments had met with "good understanding" from customers and that the company continues to "work on getting our overall fuel consumption as low as possible, which is beneficial both for our costs, our customers, and not the least, the environment."
Similarly, Hamburg, Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd, which operates some 230 vessels worldwide, is putting the majority of its eggs in the low-sulfur fuel basket to achieve compliance, according to Pyers Tucker, the ship line's senior director of corporate development. "We expect that by the end of 2020, around 15% of our fleet capacity will be equipped with scrubbers," he says.
Hapag-Lloyd has instituted a "marine fuel recovery" mechanism to recoup the additional fuel cost. "While of course nobody is happy with increased prices, all understand and accept that this is a good thing for our planet," Tucker says.
He notes as well that Hapag-Lloyd this year is converting a 15,000-TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) vessel to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion. If successful, that could pave the way for conversion of an additional 16 "LNG-ready" vessels in its fleet.
A QUESTION OF CAPACITY
The impact on shipping costs aside, efforts to reduce sulfur emissions by ocean vessels will also have implications for overall available capacity, service strings, transit times, and port calls, say industry watchers. In a 2019 report titled **ital{New Fuel Regulations for Ocean Carriers Raise Price, Capacity Issues for Shippers,} Gartner analysts David Gonzalez and John Johnson warn that capacity could tighten as vessels are taken out of service to be retrofitted with scrubbers. The report estimates that the scrubber installation itself could sideline a vessel for six weeks, while the entire process—including product selection, design, engineering, and procurement—could take as long as 12 months.
More than 2,000 vessels already have scrubbers installed, costing millions of dollars, the report said. It goes on to say that "estimates call for 4,000 vessels to be outfitted with scrubbers in 2020," adding that "the likelihood of temporarily removing 5% to 6% of the world's 60,000 ocean [vessels] could impact capacity and drive up costs."
Yet even with the prospect of up to 4,000 vessels being taken out of service for scrubber refits in 2020, there's some question whether, in today's market, that will have any influence at all on capacity and rates.
Maritime operators already face a low-growth global economy, slack demand, and stubborn market overcapacity. In this environment of flat to declining volumes, carriers are dialing back new-ship orders and aggressively cutting costs to maintain, and even improve, profits. That's evidenced by Maersk's 2019 third-quarter results, where earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in its Ocean segment rose 13%, to $1.3 billion (U.S.), while revenues were "on par" with the same period a year ago.
And as new containerships get larger and larger, some are beginning to question whether the largest ships are a step too far.
"We are in a period of severe overcapacity," says Lars Jensen, CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting, a consultancy based in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Right now, the order book [number of new ships on order] is historically low, at about 11% of capacity, down from 60%." The 10 largest carriers, Jensen notes, "basically have no order book of consequence," a market situation he called "unprecedented."
Hapag-Lloyd confirms this trend, stating flatly "We do not plan to add any ships in the near future." Maersk echoed a similar position in its recent investor call, saying "We have no intentions now to invest in large vessels."
Jensen cites only one carrier, Korea-based Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), as expanding notably, with a number of vessels in the 20,000- to 22,000-TEU range on order—with Korean shipyards. "Before they ordered, fleet capacity was about 450,000 TEU. Now, they're gunning to reach a million TEU," says Jensen about HMM. That's potentially a problem in itself, he notes. "If you can get the money [to build the ships,] you can grow your capacity, but that does not mean you can generate the cargo to fill those ships," Jensen says.
For vessel operators, who were accustomed to a market that for decades grew at some 9% annually, the slowdown in structural growth—now projected in the 2% to 3% range—has dictated a sea-change in strategy. Instead of pursuing volume at any cost to fill ships, "carriers have had to change their mentality [to one of] increasing the profit of the containers you actually move," Jensen notes.
BUILDING BOOM
Yet the slowdown in growth of global container volumes hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of U.S. port operators for expansion. They continue to invest in infrastructure improvements in an effort to drive efficiencies and more throughput—and become the port of choice for shippers. Some are seeing substantial growth even as the global economy cools.
"Volume has reached record levels at the Port of Oakland in each of the past two years," said the port's maritime director, John Driscoll, in late 2019. "Through October, [the port] was ahead again of last year's record pace. Loaded container volumes continue strong."
While uncertainty over global trade policy casts a shadow over the containerized trade sector heading into the new year, Oakland is pushing ahead with improvements and expansions.
Its International Container Terminal, operated by SSA, will install three new 300-foot-tall cranes in the third and fourth quarters of this year. The investment: more than $30 million. The first building in Oakland's Seaport Logistics Complex, a 460,000-square-foot distribution center, opens this summer. It's the centerpiece of a major logistics infrastructure redevelopment project at the former 200-acre Oakland Army Base. The investment: more than $50 million.
