IN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-October 2018

Transportation

  • Air Italy started cargo routes between India, Thailand, and the United States and Milan Malpensa airport, utilizing the 10-ton belly capacity of its A330 fleet. Now represented by Globe Air Cargo USA for all its U.S. cargo operations, the airline plans to offer direct daily flights from Miami and New York to the Milan airport.
  • Yang Ming Marine Transport (YM) upgraded its China-Vietnam/Thailand service network. Three 2,800-TEU container vessels—one each from YM, OOCL, and Regional Container Lines—operate the China-Ho Chi Minh Express Service, which takes 21 days roundtrip and calls on Dalian, Xingang, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shekou, Ho Chi Minh, and Incheon.
  • Launching the first-ever cargo-only route between the African continent and Miami International Airport, Ethiopian Airlines started two weekly freighter flights between the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and Miami. The scheduled flights operate on a route that includes stops in Spain, Colombia, and Belgium on inbound and outbound services. All flights utilize B777-200LRF freighter aircraft.
  • Woodland Group extended its existing China-Europe rail route by adding a Duisburg, Germany-to-London service. The weekly connecting train from Duisburg to London leaves Thursday and arrives Friday. Total transit time from China to the UK is 20-22 days.
  • ZIM added a port rotation to its India-Mediterranean Express Line (IMX), providing shippers with faster transit times. The line now operates five vessels, and shortens the roundtrip to 35 days. The new rotation starts in Colombo, Sri-Lanka, then Nhava-Sheva and Mundra in India, followed by East Mediterranean ports. Transit time to East Mediterranean ports is reduced, in some ports by one week to 10 days.
  • OOCL introduced four Asia-East Africa loops. The new routes provide shippers with competitive services between the Far East and East Africa with direct calls to ports such as Mombasa in Kenya and Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.
  • These industrial-strength printable labels from Avery Products Corporation are designed for warehouses and engineered to adhere firmly but remove cleanly—with no scraping—from metal, glass, plastic, fiberglass, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Surface Safe ID Labels are made of a polyester material that supports barcode scanning, even from a distance.
  • Shippers can now book U.S. domestic product shipments on Delta Cargo’s self-service iPad kiosks in Atlanta and Boston. Supporting Delta Cargo and the International Air Transport Association’s efforts to transition from paper air waybills to electronic air waybills, the kiosks will soon be available in New York – JFK and Seattle cargo acceptance counters.

Technology

  • U.S. shippers can now access their customs-related data through Customs Connection, a platform from DHL Global Forwarding that simplifies customs processes. Customs Connection offers a dashboard where shippers can view and download current and historical data, filter through commodities/origin and destination categories, generate reports, obtain invoice information, and view a brokerage costs breakdown.
  • GoShip.com, an online LTL shipping exchange, added capabilities to its platform to allow shippers more control over shipments. These new features include customer profiles, increased visibility on shipment tracking, and the ability to view every shipment on one dashboard.
  • NEXT Future Transportation, a modular electric vehicle solutions provider, unveiled a warehouse-to-last-mile automated logistics solution that can integrate with the warehouse workflows of retailers, manufacturers, and 3PLs. After an automated warehouse loading process, individual vehicles autonomously connect to form a fleet, and in route, autonomously shift parcels among vehicles for optimal final delivery.
  • A new platform from Uber Freight provides industrial shippers an intuitive way to tender loads and take advantage of Uber Freight’s carrier network. Called Uber Freight for Shippers, the free platform lets shippers create and tender loads, see instant marketplace pricing, track freight in real time, and streamline document management.
  • Aiming to make the freight claim process easier for shippers, TranSolutions integrated APIs between Salesforce and freight claim management system MyEZClaim. Shippers can merge key data and images directly from Salesforce into an existing MyEZClaim account in order to create a claim.
  • Maersk Line now digitally distributes its rates to shipper, freight forwarder, and NVOCC customers using CargoSphere eSUDS (electronic Smart Upload and Diagnostics Solution) and the CargoSphere Rate Mesh. Its collaboration with CargoSphere, the neutral rate network for container shipping, provides reight forwarders and NVOCCs with data accuracy, online access to timely rates, faster invoice reconciliation, and quicker quoting to customers.
  • Global supply chain stakeholders can now access an online comparison tool to assess carrier services. Freightabase from international freight marketing solutions company Freight Media is an online platform for comparing freight carriers, letting shippers find carriers based on price and specific criteria such as location, transportation mode, and specialization.
  • To help distribution centers address e-commerce demands and resource challenges, Honeywell is collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University to advance artificial intelligence and robotic technologies in the supply chain. The initiative brings together Honeywell Intelligrated, a division of Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, and Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center to develop robotics solutions to improve order fulfillment.
  • Janam’s new Android-based rugged mobile computer XG200 is designed for mobile workers in warehouses, distribution centers, loading docks, and other areas. The XG200’s 6300mAh battery is located inside the handle, which makes the device light while also allowing users to quickly hot-swap a battery to eliminate downtime.
  • NewCold Advanced Cold Logistics, a warehousing and distribution solutions provider, unveiled a deep-frozen storage and distribution center, one of the largest of its kind in the UK. The Wakefield plant will handle 3 million pallets annually, and with a total volume of more than 4 million cubic meters, the giant deep-freeze facility has the capacity to store 143,000 pallets—at a constant, -23 degrees C or -9.4 degrees F.

