Month: September 2020

Infor has announced significant global success for its CloudSuite solutions, which can help customers recognize time-to-value faster and can help them become more agile, resilient and competitive. Industry-specific applications developed for sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, distribution, retail and hospitality have contributed to Infor now having more than 14,000 customers in the Infor Cloud. Recent customers include Burton Snowboards, Frederick County (Maryland), Midwest Wheel Companies, Cloetta, Saarioinen, and Auckland Transport.

Infor is focused on delivering end-to-end functionality in the cloud, with an increase of more than 200 percent in on-premise customers upgrading to the cloud and 112 percent growth in ACV (Annual Contract Value) bookings from May through June. The company aims to deliver unmatched multi-tenant cloud capabilities, as well as best-in-class data management and analytics capabilities through the Infor Data Lake and Infor Birst. In addition, an experienced professional services team and a deep channel and partner network, can help bring customers online quickly, with no material disruptions to their businesses.

Over the last 12 months, Infor has made significant industry-specific product updates that are designed to help customers better manage three important assets in their businesses: people, physical assets, and supply chains. These include new capabilities in Human Capital Management, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and supply chain management.

Midwest Wheel Companies, one of the largest truck parts distributors in the Midwestern U.S., is using Infor CloudSuite Distribution and Infor Birst analytics to help manage inventory across its six warehouses, enable complex workflows and alerts, and do more online business. With Infor’s multi-tenant cloud solutions, including Infor OS (Operating Service), the company has improved customer service, realizing as much as a 15 percent improvement in vendor fill rates. “If you’re not innovating new ways of increasing service levels, you’re going to get beat out. And that’s how we approach everything,” said Steve McEnany, Vice President of Marketing and Technology at Midwest Wheel. “The fact that we’re not running around putting out fires anymore has made a huge impact on our productivity.”

New Zealand’s regional transportation authority, Auckland Transport, has centralized asset management in the cloud using Infor EAM. “As a business, we are not into building heavy software nor paying high maintenance and upgrade costs, so we looked for SaaS solutions that are ready to deploy and easy to maintain, and we found a strategic partner in Infor,” said Roger Jones, Auckland Transport Executive General Manager, Business Technology. “This multi-year SaaS project can help optimize Auckland Transport’s multi-billion-dollar assets across the organization to attain better decision-making, drive operational efficiencies and boost customer satisfaction. The first phase involving the predictive maintenance of bridges, as part of our bridge system transformation project, has gone live – on time and on budget, which is no mean feat during a pandemic. The remote and agile implementations could only be achieved due to the commitment and deep industry expertise of a team at Infor that we trust and work well with.”

Amidst the rise of e-mobility in the automotive industry, Orbis Europe has developed a plastic foldable large container for the transportation and storage of lithium-ion batteries that can be used across the upstream supply chain. The reusable IonPak® enables OEMs and suppliers to transport dangerous goods in a safe, damage-free and cost-efficient way.

Complying with the motto ‘Transforming the World with Power’, Orbis Europe will be presenting the IonPak® FLC at this year’s Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart, Stand 1-1145, Hall 1. This is one of a few face-to-face events that are taking place in Germany. The lithium-ion battery market has seen above-average growth in the last years and it is forecasted to grow further. This poses new challenges for car manufacturers, especially in the area of logistics. Orbis follows this trend and launched the IonPak in 2018 as a replacement for conventional one-way/cardboard/steel packaging. Today, the robust FLC has been successfully integrated into numerous automotive supply chains.

The IonPak was launched as an efficient and safe solution for lithium-ion battery transport. With customized dunnage solutions and standard footprints (e.g. 1200×1000 / 1200×800), the collapsible heavy-duty container is UN certified and 100% recyclable. By using recycled and recyclable materials during production, CO2-emissions can be reduced by 60-75 kg per container*, helping OEMs reach their emissions goals. Orbis is certified to counsel customers on safely packaging dangerous goods and supports customers from developing to certifying the packaging solution.

Nilfisk, a leading global provider of professional cleaning solutions and services, announces the launch of two high-performance additions to its portfolio of autonomous solutions. The Nilfisk Liberty SC60, a robotic floor scrubber powered by Brain Corp’s BrainOS® AI software platform; and a UV-C light-based solution for Nilfisk’s existing robotic floor scrubber, the Nilfisk Liberty SC50, to target viruses and other pathogens.

These innovations, introduced at a virtual launch event, mark a significant step towards Nilfisk’s ambition of building a full portfolio of autonomous cleaning solutions. Hans Henrik Lund, Nilfisk CEO says: “Years of development have introduced state-of-the-art robotic technology within professional cleaning, and as a leader in intelligent cleaning, Nilfisk is committed to operating at the forefront of this evolution. We are, therefore, very excited to add two new innovative solutions to our portfolio. Together with our strong technology partners, we constantly strive to deliver the market’s best autonomous solutions, tailored to our customers’ unique cleaning requirements, and environments, in order to elevate their standard of clean. Today, we reinforce that commitment!”

The Nilfisk Liberty SC60 is Nilfisk’s first autonomous solution built on Brain Corp’s powerful BrainOS – the world’s most widely-used platform for the development and management of autonomous mobile robots. The high-performance machine is equipped with the largest scrub deck in the autonomy ride-on category and boasts best-in-class usability and significant operating capacity, making it ideal for maximizing cleaning efficiency in large indoor spaces like hypermarkets, warehousing, logistics, light-industry environments, and similar. To this end, the SC60 complements the abilities of the other robotic floor scrubber in Nilfisk’s portfolio, the Nilfisk Liberty SC50, which is developed with a smaller form factor for cleaning in environments that need more precision, agility, and the ability to navigate tighter layouts.