Driscoll adds that another major round of operational enhancements kicks off this year and will extend for three years, including grade improvements, road and rail track relocations to avoid congestion, and its "Freight Intelligent Transportation System," a collection of 15 technology projects designed to improve cargo visibility, send drivers on the quickest routes, and speed truck traffic through the port.
WOOING "BIG SHIPS"
Like Oakland, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA)—which operates oceanside and inland ports in Charleston, Dillon, and Greer—experienced an uptick in activity last year. As of November 2019, SCPA had seen a 7% year-over-year increase in volume, moving 855,959 containers through its Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals since July. It saw a 36% increase in automobiles processed through the port, with 79,238 vehicles moved thus far in its fiscal year 2020.
SCPA also is benefiting from shifting trade flows as more ships transit the expanded Panama Canal and call on Gulf and East Coast ports, which is a driving force behind its ongoing expansion and upgrade efforts. Those include retrofitting and upgrading the Wando Welch terminal, building out the first phase of the new Leatherman terminal, opening a second inland port in Dillon, and launching its harbor-deepening project.
"The name of the game in the port industry is to prepare for the big containerships," says Jim Newsome, SCPA's executive director. "We're locked and loaded as far as our cap-ex plan is going." By the end of 2021, SCPA will be able to handle four 14,000-TEU containerships at one time, Newsome says.
He adds, "We can't worry about trade wars; that's beyond our control. We have to focus on infrastructure and having it ready on time, so the ship lines see us as reliable."
A few hundred miles up the coast from Newsome's South Carolina port complex, the Port of Virginia has accelerated its efforts to become the deepest port on the U.S. East Coast. It has started the first phase of a commercial-channel dredging project to deepen the channel to 55 feet.
Launched in October, some two and a half years ahead of schedule, the project "tells the ocean carriers we are ready for your big ships," said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, in a release. When complete in 2024, the $350 million project will enable the port, unrestricted by tide or channel width, to simultaneously accommodate two ultra-large container vessels, which "is a significant competitive advantage for Virginia," the port said in the release.
LONG BEACH'S LONG GAME
Business is also relatively robust for the Port of Long Beach, which projects that 2019 will be the second-best year in its history despite a lukewarm global economy and the U.S.-China tariff battles, according to Executive Director Mario Cordero.
For Cordero and Long Beach, it's full speed ahead on a series of multibillion-dollar infrastructure improvement and expansion projects. Among those is the $1.5 billion replacement of the original 50-year-old Gerald Desmond bridge with a new, larger span, which will open to traffic this spring. "Fifteen percent of the nation's container cargo goes over that bridge," Cordero says.
The port also is proceeding with the third and final phase of the Middle Harbor project. Some 211 acres of this $1.4 billion investment in a state-of-the-art automated marine terminal are in operation. When fully completed in early 2021, it will have the capacity to move from 3.3 million to 3.5 million containers, which, Cordero says, would rank it as the sixth-largest marine terminal in the U.S.
Infrastructure aside, Cordero says the long game for the Port of Long Beach is an unwavering focus on operational excellence. "The American shipper has choices," he says. "We have a geographical advantage [as] the gateway closest to Asia, the most important trade partner for the U.S. But [the differentiator] is the way we move cargo in an efficient, predictable manner [with] the type of operation that, again, [ensures] the customer is well-served."
Cordero adds that the IMO 2020 mandate may have a silver lining for West Coast ports. Noting that fuel surcharges will be lower on shorter routes from Asia to West Coast ports versus longer routes to Gulf and East Coast ports via the Panama Canal, he says he's curious to see "whether or not the [higher] cost of fuel leads some shippers to now see the West Coast in a more favorable light."
What happens when your warehouse technology upgrade turns into a complete process overhaul? That may sound like a headache to some, but for leaders at paper crafting company Stampin’ Up! it’s been a golden opportunity—especially when it comes to boosting productivity. The Utah-based direct marketing company has increased its average pick rate by more than 70% in the past year and a half. And it’s all due to a warehouse management system (WMS) implementation that opened the door to process changes and new technologies that are speeding its high-velocity, high-SKU (stock-keeping unit) order fulfillment operations.
The bottom line: Stampin’ Up! is filling orders faster than ever before, with less manpower, since it shifted to an easy-to-use voice picking system that makes adapting to seasonal product changes and promotions a piece of cake. Here’s how.
