Mondelēz International and GEODIS Extend Partnership for 3PL Services

10 ways artificial intelligence is transforming operations management

This allows the local branches to respond dynamically and independently to meet each customer’s needs. For more than half a century, EMO Trans has been providing tailored logistics solutions on a global scale. The company was established in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1965 by Eckart Moltmann, a maverick logistician who pioneered a transportation method for handling international air freight imports and exports. Over time, EMO Trans expanded its services to include ocean freight, project cargo, customs brokerage, and live animal transport, growing into a single-source global freight forwarding specialist. AI can help with data-driven decision-making by analyzing large datasets and providing insights that humans might miss. Applied to big data, these advanced analytics can improve strategic planning, risk management and resource allocation.

The company operates in a variety of industries, including food and beverage, automotive and pharmaceutical. FourKitesoffers real-time tracking for fleet vehicles, ships and planes, keeping seamless digital tabs on goods across shipping modalities. The company works with shippers, carriers and logistics service providers as a supply chain integrity augmentation, which allows manufacturers to more accurately predict loss and damage while increasing customer confidence in ETAs for purchased goods. Package.ai, a platform that provides artificial intelligence-based delivery for retail operations and customer service, said today it has raised $14 million in a early-stage funding round led by Susquehanna Growth Equity. Logistics outsourcing should be viewed not merely as acquiring a qualified supplier but as establishing a strategic partnership. A well-defined contract, founded on reliability and professionalism, is essential for successful outsourcing.

In response to increasing demand for logistics services, Whale has set a goal to expand its warehouse and container yard to more than 1,220,000 sqm by 2026. While there are many options when it comes to packaging and delivering goods quickly, supply chain experts are still searching for ways to manufacture products at a speed that meet consumers’ growing expectations. The process of gathering supplies and producing a product often requires the most time and effort within the supply chain setting. During the 1960s, the supply chain was indelibly changed when IBM developed the world’s first computerized inventory management and forecasting system, which made it simpler to track orders, inventory and distribution. Since then, the industry has been propelled even further into the future, bringing with it an entirely new perspective on how we exchange goods across the globe. Visibility in the supply chain helps with risk management and promotes effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders and remains a vital area for companies to invest in.

Best practices for optimizing logistics operations

Grainger offers a substantial catalog of maintenance and repair products for businesses, and its capabilities extend to inventory management. The company’s KeepStock solutions provide businesses with tools and expert support to ensure they have the important parts and equipment they need in supply. Cardinal Logistics is used by businesses of all sizes, offering various fleet outsourcing, transportation management, last-mile services and warehousing solutions.

Integrated logistics can support a business focussed on enhancing its customers’ experience. To achieve this, choosing the right integrated logistics partner matters, and that trust is vital. It will have what it takes to ensure consistent, fast, reliable delivery, and to support the business in offering the personalisation, convenience and simplicity required for the outstanding customer experience they are no longer willing to compromise on.

The most exciting part for me, is being able to work on different types of projects from analytical to operational, so that I am constantly learning and working with new and different stakeholders. Being newer to CS&L, this has been a great way for me to get a holistic view of the entire function and understand what areas leaders are focusing on. Thanks to our expertise in this field, we have created reliable models, which allow for significant time savings, using innovative digital tools.

The Transformative Power Of AI In Logistics

Clients choose the additional services they want to procure, and UTi’s IT helps workers ensure those services and metrics are implemented appropriately for each customer. One large shipper customer of Kane Is Able, a 3PL serving the U.S. consumer packaged goods market, requires its 3PLs to conduct at least eight customer visits a year to discuss service issues, supplementing these with their own visits. Fifteen minutes after 3PD’s driver captures a consumer’s signature, the consumer receives a two-minute, five-question call, with the chance to leave any comments via voice mail. Low scores are routed to a marketing manager who can quickly seek to appease dissatisfied customers. The brand also receives feedback, which is shared at the next morning’s meeting with drivers.

One of the most severe economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was damage to the supply chain. “We have an analyst who studies SONAR and freight markets, and we look at the heat maps for supply and demand on a daily basis,” said Johnson. “We’ve actually fired customers because they refused to be a shipper of choice and they were a drain on our staff,” said Clay. Clay was a successful broker at Access America, while Johnson, who always wanted to become an entrepreneur, had returned to Knoxville from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had worked in JB Hunt’s Dedicated Contract Services business. Clay didn’t want to leave but was finally convinced by Johnson to take a risk; they launched Axle Logistics with just enough money to buy McLeod Software’s PowerBroker and provide a few months of runway.

As the economy becomes more global, labeling and compliance to packaging requirements and regulations have become critical to success. Without adherence to local packaging and labeling regulations a product may violate local requirements, preventing it from being distributed and sold in that market. Product lifecycle management technology processes can help ensure that products being produced and targeted for specific markets are well-managed and are compliant.

