Warehouse robots provide shields against cyberthreats
As warehouses go increasingly digital, they also become more vulnerable to hackers. But makers of autonomous mobile warehouse robots say they’ve got that covered, citing the multilayered security protocols built into their systems.
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
A quick look at business headlines shows that cyberthreats are one of the top challenges confronting American companies. From ransomware to customer-data leaks and intellectual property theft, hackers seem to be lurking around every corner, and they’re not sparing logistics operators.
Big names that have reportedly fended off cyberattacks in the past year include the Seattle-based freight forwarder Expeditors, German shipping group Hapag-Lloyd, Indian container handling facility the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT), and German customs broker Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. The rise in cybercrime even led the White House this spring to advise companies to boost their defenses against cyberthreats and prompted the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to warn that such attacks could threaten critical supply chain operations in particular.
But amid the push to ward off hackers, there’s one sector that is seldom mentioned: the humble warehouse. That omission is partly a product of outdated thinking. For decades, most warehouses were simply large buildings filled to the rafters with inventory—and with very few computers to attack. But that all changed with the advent of warehouse automation. Today’s distribution center is more likely to be a humming hive of robots and other automated equipment, all connected wirelessly to warehouse management systems (WMS) and other software that could potentially be exploited by hackers.
Given these vulnerabilities, it’s no surprise that developers of automated logistics equipment are also adding “armor” to protect their technology from these threats. But adding armor is just the half of it. There are also things warehouse leaders can do to protect their data, these developers say. And the protective measures don’t have to be complicated, they add, noting that simply following some basic security principles can reduce an operation’s exposure to cyberattacks and help safeguard its customers’ data.
SAFE AND SECURE
The first wall of defense for warehouse automation systems such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) is having them operate within the building’s own intranet, says Nathan Cao, head of technical services for Geek +, a developer of warehouse robots and artificial intelligence (AI) products.
Although the types of devices being connected to these intranets have evolved over time, companies have successfully protected their intranets for years through industry-standard approaches such as ISO/IEC 27001, Cao says. That standard offers a set of information security management protocols defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to protect assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details, and information entrusted to them by third parties.
Those same industry standards are also key to protecting communications outside the building, like the data exchanged between automated equipment and various cloud platforms, says Akash Gupta, CTO and co-founder of GreyOrange Pte Ltd., another developer of AMRs and order fulfillment optimization products.
In GreyOrange’s case, the company’s cloud-based GreyMatter fulfillment optimization software exchanges data with each client’s own cloud-based platforms, such as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or order management system. That connection happens through application programming interfaces (APIs) that are secured with industry-standard processes, Gupta says.
The GreyMatter system then hands down instructions to individual robots in the warehouses, but it sends them only relevant data like bin locations and picking sequences, instead of sensitive data such as customer names, addresses, or financial information.
6 River Systems, another provider of AMRs and fulfillment software, takes a similar approach with its “Chuck” model robots, which work collaboratively with human order pickers to optimize fulfillment operations. Those robots are designed to strictly limit the information they can exchange, the company says.
“We don’t want customer information at 6 River Systems; we only want the data to empower Chuck to path-plan, pick an item, and confirm,” says Gillan Hawkes, 6 River’s vice president of product and analytics. “It’s just metadata, like weight, dimension, and shelf location, not end-user information like a delivery address.”
To obtain that information, the 6 River robots communicate with cloud-based servers through the same hypertext transfer protocol secure (https) system that many people use for secure communication over computer networks while browsing the internet. They further protect their communication outside the building by using APIs with “encrypted tunnels,” the company says.
FINDING SAFETY IN LAYERS
Deploying these multiple layers of cyberdefenses is critical, according to Berkshire Grey, another developer of robotic order fulfillment solutions. The company says that relying on a customer’s corporate intranet alone is no guarantee of overall security, since intruders typically attempt to “punch holes” in these security systems through the very mechanisms—wireless networks and cloud connections—that enable warehouse robots to do their jobs.
For that reason, BerkshireGrey follows the same approach used by its fellow vendors, choosing to exchange only minimal, non-sensitive information with cloud platforms, says Pras Velagapudi, the company’s director of engineering. And it follows a redundant approach to security by building in multiple layers of protection.
“The best defense is one that puts up a fight even if [only a single] layer is compromised,” Velagapudi says. “We employ a multilayer approach to security: restrict information, restrict access, and encrypt data. This ensures that it is not only difficult to compromise the system, but also that if a component gets compromised, it is difficult to use that to get to sensitive information or exploit any other part of the system.”
The task of cyberdefense has never been more important than it is today, as the logistics sector adds new technology to every operation and as global unrest triggers an increase in attacks. A recent report by the cybersecurity service provider Trellix found an increase in cyber activity targeting critical infrastructure sectors during the fourth quarter of 2021, with 27% of those threats targeting transportation and shipping companies.
But suppliers of automated warehouse equipment say they are up to the challenge, applying both information technology (IT) industry standards and specific logistics-focused strategies to fend off attacks and keep fulfillment operations rolling.
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.