FACING UP TO CHANGE
Stampin’ Up!’s business increased rapidly in 2020, when pandemic-era lockdowns sparked a surge in online orders for its crafting and scrapbooking supplies—everything from rubber stamps to specialty papers, ink, and embellishments needed for home-based projects. At around the same time, company leaders learned that the WMS in use at its main distribution center (DC) in Riverton, Utah, was nearing its end-of-life and would have to be replaced. That process set in motion a series of changes that would upend the way Stampin’ Up! picked items and filled orders, setting the company on a path toward continuous improvement.
“We began a process to replace the WMS, with no intent to do anything else,” explains Rich Bushell, the company’s director of global distribution services. “But when we started to investigate a new WMS, we began to look at the larger picture. We saw problems within our [picking] system. Really, they were problems with our processes.”
Stampin’ Up! had hired global supply chain consulting firm Argon & Co. to help with the WMS selection and implementation, and it was that process that sparked the change. Argon & Co. Partner Steve Mulaik, who worked on the project, says it quickly became clear that Stampin’ Up!’s zone-based pick-and-pass fulfillment process wasn’t working well—primarily because pickers spent a lot of idle time waiting for the next order. Under the old system, which used pick-to-light technology, workers stood in their respective zones and made picks only from their assigned location; when it came time for a pick, the system directed them where to make that pick via indicator lights on storage shelves. The workers placed the picked items directly into shipping boxes that would be passed to the next zone via conveyor.
“The business problem here was that they had a system that didn’t work reliably,” Mulaik explains. “And there were periods when [workers] would have nothing to do. The workload was not balanced.”
This was less than ideal for a DC facing accelerating demand for multi-item orders—a typical Stampin’ Up! order contains 17 to 21 items per box, according to Bushell. In a bid to make the picking process more flexible, Mulaik suggested eliminating the zones altogether and changing the workflow. Ultimately, that would mean replacing the pick-to-light system and revamping the pick-and-pass process with a protocol that would keep workers moving and orders flowing consistently.
“We changed the whole process, building on some academic work from Georgia Tech along with how you communicate with the system,” Mulaik explains. “Together, that has really resulted in the significant change in productivity that they’ve seen.”
RIGHTING THE SHIP
The Riverton DC’s new solution combines voice picking technology with a whole new process known as “bucket brigade” picking. A bucket brigade helps distribute work more evenly among pickers in a DC: Pickers still work in a production-line fashion, picking items into bins or boxes and then sending the bins down the line via conveyor. But rather than stop and wait for the next order to come to them, pickers continue to work by walking up to the next person on the line and taking over that person’s assignment; the worker who is overtaken does the same, creating a process in which pickers are constantly filling orders and no one is picking from the same location.
Stampin’ Up! doesn’t follow the bucket brigade process precisely but has instead developed its own variation the company calls “leapfrog.” Instead of taking the next person’s work, pickers will move up the line to the next open order after completing a task—“leapfrogging” over the other pickers in the line to keep the process moving.
“We’re moving to the work,” Bushell explains. “If your boxes are full and you push them [down the line], you just move to the open work. The idea is that it takes the zones away; you move to where the next pick is.”
The voice piece increases the operation’s flexibility and directs the leapfrog process. Voice-directed picking allows pickers to listen to commands and respond verbally via a headset and handheld device. All commands filter through the headset, freeing the worker’s eyes and hands for picking tasks. Stampin’ Up! uses voice technology from AccuSpeechMobile with a combination of company-issued Android devices and Bluetooth headsets, although employees can use their own Bluetooth headsets or earbuds if they wish.
Mulaik and Bushell say the simplicity of the AccuSpeechMobile system was a game-changer for this project. The device-based system requires no voice server or middleware and no changes to a customer’s back-end systems in order to operate. It uses “screen scrape” technology, a process that allows the collection of large volumes of data quickly. Essentially, the program translates textual information from the device into audible commands telling associates what to pick. Workers then respond verbally, confirming the pick.
“AccuSpeech takes what the [WMS] says and then says it in your ear,” Bushell explains. “The key to the device is having all the data needed to make the pick shown on the screen. However, the picker should never—or rarely—need to look at the screen [because] the voice tells them the info and the commands are set up to repeat if prompted. This helps increase speed.
“The voice piece really ties everything together and makes our system more efficient.”
And about that system: Stampin’ Up! chose a WMS from technology provider QSSI, which directs all the work in the DC. And the conveyor systems were updated with new equipment and controls—from ABCO Systems and JR Controls—to keep all those orders moving down the line. The company also adopted automated labeling technology and overhauled its slotting procedure—the process of determining the most efficient storage location for its various items—as part of the project.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Productivity improvement in the DC has been the biggest benefit of the project, which was officially completed in the spring of 2023 but continues to bear fruit. Prior to the change, Stampin’ Up! workers averaged 160 picks per hour, per person. That number rose to more than 200 picks per hour within the first few months, according to Bushell, and was up to 276 picks per hour as of this past August—a more than 70% increase.
