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Day: 3 August 2022

Decathlon partners with Zeus Labs to handle UK freight

Posted on by David Priestman

Zeus Labs, which is disrupting the freight industry with its next-generation digital solutions, has teamed up with the world’s largest sports retailer Decathlon to help handle its UK freight. The partnership means that Zeus now handles nearly half of all the retailer’s restocking in the UK.

Established in Lille, France in 1976, Decathlon opened its first UK store at Surrey Quays in 1999, and now has 70 sites across the UK with plans to open hundreds more over the next decade.

The partnership comes after Zeus has undergone phenomenal growth since its founding in 2019 by young entrepreneurs Jai Kanwar and Clemente Theotokis. The firm now serves more than 40 enterprise-level clients handling over 660,000 tonnes of cargo annually, worth circa £6bn.

Zeus has also experienced a 100% conversion rate from manufacturers who trialled their platform in 2021, which offers a near ‘zero-touch’ approach to managing road freight, with complete end-to-end tracking, reconciliation and system integrations.

The platform reduces road freight administration for both shippers and hauliers, while helping small-medium fleets grow quickly with fast payment terms.

It also features a generous loyalty programme that includes 50% discounts on premium truck tyres – which amounts to a potential saving of more than several thousand pounds a year to small fleets.

Zeus, which aims to reduce the industry average of 30% of trucks running empty to just 5% by 2025, achieved a 326% growth in total volume in 2021, and is on track to deliver a 400% growth in revenues by the end of 2022.

Zeus Labs Co-Founder Jai Kanwar said: “The addition of major brands like Decathlon is a testament to the great benefits we are bringing to the logistics sector. Our easy-to-use platform is not only helping companies streamline their supply chain but also help move the industry towards better sustainability by reducing the number of empty HGVs on UK roads. Every manufacturer that trialled Zeus in 2021 has awarded business to us this year, showing just how effective our service is in modernising road freight management.”

 

Decathlon partners with Zeus Labs to handle UK freight

Posted on by David Priestman

Zeus Labs, which is disrupting the freight industry with its next-generation digital solutions, has teamed up with the world’s largest sports retailer Decathlon to help handle its UK freight. The partnership means that Zeus now handles nearly half of all the retailer’s restocking in the UK.

Established in Lille, France in 1976, Decathlon opened its first UK store at Surrey Quays in 1999, and now has 70 sites across the UK with plans to open hundreds more over the next decade.

The partnership comes after Zeus has undergone phenomenal growth since its founding in 2019 by young entrepreneurs Jai Kanwar and Clemente Theotokis. The firm now serves more than 40 enterprise-level clients handling over 660,000 tonnes of cargo annually, worth circa £6bn.

Zeus has also experienced a 100% conversion rate from manufacturers who trialled their platform in 2021, which offers a near ‘zero-touch’ approach to managing road freight, with complete end-to-end tracking, reconciliation and system integrations.

The platform reduces road freight administration for both shippers and hauliers, while helping small-medium fleets grow quickly with fast payment terms.

It also features a generous loyalty programme that includes 50% discounts on premium truck tyres – which amounts to a potential saving of more than several thousand pounds a year to small fleets.

Zeus, which aims to reduce the industry average of 30% of trucks running empty to just 5% by 2025, achieved a 326% growth in total volume in 2021, and is on track to deliver a 400% growth in revenues by the end of 2022.

Zeus Labs Co-Founder Jai Kanwar said: “The addition of major brands like Decathlon is a testament to the great benefits we are bringing to the logistics sector. Our easy-to-use platform is not only helping companies streamline their supply chain but also help move the industry towards better sustainability by reducing the number of empty HGVs on UK roads. Every manufacturer that trialled Zeus in 2021 has awarded business to us this year, showing just how effective our service is in modernising road freight management.”

 

FedEx expands robotics fleet with Berkshire Grey

Posted on by David Priestman

Berkshire Grey Inc., a leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, and FedEx Corp have expanded their strategic relationship.

