NOTED: The Supply Chain In Brief-Apr 2021

Good Works

  • PLS Logistics Services, a third-party logistics provider, raised more than $5,000 to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank by hosting a virtual fund drive, providing more than 26,900 meals to those in need in the community. Local PLS employees also volunteered at two food bank distribution locations (pictured).
  • Energy manufacturing and logistics company Phillips 66 recognized the dedication of Kansas City-area teachers by donating $66,000 to provide critical supplies for their classrooms, including virtual learning materials, books, gym equipment, and art supplies.
  • Brussels Airlines, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, is helping UNICEF deliver COVID-19 vaccines, essential medicines, and medical devices to 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The airline has transported 130,000 vaccines to The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Two shipments with sterilized and disposable syringes were delivered to Côte d’Ivoire.


Shovel Ready

  • PhilaPort is constructing a $42-million warehouse in South Philadelphia. The port’s new facility is located one mile from the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The state is paying for the project under Gov. Tom Wolf’s multi-year port development plan, an investment of more than $300 million in cranes and infrastructure.
  • Blackline Cold Storage is building a new 298,000-square-foot cold storage facility at the Port of Houston in the TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park. The site will have multiple segregated temperature zones, 48-foot ceilings, up to 50 truck doors, and rail connectivity.

M&A

  • Iptor, a distribution and supply chain management services provider, acquired The Mesa Group, an information technology services provider for the distribution, light manufacturing, and retail industries.
  • Supply chain technology company Descartes Systems Group acquired QuestaWeb, a provider of foreign trade zone and customs compliance solutions.
  • International shipping and container transportation company Hapag-Lloyd acquired
    Nile Dutch, a provider of container shipping services to and from West Africa.
  • Noble Supply & Logistics, a global supply chain management provider, acquired Tactical & Survival Specialties, a provider of special operations equipment.
  • Global transportation and logistics company Kuehne+Nagel entered an agreement to acquire Apex, a transpacific and intra-Asia freight forwarder.

Recognition

  • Third-party logistics provider Sunset Transportation was named a Certified Women-Owned Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. The certification provides authentication to businesses that are at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.
  • ArcBest was awarded a Bronze sustainability rating from EcoVadis, which monitors, rates, and benchmarks the quality of a company’s sustainability performance. The Bronze rating recognizes sustainability performance in the top half of all companies rated across the world.

Sealed Deals

  • SEKO Logistics was named the official logistics partner for professional Scottish soccer club Rangers F.C. The club became Scottish Premiership champions in March 2021, spurring high demand for its retail products. Working with the club’s retail partner Castore, SEKO fulfilled hundreds of thousands of orders and completed deliveries to supporters in 89 countries.
  • Gebruder Weiss is handling e-fulfillment in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for the Mibelle Group, which produces personal care, beauty, and nutrition retail brands. Gebrüder Weiss handles the logistics and IT processes for online orders with myGW, a digital customer portal that enables access to essential data for all supply chain parties from the supplier to the end customer.
  • British lifestyle brand Barbour selected Metapack to handle its e-commerce operations. Metapack’s delivery portal automates shipping and returns, and expands delivery options for consumers. Its delivery manager enables Barbour to select the right delivery service for each order, and quickly generate carrier-compliant labels and customs documents for all shipments.

Green Seeds

  • Renewable energy company Enviva and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a global marine transport group, signed an agreement to develop an environmentally friendly bulk carrier, which is designed with a hard sail that harnesses wind energy. The companies plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during ocean transportation of sustainable wood pellets.
  • Scientists at Australia’s RMIT University are repurposing disposable face masks to build roads, incorporating them in a material called recycled concrete aggregate. If the material is used to build a two-way roadway just one kilometer in length, it would divert about 3 million used masks from ending up in landfills.
  • BMW introduced sustainable transportation into its Mini plant in the U.K. Its transport provider, Imperial Logistics, deployed a new fleet of 18 trucks powered by liquefied natural gas that transport engines and other parts from suppliers. They reduced carbon and nitrogen emissions by approximately 20% compared to a diesel fleet.

Up the Chain

  • Intelligent Audit, a multimodal freight auditing and payment platform, appointed Hannah Testani as its chief executive officer. Testani previously served as chief operating officer for nearly 12 years, and was a driving force behind the company’s 70% year-over-year revenue growth in 2020.
  • The Shippers Group, a national provider of third-party warehousing, contract packaging, e-commerce, and transportation services, named Graham Swank chief executive officer. Swank has 35 years with The Shippers Group, including 13 years as chief operating officer, and has been instrumental in overseeing the company’s growth.
  • Lisa Petersen was named chief operating officer at Vintners Logistics, a logistics, warehousing, and transportation solutions provider for the wine industry. She brings more than 25 years of industry experience and 15 years of executive management to Vintners. Most recently, Petersen served as director of intermodal services for Independent Dispatch, where she was responsible for transportation and logistics operations.