By introducing a new robotic-floorcare machine to its portfolio, Nilfisk responds to a recent increase in demand for autonomous solutions. “During the past months, cleaning has become even more essential for businesses and institutions, as they face new cleaning demands and requirements brought on by the pandemic. Many have turned to autonomy to meet these new demands, and we are extremely honored to be their partner. Together with our technology partners, we work each day to drive innovation in the market and deliver solutions to boost our customers’ cleaning performance – and the SC60, the newest member of our autonomous portfolio, is a testament to that,” says Lund.

By working with multiple partners, Nilfisk is able to bring innovation to customers rapidly. The new UVGI solution, also launched today, demonstrates just that. The solution was designed by Carnegie Robotics, a Nilfisk autonomous partner, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, to effectively target viruses and other pathogens. The solution was refined and tested, also by customers, and is now ready for commercial launch.

The solution uses powerful UV-C light to inactivate viruses and other pathogens and can be attached to the Nilfisk Liberty SC50. The robotic floor scrubber removes dirt and debris while the UV technology disinfects the surface simultaneously. The machine aims to deliver reliable, effective cleaning and disinfection of indoor spaces where hygiene is of the utmost importance, such as hospitals, airports, supermarkets, and schools.

NCL has confirmed that it will commence a new, direct weekly container service from Norway to the UK on 23 September when MV ‘Rumba’ will make its first call at London Container Terminal, Tilbury.

The service, both southbound and northbound, will link around 15 ports on the west coast of Norway directly with the UK, from Egersund in the south to Tromsø in the north. With a fixed weekly schedule and fast transit times, NCL will offer a wide range of line equipment from its fleet of 1800 containers which includes 20ft, 40ft and 45ft dry and reefer containers. The concept behind the new service is built firmly around the desire to offer a more cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative for the transport of fish from the west coast of Norway. First and foremost, the original ambition of NCL was to move fresh salmon off the roads and provide a route from the west coast of Norway directly to the heart of the UK market.

After working on this project for some time, it is clear that there is also a healthy demand for a variety of other products between Norway and the UK. Bente Hetland, Managing Director of NCL, commented, “our investment opens many doors for NCL and provides the market with a much-needed containerised solution whilst allowing us to link and further develop our other existing services from Rotterdam, Hamburg and Bremerhaven into Norway.”

It is expected that the service will be able to achieve cost savings in the region of 25%-30% compared to truck between the west coast of Norway and the UK. John Good Logistics, whose co-operation with NCL extends more than 15 years, will provide a full liner agency service in the UK including sales & marketing, vessel agency and operations and UK haulage. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to further develop the NCL brand in the UK and strongly believe in this new concept which will appeal to many customers on a range of different levels. Although we will have a clear focus on reefer cargo, it has already become very apparent that there is a pent up demand for dry cargoes suited to shipping in containers,” added Alan Platt, Chairman of John Good Logistics.

The choice of London Container Terminal was determined by its excellent geographical location, its reefer and short sea expertise along with its recognition as Britain’s Greenest Port. Commenting on the new service, Ross McKissock, Asset Manager from London Container Terminal said: “This is great news for London Container Terminal as we start NCL’s new and direct connection to Norway this month. Our excellent, Brexit-ready, facilities at LCT provides a fast, low carbon and cost-effective alternative to trucking, showcasing the major benefits of short sea routes. We are pleased to be working with NCL and John Good to help bring this concept to market and we look forward to supporting users of the service to optimise their supply chains into the UK’s largest Reefer cargo and food market in the South East.”

JLT Mobile Computers, a leading supplier of reliable computers for demanding environments, announces an addition to its rugged vehicle-mount portfolio to help customers in logistics, warehousing and other demanding industries boost productivity. The new JLT VM3010A computer is an Android 9.0-based rugged vehicle-mount terminal (VMT) that packs the high computing performance of a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 660 Octa-core 2.2GHz RISC processor into a 10-inch form factor. This combination makes for a powerful yet compact rugged unit that fits seamlessly into the tightest vehicle cabins to increase and future-proof warehouse productivity.

“With Windows Mobile going end of life this year, the demand for Android in the rugged industrial space is growing rapidly as customers are looking for a future-proof solution to sustain their operational efficiency,” notes Per Holmberg, CEO of JLT Mobile Computers Group. “The new JLT VM3010A addresses both these needs from a design as well as a service perspective. That’s because the new VMT not only ticks all the boxes on the specification sheet; it also comes with the complete peace of mind guarantee of JLT’s no-questions-asked service agreement and commitment to keep devices up and running long after deployment.”

Thanks to its familiar capacitive multi-touch Android user interface, the new JLT VM3010A computer is easy and intuitive to use, which helps to minimize input errors and increase workforce productivity. The powerful Snapdragon chipset provides a further efficiency boost by speeding up operation. Add to that the tough magnesium alloy housing, IP65 sealing, wide range of power input and power isolation, rich set of I/O ports, versatile wireless connectivity options, and quick release docking station, which allows the device to be removed with a single click, and it becomes clear that the JLT VM3010A vehicle-mount computer is an optimal choice for any application where industrial-grade computing performance, enterprise mobility and ruggedness are key.

Designed for the most demanding environments, the JLT VM3010A rugged computers are also supported by JLT’s comprehensive and no-questions-asked service commitment that guarantees maximum uptime for years after deployment. Called JLT:Care, this unique service agreement is devoid of the usual limitations and exclusions, giving customers complete peace of mind that JLT will keep their devices up and running.