As part of the expansion of this relationship, Berkshire Grey and FedEx have entered into an agreement for new development activities that will provide broader AI robotic automation capabilities to help improve the safety and efficiency of FedEx package handling operations globally. The two companies also expect to execute a master system purchase agreement in 2022, which will streamline and expedite the procurement process for Berkshire Grey solutions across all FedEx operating companies globally.

Additionally, Berkshire Grey has granted FedEx a warrant to purchase common stock which vests incrementally, subject to certain terms including the ordering of and payment for Berkshire Grey AI-enabled robotic automation goods and services at any time prior to December 31, 2025, with full vesting of all 25 million shares subject to the warrant upon the ordering of or payment for at least $200m of such goods and services.

“Our growing relationship with Berkshire Grey for robotic automation is a direct response to the growth of e-commerce, which has accelerated the demand for reliable automated solutions throughout all stages of the supply chain,” said Rebecca Yeung, Corporate VP of Operations Science and Advanced Technology, FedEx. “FedEx believes that continued innovation and automation will improve efficiency, productivity and safety for its team members as they continue to keep the global supply chain moving.”

As previously announced, FedEx Ground and Berkshire Grey are already working together to deploy Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Product Sortation and Identification (RPSi) systems to robotically sort small packages that arrive daily and require distribution. In addition to the recent installations at eight sortation facilities, including Queens, NY, Las Vegas, Nev., and Columbus, Ohio, FedEx Ground plans to have RPSi systems in place at select additional facilities in the network over the next 12 months.

The new product development agreement is an expansion of this collaboration and offers new opportunities for the two companies to work together to further increase efficiencies across the FedEx enterprise using AI-enabled robotic automation.

“Berkshire Grey and FedEx are strategically aligned. These new agreements reflect our mutual commitment to innovations in robotic automation that can remove barriers within the supply chain, ease the physical burden on employees and streamline operations,” said Tom Wagner, CEO of Berkshire Grey. “We look forward to working together on this new program and to advancing other automation programs with FedEx moving forward.”

FedEx expands robotics fleet with Berkshire Grey

Posted on by David Priestman

Berkshire Grey Inc., a leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, and FedEx Corp have expanded their strategic relationship.

As part of the expansion of this relationship, Berkshire Grey and FedEx have entered into an agreement for new development activities that will provide broader AI robotic automation capabilities to help improve the safety and efficiency of FedEx package handling operations globally. The two companies also expect to execute a master system purchase agreement in 2022, which will streamline and expedite the procurement process for Berkshire Grey solutions across all FedEx operating companies globally.

Additionally, Berkshire Grey has granted FedEx a warrant to purchase common stock which vests incrementally, subject to certain terms including the ordering of and payment for Berkshire Grey AI-enabled robotic automation goods and services at any time prior to December 31, 2025, with full vesting of all 25 million shares subject to the warrant upon the ordering of or payment for at least $200m of such goods and services.

“Our growing relationship with Berkshire Grey for robotic automation is a direct response to the growth of e-commerce, which has accelerated the demand for reliable automated solutions throughout all stages of the supply chain,” said Rebecca Yeung, Corporate VP of Operations Science and Advanced Technology, FedEx. “FedEx believes that continued innovation and automation will improve efficiency, productivity and safety for its team members as they continue to keep the global supply chain moving.”

As previously announced, FedEx Ground and Berkshire Grey are already working together to deploy Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Product Sortation and Identification (RPSi) systems to robotically sort small packages that arrive daily and require distribution. In addition to the recent installations at eight sortation facilities, including Queens, NY, Las Vegas, Nev., and Columbus, Ohio, FedEx Ground plans to have RPSi systems in place at select additional facilities in the network over the next 12 months.

The new product development agreement is an expansion of this collaboration and offers new opportunities for the two companies to work together to further increase efficiencies across the FedEx enterprise using AI-enabled robotic automation.

“Berkshire Grey and FedEx are strategically aligned. These new agreements reflect our mutual commitment to innovations in robotic automation that can remove barriers within the supply chain, ease the physical burden on employees and streamline operations,” said Tom Wagner, CEO of Berkshire Grey. “We look forward to working together on this new program and to advancing other automation programs with FedEx moving forward.”

