Atom & Bungie Integrated Services Ltd.

15/02/2023

Supply chain Jobs of tomorrow.

Since the pandemic, supply chains that deliver temperature-controlled products have never been more crucial. Unfortunately, jobs in this critical sector have historically been less than ideal. But now, things are changing and jobs in cold chain have never looked cooler.

07/12/2022

New normal

If more companies really start to use robots in their distribution centers, human workers could avoid endless repetitive work. And with the help of robots, even physically disadvantaged people can find jobs on the factory floor. There’s a huge amount of upside to this, but what would the dynamic b...

17/02/2017

What are B2B e-commerce executives most concerned about these days? Find out here.

16/02/2017

7 Warehouse E-commerce Best Practices for 2017.....

2. Develop all-purpose facilities that “talk” to one another.

Over the last few years, Jeff Mueller, vice president at Sedlak Management Consultants, has seen more emphasis on creating all-purpose facilities that can handle small orders, medium orders and large orders—and that can do it all in a very accurate manner. Going a step further, he says, firms are using IT-enabled systems and distributed order management (DOM) solutions at both the distribution and the retail levels to ensure smooth and seamless processes to and from those all-purpose warehouses and DCs.

“The goal is to be able to ship inventory from any point, stores included,” says Mueller, “and in a way that allows companies to accurately maintain inventory accuracy and follow through in a very cohesive manner. You can’t do it all in one place (i.e., the warehouse) and not in other (the store). You have to be able to do it all at once.”

3. Design facilities with omni-channel in mind.

Defined as a multichannel approach to sales focused on providing customers with a seamless shopping experience—be it shopping online, ordering by phone, or shopping in a retail store—omni-channel is a primary focus for product-oriented companies. That focus has transcended the modern-day supply chain and is impacting the way organizations design their warehouses and DCs.

Consider, for example, the company whose materials handling system is really only going to get over-stressed for a short period of time during the course of a year (during the holiday season or the summer, for example). In this case, having a DC that handles direct to consumer (D2C) retail, D2C e-commerce, and wholesale distribution under a single roof can eke out the most value from its automation and its available labor force.

“That way you don’t wind up with a facility that only sees heavy use for short periods,” says Hobkirk, noting that additional omni-channel best practices include simplifying processes for temporary workers (e.g., by using voice-directed picking) and reducing learning curves for those employees. “That way, someone who has never been at a specific location before can get very minimal training and be productive within a short period of time.”

4. Level-load orders year-round to offset spikes and lows.

When he talks to DC managers these days, Mueller says a lot of them are concerned about how to even out the ebbs and flows of their companies’ e-commerce fulfillment operations. “They’re trying to find a better way to achieve balance throughout the year and also have a more stable workforce,” says Mueller, “particularly when these managers have 100 to 200 temps coming in to help during the holidays—a model that, interestingly enough, hasn’t panned out quite the way some expected it to.”

In some scenarios, ensuring that orders are level-loaded throughout the year can help offset at least some of that temporary labor challenge, he notes. “With level-load orders, there isn’t as much immediacy, which basically drives people to call a temp agency on Monday morning with a request for hundreds of workers,” says Mueller, who advises DC managers to “get in tune” with the rest of the company to ensure better planning and to avoid a glut of orders that are waiting to be processed during the high season. “Try to avoid creating a hole that you might not be able to dig yourself out of,” Mueller says, “in time to still beat the holiday delivery deadlines.”

03/02/2017

7 Warehouse E-commerce Best Practices for 2017. by Bridget McCrea

Is manufacturers, distributors and retailers all strive to run efficient operations that not only meet the demands of their traditional businesses, but also support their e-commerce operations, the race is on to develop efficient, optimized warehouses and DCs to support these multifaceted operations. Driven by the sheer volume of products and services being sold online—a whopping $12.8 billion on Black Friday alone in the United States, according to Adobe Digital Insights—everyone wants to capture a slice of the 11.3% of total retail sales that are being transacted virtually, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Achieving that goal hasn’t been easy. “A lot of companies have been caught off guard by the growth in e-commerce,” says Ian Hobkirk, founder and managing director of Commonwealth Supply Chain Advisors. “In fact, I was just in a DC the other day that was still using paper counts and that had no visibility over what was out in trucks versus in its warehouse until a week after the deliveries were made.”

The good news is that for every company that’s still playing catch-up in the e-commerce fulfillment game, there’s at least one organization (and countless vendors) that have already uncovered some solid best practices for tackling those challenges. Here are seven of them:

1. Start small by implementing a cluster-picking strategy.
By picking into multiple order containers (e.g., totes containing order batches or discrete order totes), companies can effectively pick multiple orders at one time using a single cart. And, make sure that cart is sizable (i.e., 5 feet x 2 feet with at least two or three shelves) and able to handle the multiple orders, Hobkirk says. “I go into operations and see people using these tiny, 2 foot x 2 foot carts to pick two items and then push those orders across the entire warehouse,” he says. “If you can get a little bigger cart that can accommodate a few totes or boxes at time, you can drive up your pick rates, instead of having to make 20 trips through the warehouse to pick 20 orders.” ..... to be continued

23/01/2017

The Future of Trucking: Digital Transformation or All Hype?

