The Logistics Matters podcast: Eric Fullerton of project44 updating Red Sea shipping attacks | Season 5 Episode 9
We discuss what shippers can do to mitigate the supply chain constraints in the region. Also: Same-day delivery drives higher revenues; how consumers feel about retail experiences.
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Transcript to come
About this week's guest
Eric Fullerton is senior director of product marketing at project44 with over 10 years of experience in software technology helping organizations adopt a digital-first approach. Fullerton has worked with Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries to navigate the divide between people, processes, and technology, helping companies adopt digital transformation, aiming to increase efficiency, saves costs, and delivers superior customer experiences.
It appears to have found that buyer in Aptean, a deep-pocketed firm that is backed by the private equity firms TA Associates, Insight Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and Clearlake Capital Group.
Through the purchase, Aptean will gain Logility’s customer catalog of over 500 clients in 80 countries, spanning the consumer durable goods, apparel/accessories, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, wholesale distribution, and chemicals verticals.
Aptean will also now own the firm’s technology, which Logility says includes demand planning, inventory and supply optimization, manufacturing operations, network design, and vendor and sourcing management.
“Logility possesses years of experience helping global organizations design, build, and manage their supply chains” Aptean CEO TVN Reddy said in a release. “The Logility platform delivers a mission-critical suite of AI-powered supply chain planning solutions designed to address even the most complex requirements. We look forward to welcoming Logility’s loyal customers and experienced team to Aptean.”
Netstock included the upgrades in AI Pack, a series of capabilities within the firm’s Predictor Inventory Advisor platform, saying they will unlock supply chain agility and enable SMBs to optimize inventory management with advanced intelligence.
The new tools come as SMBs are navigating an ever-increasing storm of supply chain challenges, even as many of those small companies are still relying on manual processes that limit their visibility and adaptability, the company said.
Despite those challenges, AI adoption among SMBs remains slow. Netstock’s recent Benchmark Report revealed that concerns about data integrity and inconsistent answers are key barriers to AI adoption in logistics, with only 23% of the SMBs surveyed having invested in AI.
Netstock says its new AI Pack is designed to help SMBs overcome these hurdles.
“Many SMBs are still relying on outdated tools like spreadsheets and phone calls to manage their inventory. Dashboards have helped by visualizing the right data, but for lean teams, the sheer volume of information can quickly lead to overload. Even with all the data in front of them, it’s tough to know what to do next,” Barry Kukkuk, CTO at Netstock, said in a release.
“Our latest AI capabilities change that by removing the guesswork and delivering clear, actionable recommendations. This makes decision-making easier, allowing businesses to focus on building stronger supplier relationships and driving strategic growth, rather than getting bogged down in the details of inventory management,” Kukkuk said.
Chad Hartley has had a long and successful career in industrial sales and marketing. He is currently senior vice president and general manager, conveyance solutions at Regal Rexnord, a provider of power transmission and motion control products, particularly for conveyor systems. Hartley originally joined Regal Rexnord in February 2015 and worked in various positions before assuming his current role last January. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Emerson in a variety of supply chain jobs. Hartley holds an undergraduate degree from Wright State University in Ohio and an MBA from the University of Dayton.
Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN?
A: While still not back to pre-pandemic norms, the supply chain is stabilizing after a few years of unprecedented challenges. Automation is becoming extremely important. Due to supply chain demands, coupled with workforce retention challenges, we’re seeing more of an openness to adopting automated conveyors [and] introducing automation through collaborative robots. Speed and efficiency, along with reliability of the systems, is what it’s all about.
Q: PEOPLE MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE PRODUCTS OFFERED BY REGAL REXNORD. HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARIZE THE ROLE YOUR COMPANY PLAYS IN THE INDUSTRY?
A: Our purpose statement says a lot about how we think about our place in the world: Regal Rexnord Creates a Better Tomorrow with sustainable solutions that power, transmit, and control motion. That is the essence of everything we do.
Q: WAREHOUSES ARE TRYING TO REDUCE COSTS BY BECOMING MORE SUSTAINABLE. HOW HAS THIS TREND INFLUENCED REGAL REXNORD’S APPROACH TO SOLUTIONS?
A: Our technologies are at the heart of the industrial powertrain. Creating sustainable solutions alongside our industry partners is a core of what drives our technology advancement. For example, in our gearing division, Bauer Gear Motor’s Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor technology can increase torque output with less upfront energy, and in a more compact, space-saving design. The ModSort Divert and Transfer Module is a fully electric conveying solution, running on only 24V and quiet enough to have a conversation around.