RailFreight Summit celebrates 5th anniversary in Warsaw

Posted on by David Priestman

The annual RailFreight Summit is ready to celebrate its 5th anniversary. The lustrum edition takes place on 7 & 8 September in Warsaw, a year after a record-breaking edition with 250 attendees. This year is set to break new records, bring the rail freight industry closer, and tackle critical topics.

A little more than a month is left until the rail freight industry gathers again in Poland. This year’s topic, ‘Moving to a new reality’, reflects the situation in which the rail freight industry and Poland have found themselves in the past few months. In a short period, the role of Poland in the international rail freight market changed completely. Whereas it used to be the gateway to Europe for traffic from Asia with the most heavily consumed border crossing on the New Silk Road, it needs to reinvent itself today due to the war in Ukraine. This new reality is at the heart of the discussion at the RailFreight Summit 2022.

The 5th anniversary edition of the RailFreight Summit will have everything: site tour to terminal and inauguration of new facilities, expert presentations and panel discussions on the new role of Poland and the CEE region in logistics, infrastructure and technology issues and possibilities, the future of Ukraine, the role of the Baltics and the New Silk Road dynamics are some of the things that attendees will have the chance to follow.

On top of that, the networking drinks and dinner will also be a central part of the two-day event aiming to bring old and new friends together and provide space to rail professionals for one-on-one meetings, networking and new business opportunities.

Visit the event’s website and first take a look at the programme and speakers. You can also find information about the event’s venue, details on the site tour and why Warsaw is this year’s hosting city, and  who else attends so that you can arrange your meetings in advance.

CLICK HERE to register for the event.

RailFreight Summit celebrates 5th anniversary in Warsaw

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The annual RailFreight Summit is ready to celebrate its 5th anniversary. The lustrum edition takes place on 7 & 8 September in Warsaw, a year after a record-breaking edition with 250 attendees. This year is set to break new records, bring the rail freight industry closer, and tackle critical topics.

A little more than a month is left until the rail freight industry gathers again in Poland. This year’s topic, ‘Moving to a new reality’, reflects the situation in which the rail freight industry and Poland have found themselves in the past few months. In a short period, the role of Poland in the international rail freight market changed completely. Whereas it used to be the gateway to Europe for traffic from Asia with the most heavily consumed border crossing on the New Silk Road, it needs to reinvent itself today due to the war in Ukraine. This new reality is at the heart of the discussion at the RailFreight Summit 2022.

The 5th anniversary edition of the RailFreight Summit will have everything: site tour to terminal and inauguration of new facilities, expert presentations and panel discussions on the new role of Poland and the CEE region in logistics, infrastructure and technology issues and possibilities, the future of Ukraine, the role of the Baltics and the New Silk Road dynamics are some of the things that attendees will have the chance to follow.

On top of that, the networking drinks and dinner will also be a central part of the two-day event aiming to bring old and new friends together and provide space to rail professionals for one-on-one meetings, networking and new business opportunities.

Visit the event’s website and first take a look at the programme and speakers. You can also find information about the event’s venue, details on the site tour and why Warsaw is this year’s hosting city, and  who else attends so that you can arrange your meetings in advance.

CLICK HERE to register for the event.

STILL installs e-chargers at HQ

Posted on by David Priestman

The Hamburg-based intralogistics provider STILL is currently building 20 charging stations for electric vehicles at its headquarters on Berzeliusstraße in Hamburg. The highlight: not only will the company fleet’s electric vehicles be charged there in future, but employees and visitors will also be able to use this charging facility for their private vehicles.

“Electrifying!” – the slogan of the Hamburg-based intralogistics provider STILL will take on a whole new meaning in the future. That is, when the 20 charging stations for e-cars that are currently under construction go into operation in August.