If automation, optimized digital networks, and changing consumer habits come to fruition as some experts predict, it could completely upend trucking as we know it today.
By Jeff Ward, partner, A.T. Kearney Andrés Mendoza Pena, partner, A.T. Kearney Victoria Pisini, senior business analyst, A.T. Kearney
September 19, 2016
Editor’s Note: Jeff Ward is a partner and the Global Transportation Practice Leader at global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. He is based in Chicago. Andrés Mendoza-Peña is a partner in the Strategy & Top-Line Transformation Group at A.T. Kearney. He is based in Chicago. Victoria Pisini is a senior business analyst at A.T. Kearney. She is based in New York City.

While the trucking industry outlook remains bright—the American Trucking Associations predicts freight tonnage to grow 28.6 percent and revenue a healthy 74.5 percent over the next 10 years —trucking, like other logistics modes, seems to be at the beginning of a period of digital disruption.

If automation, optimized digital networks, and changing consumer habits come to fruition as some experts predict, it could completely upend trucking as we know it today.

In exploring the major industry disruptors, detailed below, two disruptive trends are the most uncertain and pose the highest impact on the future of logistics, and trucking in particular: changes to the regulatory environment and the rate of technology adoption. The regulatory environment is dependent upon the decisions of U.S. policymakers; many factors could alter the landscape in the next few years, such as new political leadership or actions taken to alleviate the shortages of skilled drivers. Critically, the question many ask is how will government leaders manage the adoption of new technologies?

Will regulators allow driverless technologies on the road, or will new policies slow down adoption? Beyond that, regulations such as more active monitoring of truck drivers, environmental standards that limit emissions (and thereby force older trucks off the road), and free-trade agreements that alter import and export dynamics are just a few regulatory trends that could play an outsize role in the future of trucking.

The trucking market is also ripe for technological disruption, thanks in part to its reliance on a manual brokerage model. In the next few years, assisted driving in trucks to increase driver productivity and safety will become reality; the Internet of Things might allow for greater accountability and connectivity, connecting consumers and producers like never before; crowdsourcing solutions could supplant traditional brokers; robotics and predictive analytics could change warehouse management.

Automation and “Uberization” seem imminent, even if the question of whether they will stick remains unanswered. And the trucking industry must worry about the threat of new, technologically advanced entrants—whether through superior software and TMS offerings or efficient vehicles and drone delivery.

Based on how these two trends shake out, our research points to four equally plausible scenarios based on whether the world leans toward vast technology adoption or not, and if regulations become more restrictive or not.

In the following section, we look closely at these four scenarios and how to succeed in each.

Super Highway

In Super Highway, widespread technology adoption and open markets lead to a fully automated world in which the transportation sector is transformed. Consumers embrace the digital economy, shippers benefit from volume reductions, and driverless vehicles go mainstream. Disruptors win the day, and the trucking industry as we know it ceases to exist. Shippers have the advantage in a world of increased options that alters fleet and carrier options as well as the last-mile delivery landscape.

New entrants, such as Google and Uber or Original Equipment Manufacturers like GM, usher in self-driving fleets that drive productivity up and shipping costs down. Access to capital and assets is paramount—without the need for human labor, new players unburdened by outdated infrastructure will emerge victorious.

Switching Gears

Widespread tech adoption but heavy government regulation struggle to coexist in this scenario. Regulation leads to a consolidated carrier base and tightening capacity, but crowdsourced solutions become prevalent and trucking maintains its advantage over other modes of transportation.

For shippers, this scenario presents a mixed proposition: technology improvements improve carrier-shipper relationships through enhanced transparency and faster ship times, but tightening capacity and a consolidated carrier base drive up prices and limit options. Trucking companies face pressures on their already tight margins to remain competitive. Scale, depth of expertise, and innovation will define success.

Traffic Jam

Incremental technology adoption and a restrictive regulatory environment in this scenario characterize a U.S. market in which consumer spending and economic growth are both quite weak. The sluggish environment hurts not only truckers but other modes of transportation as well; air and sea shipments drop, as do intermodal deliveries. Traffic Jam scenario represents a United States, and a global economy, in recession coupled with limited investments in transportation and logistics improvements.

This situation would affect trucking the most heavily, but generally it would not bode well for any sector of the transportation industry. In this operating environment, competition is fierce, and only the biggest carriers and brokers can survive, given the tight capacity and weak demand. The ability to scale rapidly thanks to a deep network will be crucial for success in an environment with low demand and tight capacity. Access to capital will help weather the
storm.

Open Road

This is the best-case scenario for brokers and logistics leaders alike, as the United States transportation system in this future would be an evolved version of today’s landscape in which an open regulatory market is coupled with piecemeal and slower-paced technology adoption. A reversal of regulatory policy around driver age and origin opens up capacity.

At the same time, automation has not come to fruition as quickly as some expected, leading to slower tech adoption, which means that the traditional model remains viable, as the system has little need to innovate. Trucking, rail, air, and sea all benefit; those with the most to lose (trucking and rail, in particular) might stand to gain the most. The key success factor will be enhanced scale and will provide an edge in a rapidly growing market with strong supply and demand.

Whatever scenario emerges, the successful transportation company of tomorrow will not look like the competitors of today: it will be more digital, connected, automated, responsive, customer-oriented, innovative, and scalable. The right combination of these traits will depend on which scenario emerges, but it is clear that technological innovation, scale and access to capital stand out as critical capabilities in almost any scenario. Whether the future of trucking is all about transformation or just hype is still hard to say. But a strategy that accounts for these critical factors will lead any company to success.

21/12/2016

Delivery Van