The machines will be located in pre-security-check locations, offering a shopping experience for travelers and essential airport workers who may have forgotten their PPE at home, or are looking for additional ways to keep themselves and their families healthy, East Rutherford, New Jersey-based Hudson said.
Each vending machine will be stocked with a variety of essential products which can be purchased with a credit card 24 hours per day. To ensure a sanitary retail experience, the vending machine’s touchscreen will be sealed with an anti-microbial shield that eliminates germs on the surface for three to four months before replacement, and the machines will be surrounded by social distancing floor decals to maintain crowd control.
“With the gradual return of passengers to airports across North America following Covid-19, we’re noticing a behavioral change in travelers which puts health and safety at the forefront of the travel experience,” Brian Quinn, executive vice president and COO of Hudson, said in a release. “To meet these expectations, we’ve developed an extensive product offering as part of our PPE vending machines that delivers traditional and technology-focused health and safety options.”
The machines will include: individual and bulk packaged face masks, including disposable, KN95, and cloth options; individual 2 oz. and 4 oz. hand sanitizers, and bulk hand sanitizer wipes; all-in-one hygiene kits; nitrile gloves and multi-use thermometers; and portable and rechargeable UV-C sanitizers for mobile devices and personal items.
And in other examples of the logistics industry dedicating its assets to the coronavirus fight:
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) introduced a free online interactive world map to provide travelers with the latest Covid-19 entry regulations by country. The feature is a response to a recent IATA survey on people’s post-crisis air travel concerns, which showed that more than 80% of travelers said they are as concerned about potential quarantine restrictions as they are about actually catching the virus during travel. The map relies on IATA’s Timatic database which traditionally contains information on documentation required for international travel. To keep pace with the dynamic situation with respect to the pandemic, Timatic is updated more than 200 times per day. “As the aviation industry prepares to safely restart, travelers will need to know which countries’ borders are open and what health restrictions exist. Travelers can rely on Timatic for comprehensive and accurate information on travel during the pandemic,’’ IATA’s assistant director for Timatic, Anish Chand, said in a release.
Transportation and logistics service provider Pilot Freight Services says the production of medical gowns and gloves has increased significantly as countries resume manufacturing, following regional peaks of coronavirus cases. To sustain that increase, the manufacturing base for this personal protection equipment (PPE) has shifted from China to Southeast Asia and Turkey, both meeting strong global demand and also preparing for a potential second wave of the pandemic, the company said. “During crucial moments, we can leverage the local knowledge and expertise of Pilot’s global partners to provide essential logistics and supply chain support,” Tom Pelliccio, executive vice president, international of Pilot Freight Services, said in a release. “We continue to monitor the state of the global supply chain as the manufacturing of PPE remains steady in the shifting international market.”
Transportation integration provider eTrac has opened access to its carrier network to companies in need of capacity during the pandemic. To date, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based company has matched nearly 100 carriers to shippers, third party logistics providers (3PLs), and freight forwarders. In April, the firm shared access to its database of carrier partners, a comprehensive list of last mile carriers and the associated services they provide throughout the country. Companies can use the database to find last mile capacity where they need it during this difficult time, the firm said. “During this time, workforces are limited and demand is high,” eTrac Executive Vice President Danny Barfield said in a release. “The last mile is always crucial, but now even more so. We have the database and carriers ready to go — why not allow everyone to utilize it?”
Echo Global Logistics has launched a program to thank truck drivers for their work in keep America moving during the coronavirus pandemic. Through its “EchoCares: Thanking Truck Drivers During Covid-19” initiative, Echo recently surprised over 2,200 truck drivers from across the country with gift cards to the Subway sandwich chain. Echo employees also participated by making donations, which were all matched by the company to give back to even more drivers. “As the effects of Covid-19 continue to impact all of us throughout the country, we at Echo sincerely appreciate the hard work and dedication of truck drivers during this challenging time,” Echo President and COO Dave Menzel said in a release. “Their courage and commitment allow all of us to get the items we need, whether we are families purchasing food and household necessities, business owners working to keep operations running, or healthcare workers counting on critical medical supplies.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
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.
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.
Krish Nathan is the Americas CEO for SDI Element Logic, a provider of turnkey automation solutions and sortation systems. Nathan joined SDI Industries in 2000 and honed his project management and engineering expertise in developing and delivering complex material handling solutions. In 2014, he was appointed CEO, and in 2022, he led the search for a strategic partner that could expand SDI’s capabilities. This culminated in the acquisition of SDI by Element Logic, with SDI becoming the Americas branch of the company.
A native of the U.K., Nathan received his bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Coventry University and has studied executive leadership at Cranfield University.
Q: How would you describe the current state of the supply chain industry?
A: We see the supply chain industry as very dynamic and exciting, both from a growth perspective and from an innovation perspective. The pandemic hangover is still impacting decisions to nearshore, and that has resulted in a spike in business for us in both the USA and Mexico. Adding new technology to our portfolio has been a significant contributor to our continued expansion.
Q: Distributors were making huge tech investments during the pandemic simply to keep up with soaring consumer demand. How have things changed since then?
A: The consumer demand for e-commerce certainly appears to have cooled since the pandemic high, but our clients continue to see steady growth. Growth, combined with low unemployment and high labor costs, continues to make automation a good investment for many companies.
Q: Robotics are still in high demand for material handling applications. What are some of the benefits of these systems?
A: As an organization, we are investing heavily in software that will allow Element Logic to offer solutions for robotic picking that are hardware-agnostic. We have had success deploying unit picking for order fulfillment solutions and unit placing of items onto tray-based sorters.
From a benefit point of view, we’ve seen the consistency of a given operation improve. For example, the placement accuracy of a product onto a tray is far higher from a robotic arm than from a person. In order fulfillment applications, two of the biggest benefits are reliability and hours of operation. The robots don't call in sick, and they are happy to work 22 hours a day!
Q: SDI Element Logic offers a wide range of automated solutions, including automated storage and sortation equipment. What criteria should distributors use to determine what type of system is right for them?
A: There are a significant number of factors to consider when thinking about automation. In my experience, automation pays for itself in three key ways: It saves space, it increases the efficiency of labor, and it improves accuracy. So evaluating which of these will be [most] beneficial and quantifying the associated savings will lead to a “right sized” investment in technology.
Another important factor to consider is product mix. With a small SKU (stock-keeping unit) base, often automation doesn’t make sense. And with a huge SKU base, there will be products that don’t lend themselves to automation.
With any significant investment, you need to partner with an organization that has deep experience with the technologies that are being considered and … in-depth knowledge of the process that is being automated.
Q: How can a goods-to-person system reduce the amount of labor needed to fill orders?
A: In most order picking operations, there is a considerable amount of walking between pick faces to find the SKUs associated with a given order or set of orders. Goods-to-person eliminates the walking and allows the operator to just pick. I have seen studies that [show] that 75% of the time [required] to assemble an order in a manual picking environment is walking or “non-picking” time. So eliminating walking will reduce the amount of labor needed.
The goods-to-person approach also fits perfectly with robotic picking, so even the actual picking aspect of order assembly can be automated in some instances. For these reasons, [automation offers] a significant opportunity to reduce the labor needed to fulfill a customer order.
Q: If you could pick one thing a company should do to improve its distribution center operations, what would it be?
A: Evaluate. Evaluate the opportunities for improving by considering automation. In my experience, the challenge most companies have is recognizing that automation is an alternative. The barrier to entry is far lower than most people think!