“We’ve seen some really good gains,” Bushell says, adding that the company has reduced its reliance on both temporary and full-time staff as well, the latter mainly through attrition. “Overall, we’re 20% to 25% down on our labor based on the change …. And it’s because we’re keeping people busy.”
Quality has stayed on par as well, something Bushell says concerned him when switching from the DC’s previous pick-to-light technology.
“You have very good quality with pick-to-light, so we [worried] about opening the door to errors with pick-to-voice because a human is confirming each pick,” he says. “But we average about one error per 3,300 picks. So the quality is really good.”
On top of all that, Bushell says employees are “really happy” with the new system. One reason is that the voice system is easy to learn—so easy, anyone can do it. Stampin’ Up! runs frequent promotions and special offers that create mini spikes in business throughout the year; the new system makes it easy to get the required temporary help up to speed quickly or recruit staff members from other departments to accommodate those spikes.
“We [allocate] three days of training for voice, but it’s really about an hour,” Bushell says, adding that some of the employees from other departments simply enjoy the change of pace and the exercise of working on the “leapfrog” bucket brigade. “I have people that sign up every day to come pick.”
Not only has Stampin’ Up! reduced downtime and expedited the picking of its signature rubber stamps, paper, and crafting supplies, but it’s also blazing a trail in fulfillment that its business partners say could serve as a model for other companies looking to crank up productivity in the DC.
“There are a lot of [companies] that have pick-and-pass systems today, and while those pick-and-pass systems look like they are efficient, those companies may not realize that people are only picking 70% of the time,” Mulaik says. “This is a way to reduce that inactivity significantly.
“If you can get 20% of your productivity back—that’s a big number.”
With its new AutoStore automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) system, Toyota Material Handling Inc.’s parts distribution center, located at its U.S. headquarters campus in Columbus, Indiana, will be able to store more forklift and other parts and move them more quickly. The new system represents a major step toward achieving TMH’s goal of next-day parts delivery to 98% of its customers in the U.S. and Canada by 2030, said TMH North America President and CEO Brett Wood at the launch event on October 28. The upgrade to the DC was designed, built, and installed through a close collaboration between TMH, AutoStore, and Bastian Solutions, the Toyota-owned material handling automation designer and systems integrator that is a cornerstone of the forklift maker’s Toyota Automated Logistics business unit. The AS/RS is Bastian’s 100th AutoStore installation in North America.
TMH’s AutoStore system deploys 28 energy-efficient robotic shuttles to retrieve and deliver totes from within a vertical storage grid. To expedite processing, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced software determines optimal storage locations based on whether parts are high- or low-demand items. The shuttles, each independently controlled and selected based on shortest distance to the stored tote, swiftly deliver the ordered parts to four picking ports. Each port can process up to 175 totes per hour; the company’s initial goal is 150 totes per hour, with room to grow. The AS/RS also eliminates the need for order pickers to walk up to 10 miles per day, saving time, boosting picking accuracy, and improving ergonomics for associates.
The upgrades, which also include a Kardex vertical lift module for parts that are too large for the AS/RS and a spiral conveyor, will more than triple storage capacity, from 40,000 to 128,000 storage positions, making it possible for TMH to increase its parts inventory. Currently the DC stores some 55,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) and ships an average of $1 million worth of parts per day, reaching 80% of customers by two-day ground delivery. A Sparck Technologies CVP Impack fit-to-size packaging machine speeds packing and shipping and is expected to save up to 20% on the cost of packing materials.
Distribution, manufacturing expansion on the agenda
The Columbus parts DC currently serves all of the U.S. and Canada; inventory consists mostly of Toyota’s own parts as well as some parts for Bastian Solutions and forklift maker The Raymond Corp., which is part of TMH North America. To meet the company’s goal of next-day delivery to virtually all parts customers, TMH is exploring establishing up to five additional parts DCs. All will be TMH-designed, owned, and operated, with varying levels of automation to meet specific needs, said Bret Bruin, vice president, aftermarket sales and operations, in an interview.