Products

  • A new grocery pallet from reusable packaging provider ORBIS Corporation aims to bring safety and speed to grocery and foodservice supply chains. Cleanable and reusable, the new XpressPal Grocery pallet is designed to ship finished goods from distribution centers to retail locations.
  • Industrial distributors can accurately manage indirect materials and tools through the SupplySystem Scale Module from industrial materials management solutions provider SupplyPro. Also called SupplyScale, the module uses weight-based sensing technology to provide accountability at the item level, calculating the number of items taken, returned, or restocked.
  • Designed to be reused multiple times and recycled, Litco International’s Inca Engineered Molded Wood Pallets and Core Plugs were recertified in the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program. Litco’s molded wood products repurpose damaged logs, wood waste, and other wood byproducts in the manufacturing process.
  • The Raymond Corporation’s new orderpicker is designed for smaller operations with light-duty cycles. The Raymond Model 5300 orderpicker has a 24-volt battery and is available with two mast options. The system allows for fewer battery changes and advanced diagnostics, reducing maintenance costs and lowering total cost of ownership.

Services

  • Shippers of highly sensitive fruits and vegetables can transport their products longer distances while keeping them fresh with the latest reefer technology from CMA CGM: CLIMACTIVE. Designed for organic, high-value-added products, the solution maintains sensitive commodities’ freshness to destination by more quickly reducing the oxygen level inside the container.
  • MercuryGate International, a provider of transportation management systems, launched its Value Assessment offering, a service that helps shippers optimize their supply chain technology and processes. It includes documentation, development of a roadmap, and assistance with execution and project management.
  • Startups looking for supply chain financing can now turn to Flexport Capital from freight forwarder Flexport. While a typical bank loan takes one or two months, the service provides loans more quickly to help companies cover the upfront costs needed to buy inventory from suppliers and ship their cargo.
  • LeSaint Logistics, an integrated supply chain solutions provider, opened facilities in Ohio, Illinois, California, and Texas to better serve shippers in the CPG/retail, durable goods, food and beverage, and chemical industries. The facilities provide warehousing, order fulfillment, value-added, and specialty services.
  • Materials handling solutions provider Combilift launched a high-capacity powered pallet truck—the Combi-PPT. Its multi-position tiller arm lets operators stand at the side of the unit rather than at the rear, giving them visibility to even the bulkiest loads and their surroundings, eliminating crush risk when working in confined areas, and preventing product damage.