“In fact, we will not only use the new charging stations for our increasingly electrically driven company vehicle fleet but will also offer our employees and our visitors a charging option as a very special service. We are particularly thinking of employees who do not have charging facilities at home. We want to make it possible for them to switch to an emission-free vehicle,” says Stefan Sanny, who is responsible for facility management at STILL.

However, building the first charging points was only the first step for STILL. “This is just the first part of an overall project by STILL, with which we have now created the infrastructural and procedural possibilities for gradually equipping other sites with electric charging points. In this way, we not only want to enable the conversion of our own vehicle fleet, but also motivate our employees to switch to electric vehicles.”

In the medium term, it will also be possible to include suitable wallbox chargers at home for the service van fleet and company cars for employees in the STILL charging infrastructure.

STILL uses “green” electricity

STILL obtains the electricity required for the charging stations – like the rest of its electricity – from “green” sources. “This means that we are making a real contribution to reducing CO2 emissions with our new charging stations,” says Stefan Sanny. The charging points can be used with the usual charging cards – and STILL employees can even benefit from special rates. Charging is carried out according to the ‘fair-use principle’. This means that charging is only carried out when and for as long as necessary so that charging points are always available.

“We will closely observe how our new offer is made use of. If it proves successful, we have the option of building another 24 charging stations at the same location,” concludes Stefan Sanny.

STILL installs e-chargers at HQ

Posted on by David Priestman

The Hamburg-based intralogistics provider STILL is currently building 20 charging stations for electric vehicles at its headquarters on Berzeliusstraße in Hamburg. The highlight: not only will the company fleet’s electric vehicles be charged there in future, but employees and visitors will also be able to use this charging facility for their private vehicles.

“Electrifying!” – the slogan of the Hamburg-based intralogistics provider STILL will take on a whole new meaning in the future. That is, when the 20 charging stations for e-cars that are currently under construction go into operation in August.

“In fact, we will not only use the new charging stations for our increasingly electrically driven company vehicle fleet but will also offer our employees and our visitors a charging option as a very special service. We are particularly thinking of employees who do not have charging facilities at home. We want to make it possible for them to switch to an emission-free vehicle,” says Stefan Sanny, who is responsible for facility management at STILL.

However, building the first charging points was only the first step for STILL. “This is just the first part of an overall project by STILL, with which we have now created the infrastructural and procedural possibilities for gradually equipping other sites with electric charging points. In this way, we not only want to enable the conversion of our own vehicle fleet, but also motivate our employees to switch to electric vehicles.”

In the medium term, it will also be possible to include suitable wallbox chargers at home for the service van fleet and company cars for employees in the STILL charging infrastructure.

STILL uses “green” electricity

STILL obtains the electricity required for the charging stations – like the rest of its electricity – from “green” sources. “This means that we are making a real contribution to reducing CO2 emissions with our new charging stations,” says Stefan Sanny. The charging points can be used with the usual charging cards – and STILL employees can even benefit from special rates. Charging is carried out according to the ‘fair-use principle’. This means that charging is only carried out when and for as long as necessary so that charging points are always available.

“We will closely observe how our new offer is made use of. If it proves successful, we have the option of building another 24 charging stations at the same location,” concludes Stefan Sanny.

Shypple forms green partnership with Value Maritime

Posted on by David Priestman

Digital freight forwarding platform Shypple has formed a partnership with Value Maritime as a part of its sustainability mission: a clean future for the shipping industry. The initiative with Value Maritime supports Shypple’s clients in reducing their ecological footprint with a Filtree and Carbon Capture system. These services are available to Shypple users by September 2022.

There are 60,000 power-driven vessels around the world right now. It’s impossible to change all of these to battery power overnight. Together with Value Maritime, Shypple offers an immediate option for cleaner shipping with the ambition to have a Filtree and Carbon Capture system installed on hundreds of vessels by 2025.

Value Maritime’s Filtree System filters sulfur, fine dust, and CO₂ from the exhaust gasses of vessels. The CO₂ is stored on the vessels in CO₂ batteries. These batteries are discharged at ports afterwards to be transported to the greenhouses that re-use the CO₂, to grow their crops, which is particularly relevant to Shypple’s perishable customers.