Q: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY AT YOUR OWN COMPANY?
A: We’re very conscious of our own carbon footprint. We see a trend with our customers wanting to do business with companies that are sustainable. We have ESG initiatives in place to ensure we’re being as responsible as we can. We set a goal in 2023 to [achieve] a 10% year-over-year (YOY) reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. I’m proud to share that we actually saw a 15.5% YOY reduction. We also retrofitted two manufacturing sites in Europe with solar panels and built a new facility in Mexico with energy-efficiency measures in mind.
Q: MANY COMPANIES HELD ONTO THEIR CASH IN 2024, WAITING TO SEE ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND THE ELECTION. DO YOU THINK MORE COMPANIES WILL LOOK TO UPGRADE THEIR SYSTEMS IN 2025?
A: Many of our industries have been under capital constraints for the past two to three years. I believe that this will have to change over the coming one to two years. There is a lot of pent-up demand, and as interest rates drop, this will help spur that investment.
Seventeen innovative products and solutions from eleven providers have reached the nomination round of the IFOY Award 2025, an international competition that brings together the best new material handling products for warehouses and distribution center operations.
The nominees this year come from six different countries and will compete head-to-head during a Test Camp that will be held March 26 and 27 in Dortmund, Germany. The Test Camp allows hands-on evaluation and testing of products based on engineering and operational design. In contrast to the usual display of products at a trade show, The Test Camp also allows end-users and visitors to the event the opportunity to experience these technologies hands-on as they would operate in a facility.
Award categories include integrated solutions, counter-balanced forklifts, warehouse forklifts, mobile robotic solutions, other warehouse robotics, intralogistics software, and specialized solutions for controlling operations. A startup of the year is also recognized.
The finalists include entries from aluco, EP Equipment Germany, Exotec, Geekplus Europe, HUBTEX, Interroll, Jungheinrich, Logitrans, PLANCISE, STILL and Verity.
In the “IFOY Start-up of the Year” spin-off award, Blickfeld, ecoro, enabl and Filics are in the running. These finalists were selected from all entries following six weeks of intensive work by the IFOY organization, test teams, and a jury composed of journalists who cover the logistics market. DC Velocity’s David Maloney is one of the jurors, representing the United States. Winners will be recognized at a gala to be held July 3 in Dortmund's Phoenix des Lumières.
While Christmas is always my favorite time of the year, I have always been something of a Scrooge when it comes to celebrating the New Year. It is traditionally a time of reflection, where we take stock of our lives and make resolutions to do better. I’ve always felt that I really didn’t need a calendar to remind me to kick my bad habits in favor of healthier routines. If I was not already doing something that was good for me, then making promises I probably won’t keep after a few weeks is not really helpful.
But as we turn the calendar to 2025, there is a lot to consider this new year. The election is behind us, and it will be interesting to see how supply chains react to the new administration. We’ve been told to expect sharp increases in tariffs, like those the president-elect issued in his first term. Will these cause the desired shift away from goods made in China?
What we have actually seen so far is a temporary surge in imports that began in late fall in anticipation of higher tariffs. This bump will be short-lived, however, unless consumer confidence remains unusually high.
Of course, the new administration’s aim with tariffs is to encourage companies to bring production back to America. Will we see manufacturing surge at home? Probably not. It took us decades to send our manufacturing to parts of the world where production was cheaper. I imagine it will take decades to bring it back, if it can ever really be fully brought back. We’ve become accustomed to those lower labor costs. So take your pick—higher tariffs or higher labor costs. Regardless of which route businesses choose, it will probably drive prices higher.
Labor itself will be interesting to watch this year. As I write this, the three-month extension of the master agreement between dock workers and East and Gulf Coast ports is due to expire in a few weeks—on Jan. 15, to be precise. While the two sides have resolved their wage disputes, the issue of automation remains a major sticking point, with the workers resisting the widescale implementation of automated systems.
And of course, we still have two wars raging overseas that have disrupted supply chains. Will we see peace this year, or will other trouble spots flare up?
And here at home, we’ve now been in a trucking recession for two years. What will happen in that sector in 2025? Hopefully, better days are ahead, but only ifconsumers keep spending, demand increases, fuel prices continue to drop, and capacity levels out. That’s a lot to ask.
Whatever this year holds for our supply chains, it is definitely setting up to be very interesting, to say the least.