Parts distribution is not the only area where TMH is investing in expanded capacity. With demand for electric forklifts continuing to rise, the company recently broke ground for a new factory on the expansive Columbus campus that will benefit both Toyota and Raymond. The two OEMs—which currently have only 5% overlap among their customers—already manufacture certain forklift models and parts for each other, said Wood in an interview. Slated to open in 2026, the $100 million, 295,000-square-foot factory will make electric-powered forklifts. The lineup will include stand-up rider trucks, currently manufactured for both brands by Raymond in Greene, New York. Moving production to Columbus, Wood said, will not only help both OEMs keep up with fast-growing demand for those models, but it will also free up space and personnel in Raymond’s factory to increase production of orderpickers and reach trucks, which it produces for both brands. “We want to build the right trucks in the right place,” Wood said.
Editor's note:This article was revised on November 4 to correct the types of equipment produced in Raymond's factory.
“The latest data continues to show some positive developments for the freight market. However, there remain sequential declines nationwide, and in most regions,” Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank director of freight business analytics, said in a release. “Over the last two quarters, volume and spend contractions have lessened, but we’re waiting for clear evidence that the market has reached the bottom.”
By the numbers, shipments were down 1.9% compared to the previous quarter while spending dropped 1.4%. This was the ninth consecutive quarterly decrease in volume, but the smallest drop in more than a year.
Truck freight conditions varied greatly by region in the third quarter. In the West, spending was up 4.4% over the previous quarter and volume increased 1.1%. Meanwhile, in the Southeast spending declined 3.3% and shipments were down 3.0%.
“It’s a positive sign that spending contracted less than shipments. With diesel fuel prices lower, the fact that pricing didn’t erode more tells me the market is getting healthier,” Bob Costello, senior vice president and chief economist at the American Trucking Associations (ATA), said in the release.
The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index measures quantitative changes in freight shipments and spend activity based on data from transactions processed through U.S. Bank Freight Payment, which processes more than $42 billion in freight payments annually for shippers and carriers across the U.S. The Index insights are provided to U.S. Bank customers to help them make business decisions and discover new opportunities.
Parcel giant FedEx Corp. is automating its fulfillment flows by investing in the AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology firm Nimble, and announcing plans to use the San Francisco-based startup’s tech in its own returns network.
The move is significant because FedEx Supply Chain operates at a large scale, running more than 130 warehouse and fulfillment operations in North America and processing 475 million returns annually. According to FedEx, the “strategic alliance” will help to scale up FedEx Fulfillment with Nimble’s “fully autonomous 3PL model.”
“Our strategic alliance and financial investment with Nimble expands our footprint in the e-commerce space, helping to further scale our FedEx Fulfillment offering across North America,” Scott Temple, president, FedEx Supply Chain, said in a release. “Nimble’s cutting-edge AI robotics and autonomous fulfillment systems will help FedEx streamline operations and unlock new opportunities for our customers.”
According to Nimble founder and CEO Simon Kalouche, the collaboration will help enable FedEx to leverage Nimble’s “fast and cost-effective” fulfillment centers, powered by its intelligent general purpose warehouse robots and AI technology.
Nimble says that more than 90% of warehouses today still operate manually with minimal or no robotics, and even those automated warehouses use robots with limited intelligence that are restricted to just a few warehouse functions—primarily storage and retrieval. In contrast, Nimble says its “intelligent general-purpose warehouse robot” is capable of performing all core fulfillment functions including storage and retrieval, picking, packing, and sorting.
For the past seven years, third-party service provider ODW Logistics has provided logistics support for the Pelotonia Ride Weekend, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As in the past, ODW provided inventory management services and transportation for the riders’ bicycles at this year’s event. In all, some 7,000 riders and 3,000 volunteers participated in the ride weekend.
Photo courtesy of Dematic
For the past four years, automated solutions provider Dematic has helped support students pursuing careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields with its FIRST Scholarship program, conducted in partnership with the corporate nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). This year’s scholarship recipients include Aman Amjad of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Lily Hoopes of Bonney Lake, Washington, who were each awarded $5,000 to support their post-secondary education. Dematic also awarded $1,000 scholarships to another 10 students.
Motive, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered integrated operations platform, has launched an initiative with PGA Tour pro Jason Day to support the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF). For every birdie Day makes on tour, Motive will make a contribution to the NSF, which provides support for warriors, veterans, and their families. Fans can contribute to the mission by purchasing a Jason Day Tour Edition hat at https://malbongolf.com/products/m-9189-blk-wht-black-motive-rope-hat.
MTS Logistics Inc., a New York-based freight forwarding and logistics company, raised more than $120,000 for autism awareness and acceptance at its 14th annual Bike Tour with MTS for Autism. All proceeds from the June event were donated to New Jersey-based nonprofit Spectrum Works, which provides job training and opportunities for young adults with autism.