IN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-October 2021

Technology

    • Arvato Supply Chain Solutions deployed the AutoStore order fulfillment system in a new facility in Dortmund, Germany, to support international customers in the fashion industry. The system has a capacity of approximately 180,000 bins and 280 robots, automating processing, storage, and picking of incoming goods.
    • DAT Freight & Analytics introduced Loadsure, a pay-as-you-go digital insurance solution for shippers, brokers, and motor carriers on the DAT network, a marketplace for spot truckload freight. DAT customers can add or expand coverage to insure a load directly from DAT’s load boards.
    • Imaginnovate rolled out final-mile software Fleet Enable to automate the scheduling of white-glove shipments to last-mile customers. The cloud-hosted software generates cost-efficient routing for drivers, as well as streamlines dispatch, billing, invoicing driver settlements, and customer management.

  • Nuvocargo, a digital platform for U.S./Mexico trade, unveiled a billing dashboard that provides a transparent statement of accounts. The new dashboard allows shipper clients to manage their cross-border shipments in real-time from a single platform and helps consolidate charges and invoices for shipments.
  • Shipping and receiving personnel can interact with multiple drivers instantly with Dok-Chat Logistics Communication Software from Rite-Hite. The cloud-based system minimizes face-to-face interactions and improves shipping and receiving efficiency with real-time messaging.
  • Slync.io introduced a booking and allocation management solution to accelerate ocean carrier booking processes. The new offering streamlines ocean booking execution, matches vendor demand to carrier supply, and provides a view of carrier performance.
  • C.H. Robinson launched Market Rate IQ, a tool that shows companies how their spot rates compare to a third-party benchmark. Created by its technology incubator, C.H. Robinson Labs, Market Rate IQ incorporates DAT’s RateView and shows shippers which factors in their U.S. spot pricing are market-driven and which they can control.
  • Global Technology Systems (GTS) now offers a program to manage replacement batteries for uninterruptable power supplies for devices such as chargers, barcode scanners, and mobile printers. By tagging and tracking each GTS battery, the company alerts companies when it’s time for a replacement and can ship the battery to customers.

Services

  • Shippers and carriers can avail of Home Depot’s flatbed capacity under its partnership with freight technology company Loadsmart. The new platform, called Flatbed Messenger, pairs capacity and price to a shipment, combining Loadsmart’s algorithms with dedicated capacity from Home Depot to help other shippers find flatbed space at lower rates.
  • The Port of Wilmington completed the first phase of its electrification project, opening a new container yard with five all-electric rubber-tired gantry cranes. The new Kone Cranes feature precise micro motions for direct loading and unloading of containers.
  • Automation provider Dematic partnered with Groupe Robert on a new distribution center in Quebec, Canada, that will support high-density storage and fulfillment of fresh and frozen products. Expected to be completed by February 2023, the facility will feature storage capacity for 60,000 pallets.
  • WIN relaunched as Centerboard, with the aim of providing neutral, shipper-centric transportation and supply chain management offerings, giving shippers more control over their supply chain. Centerboard is rolling out new features for its existing offering, which will now operate as WIN, by Centerboard.
  • Alabama Motor Express (AMX) opened a terminal in Jackson, Georgia, giving shippers in the greater Atlanta area access to its trailer pool, local drivers, and support.
  • Alibaba.com introduced Dropshipping Solutions to support e-commerce businesses. Its new dropshipping services give e-tailers access to thousands of vetted global suppliers and more than one million products at wholesale prices through the Alibaba.com Dropshipping Center.
  • Aeronet Worldwide opened South Texas and Mexico transborder operations, based in San Antonio, to provide logistics services for maquiladoras—factories from global companies manufacturing in Mexico.
  • Ryder and autonomous technology developer Embark Trucks entered a partnership to launch a network of up to 100 Embark transfer points. Freight from driverless long-haul trucks will move to driver-enabled trucks for first- and last-mile delivery at the transfer points, where Ryder will provide yard operations, maintenance, and fleet management.
  • Maersk and Canadian Pacific opened a transload facility in Vancouver, Canada, to offer customers the ability to transload international containers into domestic 53-foot trailers and achieve cost savings for domestic distribution. The 117,000-square-foot, 103-door Pacific Transload Express facility was completed in August 2021 and supports fast-moving consumer goods as well as automotive parts.
  • Cleverpod’s CP01, an electric three-wheeler for express delivery, features customizable cargo space. It has a cabin that can protect vulnerable goods from moisture or shock and a climate control system for operator comfort. It offers a range of sensors, a multimedia interface, and an onboard virtual assistant to support last-mile delivery applications.