Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Economy, technology take center stage at JumpStart

Companies should take stock, plan tech investments amid a weaker freight environment, business leaders at annual supply chain event say.

IMG_0755.jpg

Economic conditions and a heightened need for technology investment were key themes at this week’s SMC3 JumpStart conference, an annual supply chain event that brings together carriers, shippers, logistics services providers, and technology companies to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the less-than-truckload (LTL) freight market. More than 600 people turned out for this year’s event, held January 23-25 in Atlanta.


Economists and industry leaders said a weakened freight environment that began last year will persist through the first half of this year, weighed down by uncertain macroeconomic conditions that may further dampen the U.S. and global economies. Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), said during a panel discussion that the U.S. economy may be headed toward a recession later this year, but that he expects it to be short and mild. With freight markets already falling, he and other panelists said the industry will likely be among the first to recover, however. Some business leaders said freight conditions may improve in the second half of 2023, when retailers and brands begin to replenish depleted inventories, for example.

“Because we saw this early, [we] should see a recovery earlier,” Costello said.

The panel also said the slower pace of industry conditions represents a “settling back” following the rapid growth the logistics industry experienced from mid 2020 through mid 2022, driven by hyper-accelerated e-commerce growth—a trend they agreed has slowed down but they said will not reverse, and will therefore continue to drive demand for logistics services.

A slower year ahead represents an opportunity for investment–especially in technology, according to conference speaker Renee Krug, CEO of supply chain software company Transflo. She advised attendees to focus on investing in back-office automation and customer-facing technologies that can help scale businesses for growth when conditions improve. She pointed to logistics investments by large retailers such as Amazon, WalMart, and BestBuy as examples: Amazon and WalMart are testing drone delivery in certain U.S. markets, and BestBuy has invested heavily in e-commerce capabilities, turning their stores into mini-fulfillment centers to meet demand for delivery and local pick up.

Trucking and logistics businesses should likewise examine their own operations for ways to improve and prepare for growth, she said.

The year ahead will be a “quieter year and a chance to get a lot done,” Krug said, adding that companies of all kinds are putting a sharper focus on freight and logistics in the wake of supply chain challenges that arose from the pandemic—another reason for logistics companies to be optimistic.

“Freight is really an important part of every executive’s strategy,” she said, adding that companies care about logistics more than ever and are focused on finding ways to improve their supply chains.

The Latest

More Stories

Stampin’ Up!’s Riverton, Utah, distribution center

Stampin’ Up!’s Riverton, Utah, distribution center

Picking reimagined

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.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

autostore AS/RS at toyota materal handling site

New AutoStore AS/RS at Toyota Material Handling’s DC will increase parts volume and fulfillment speed

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.

Keep ReadingShow less
US Bank truck shipments Q3

U.S. Bank: truck freight shipments and spending slow their decline

Truck freight shipments and spending continued to contract in the third quarter, albeit at a slower pace than earlier this year, according to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index.

“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.”

Keep ReadingShow less
nimble smart robots for fedex

FedEx picks Nimble for fulfillment automation

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 size of FedEx’s investment wasn’t disclosed, but the company was the lead investor of Nimble’s $106 million “series C” funding round, announced last week. The round was co-led by existing shareholder Cedar Pine LLC.

Keep ReadingShow less

Logistics gives back: October 2024

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.


Keep ReadingShow less