TMSes are available as standalone software or as modules within enterprise resource planning (ERP) and SCM suites. SUITEHOME’s flexible and customizable services installation of products, collection and disposal of used items, dedicated Customer Service, and delivery 7 days a week with just 30 minutes notice. Furniture and home equipment logistics has a particular emphasis on ground transportation networks, where the focus is on the all-important last mile delivery.

The addition of STR and LAR capabilities provides “an end-to-end” support structure that the medical logistics community never had before the ILSC’s creation, Acevedo said. Acevedo used an example of a malfunctioning computed tomography, or CT, machine in a forward environment to describe the new capabilities. Not every Soldier is trained to service highly specialized equipment such as a CT, so the STR steps in to assess the situation and assist to get the issue remedied and back online as quickly as possible. LARs have existed for other Army commodities yet represent a newer capability within medical.

Having a real person to talk to bolsters confidence in its logistics solutions and helps EMO Trans maintain long-lasting, mutually beneficial business relationships. Recent extraordinary events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the energy crisis and rising inflation, have drastically altered the balance between supply and demand. These disruptions have underscored the critical need for operational flexibility, prompting companies to explore alternative strategies beyond traditional approaches. In this context, logistics outsourcing emerges as a compelling solution, bolstered by the growing complexity and strategic significance of logistics and supply chain management.

COSCO SHIPPING Logistics transports Squirrel Helicopter

Smartly planned routes can also get products into your customers’ hands faster, helping you meet the demands of two-day or even next-day delivery. Alternatively, outsource the entire process to third-party logistics services, such as Shopify Fulfillment Network and Flexport. As high-volume shippers, they often can pass on discounted rates to the ecommerce businesses they serve. But even if your business doesn’t manufacture goods or interact directly with the global supply chain, a well-oiled logistics process is still essential.

• It connects all stages of the supply chain – from production, storage, transport, and delivery – to optimise the flow of goods.
• Usually, orders come in automatically from ERP or order management systems that are integrated with the TMS.
• We are committed to providing efficient services and proper consultation, benefiting all stakeholders,” Mr. Sonchaeng described.
• “Sometimes you have the dichotomy of what your organizational culture happens to be as a brand, versus what you have to do inside the warehouse environment,” Acharya said.
• Logistics refers to the overall process of managing how resources are acquired, stored, and transported to their final destination.

Axle developed a gamified brokerage competition called Axle Drive in-house, where every broker has his or her own avatar and real-time analytics are displayed on screens across the office. Owing to the complexity and unique demands made of TMS solutions, a few challenges can be identified and must be addressed during planning, deployment and maintenance. Raw materials, for example, need transporting from their original location — perhaps a mine or a farm — to the supplier’s processing plant. While the materials’ ultimate destination is likely to be a manufacturer, there might be intermediate locations along the way. The manufacturing process itself might require additional shipments if, for example, subassemblies need to be moved between the manufacturer’s facilities or to those of a subcontractor.

Logistics outsourcing is not merely a tactical decision but a fundamental strategic initiative. It involves delegating specific logistical activities to third parties to enhance organizational agility and flexibility, reducing fixed costs and focusing resources on core business activities. This practice, well-established in the industrial sector, streamlines organizational structures and provides access to specialized expertise that is continuously updated.

Good logistics management ensures that products are shipped in the most economical, safe, efficient and timely manner. To varying degrees, logistics management functions include customer service, sourcing and procurement, production planning and scheduling, packaging, and assembly. Logistics management is part of all the levels of planning and execution, including strategic, operational and tactical.

It can accommodate CFS, FCL, and LCL cargoes and features a comprehensive warehouse management system, ensuring efficient cargo rotation,” said Mr. Sonchaeng about the new facility’s capabilities. Free zone warehousing plays a significant role in import and export industries due to its legal benefits, which can crucially support overall operations. The extra AI engagement increases the number of confirmations, which lowers the failure rates, the company added, dropping them from 8% to 2%. The AI management also frees drivers from having to call ahead so that they can attend to their route.

And it partners directly with every company it works with to develop and implement customized transportation solutions, including specialized equipment and handling, as well as integrated technology. While 3PL providers are capable of handling the entirety of a company’s supply chain operations, the different components of the logistics process can be carried out by individual players. For instance, freight companies solely handle the physical transportation of goods, while freight forwarders are dedicated to optimizing transport solutions and handling necessary documentation. In this sense, logistics could be seen as a complex web of moving parts, which operate in tandem with one another in order to boost efficiency and reduce costs within the supply chain.