“The industry needs solutions now, not in the future. That is what we can provide at Value Maritime today, retrofitting vessels to be greener and much more sustainable. Our solution is available for installation on most  ship types immediately. It’s great to see a growing interest in sustainable solutions as carriers increase their efforts to contribute to a better environment,” says Maarten Lodewijks, Director and Co-founder of Value Maritime.

The shipping industry emits around 940 million tonnes of CO₂ every year. About 80% of the world’s trade comes by sea. As an innovative digital freight platform, Shypple takes the lead to reduce the footprint of the sector and  make a positive impact. Additional solutions and insights help the platform’s clients to simplify their logistics and reduce their environmental pollution.

Shypple believes it is important to improve the accessibility of cleaner shipping options. Shypple already provides users with accurate CO₂ numbers for every shipment and encourages their clients to join a reforestation programme to offset carbon emissions, or ship their goods with biofuel.

“We’re happy to announce this partnership as part of our commitment to a more equitable shipping industry,” says Jarell Habets, CEO and founder of Shypple. “We cannot ignore the social and environmental impact of global transportation. At Shypple, we stimulate our customers to reduce their ecological footprint, and thanks to this initiative with Value Maritime we tackle the problem right at the core. We share their ambition as a young, innovative, and sustainable-minded organisation that wants to innovate the industry with positive impact.”

The digital platform provides more transparency and green solutions to its users. Whether it is digital sustainability insights or additional instalments that make cargo journeys more environmentally friendly.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

 

Shypple forms green partnership with Value Maritime

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Digital freight forwarding platform Shypple has formed a partnership with Value Maritime as a part of its sustainability mission: a clean future for the shipping industry. The initiative with Value Maritime supports Shypple’s clients in reducing their ecological footprint with a Filtree and Carbon Capture system. These services are available to Shypple users by September 2022.

There are 60,000 power-driven vessels around the world right now. It’s impossible to change all of these to battery power overnight. Together with Value Maritime, Shypple offers an immediate option for cleaner shipping with the ambition to have a Filtree and Carbon Capture system installed on hundreds of vessels by 2025.

Value Maritime’s Filtree System filters sulfur, fine dust, and CO₂ from the exhaust gasses of vessels. The CO₂ is stored on the vessels in CO₂ batteries. These batteries are discharged at ports afterwards to be transported to the greenhouses that re-use the CO₂, to grow their crops, which is particularly relevant to Shypple’s perishable customers.

“The industry needs solutions now, not in the future. That is what we can provide at Value Maritime today, retrofitting vessels to be greener and much more sustainable. Our solution is available for installation on most  ship types immediately. It’s great to see a growing interest in sustainable solutions as carriers increase their efforts to contribute to a better environment,” says Maarten Lodewijks, Director and Co-founder of Value Maritime.

The shipping industry emits around 940 million tonnes of CO₂ every year. About 80% of the world’s trade comes by sea. As an innovative digital freight platform, Shypple takes the lead to reduce the footprint of the sector and  make a positive impact. Additional solutions and insights help the platform’s clients to simplify their logistics and reduce their environmental pollution.

Shypple believes it is important to improve the accessibility of cleaner shipping options. Shypple already provides users with accurate CO₂ numbers for every shipment and encourages their clients to join a reforestation programme to offset carbon emissions, or ship their goods with biofuel.

“We’re happy to announce this partnership as part of our commitment to a more equitable shipping industry,” says Jarell Habets, CEO and founder of Shypple. “We cannot ignore the social and environmental impact of global transportation. At Shypple, we stimulate our customers to reduce their ecological footprint, and thanks to this initiative with Value Maritime we tackle the problem right at the core. We share their ambition as a young, innovative, and sustainable-minded organisation that wants to innovate the industry with positive impact.”

The digital platform provides more transparency and green solutions to its users. Whether it is digital sustainability insights or additional instalments that make cargo journeys more environmentally friendly.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

 

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