In the modern era, the technology boom and the complexity of logistics processes have spawned logistics management software and specialized logistics-focused firms that expedite the movement of resources along the supply chain. Many 3PLs credit technology with enabling the processes they need to ensure each shipper receives the expected customer service levels. Systems help employees track the services each customer expects, and how they’re measured. Technology also enables 3PLs to provide shippers with visibility into KPI compliance at all times. Sysco LABS’ e-commerce development helps support an efficient supply chain for the foodservice industry. It builds and optimizes digital tools that simplify product discovery, delivery tracking, invoice management and other important tasks for Sysco customers, which include restaurants, schools and other businesses that prepare and sell food.

Customer service management team works to elevate user experience, customer outcomes – DLA

Customer service management team works to elevate user experience, customer outcomes.

Posted: Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In doing so, network design captures the costs of the supply chain with a “total landed cost” perspective and applies advanced mathematical technology to determine optimal answers to both strategic and tactical questions. Advanced demand planning systems and proper strategies can also help uncover data and identify trends buried in a company’s information systems. Companies should conduct an enterprise-wide internal Demand Review to gather information from all aspects of the organization. Goals are then set to gain consensus on what will be sold each month for each product line or category and the resulting revenue.

• If 3D printing were applied to the production process, consumers would have greater control over the supply chain.
• Open AI’s phenomenal ChatGPT program and similar generative AI models, such as AutoGPT and other AI Agents, can be used in logistics with the most impactful use cases around automating workflows and customer experience.
• Which is precisely why many companies have begun implementing AI technology for logistics and supply chain tasks.
• Supply chain and logistics teams then can anticipate issues, lower operational costs and develop more consistent workflows.
• Likewise, fleet management company Motive has made it easier to track cargo and drivers while improving efficiency and safety along the supply chain.

Its services are used by more than 3,000 companies, including Best Buy, Pepsico and Campbell’s. Whale offers various comprehensive logistics services, such as warehouse and container yard services, free zone warehousing services, freight forwarding and customs clearance services, and land transportation services by truck. The company operates with a team of specialized and experienced professionals committed to delivering comprehensive and efficient services and supporting import-export procedures, focusing on professionalism and customer satisfaction. As the demand for online delivery grows and consumers’ expectations become larger, the need to optimize logistics has never been greater. As a result, software developers have set to work creating platforms designed to make the supply chain more manageable. Likewise, fleet management company Motive has made it easier to track cargo and drivers while improving efficiency and safety along the supply chain.

The ultimate goal of collaboration is to increase visibility throughout the value chain in an effort to make better management decisions and to ultimately decrease value chain costs. With the right tools, processes and organizational structure in place collaboration provides key people throughout the value chain with the information needed to make business-critical decisions with the best available information. As sources and capacities for manufacturing have increased, more companies have moved away from focusing efforts on plant-level production planning and are adopting more of a demand-driven focus of trying to influence and manage demand more efficiently. Rationalizing what your company is best at selling, making and delivering, and aligning the sales force with that mindset, is critical to adopting a demand-driven model. The demand driven approach can help a company create a more customer-focused mindset, without sacrificing operational efficiency. Ultimately, a demand-focused approach to planning can significantly improve demand planning and management efforts and help overall costs and customer service efforts.

Robotic process automation (RPA) uses AI-powered bots to automate routine tasks that are rule-based and repetitive, such as data entry, invoice processing and customer service responses. Bots can extract data, fill out forms, generate reports and perform other routine activities, improving efficiency, reducing errors and freeing up the human workforce for more complex, strategic tasks. For example, Deloitte found that RPA reduced management report preparation from several days to just one hour and cut travel expense report prep time from three hours to 10 minutes.

AI is being used to improve data quality, generate data through Generative AI when real data is not available and provide valuable insights through predictions (like an ETA or dwell times) or forecasts (available capacity of assets or at ports). By implementing real-time visibility, companies can share information, updates and forecasts with suppliers, customers and partners. Transparent communication helps build trust, enhances collaboration, and enables timely decision-making. Logistics management functions that are a part of ERP systems are usually integrated with other business functions in the system, like sales, finance, procurement and human resources. More specialized logistics management applications focus on warehouse management, transportation management, and supply chain planning and supply chain execution.

The company was a Chicago start-up in 2017 and was acquired by ArcBest in 2021, backing it with supply chain solutions. When it comes to shipping, FedEx is a household name, handling some 16.5 million packages a day. And in 2021 the company began a partnership with driverless truck manufacturer Aurora to test out its fleet of autonomous 18-wheelers. Walmart is another prominent figure in the supply chain industry, operating hundreds of high-tech distribution centers around the world. The company also sources a lot of products itself, including the produce it sells at its brick-and-mortar locations, in an effort to meet high-volume demands and keep costs down.