October 2023

Irish Private Business of the Year Award

Posted on 20 October, 2023 by David Priestman

At the distinguished Irish Exporters Association Awards 2023 in the Convention Centre, Dublin, Moffett Automated Storage shone as a symbol of outstanding achievement, securing the esteemed honour of being named Irish Private Business of the Year. This not only acknowledges their remarkable impact in the realm of automated storage solutions but also highlights their crucial position in Ireland’s flourishing export industry.

A Testament to Innovation and Excellence

Moffett Automated Storage, headquartered in County Monaghan, has recently been at the forefront of revolutionizing the logistics and storage industry. Established in 2017, the company has consistently pushed boundaries and set new standards for quality, efficiency, and reliability in the sector. The award is a testament to the tireless dedication and innovative spirit that the team at Moffett Automated Storage brings to their work every day.

Moffett Automated Storage has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of automated storage systems. Their state-of-the-art technology has empowered businesses across industries to optimize their operations, reduce costs, and increase productivity and sustainability.

Their solutions encompass a wide range of products and services, including automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), conveyors, picking systems, and warehouse control software. By integrating these technologies seamlessly in a black box solution, Moffett has enabled businesses to achieve levels of efficiency that were previously unimaginable.

Catalysing Ireland’s Export Growth

The recognition as Irish Private Business of the Year serves as a testament to their vital role in shaping Ireland’s export landscape, particularly in an era where efficient logistics and warehousing are more crucial than ever.

Moffett Automated Storage also stands out for its commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility. They have made substantial efforts to reduce their environmental footprint by implementing energy-efficient technologies and promoting sustainable practices in their operations.
Moreover, they have actively engaged in community endeavours, supporting local businesses and charitable causes. This approach to business not only reflects their values but also sets an example for others in the industry.

A Vision for the Future

With this award, Moffett Automated Storage claims to have affirmed its status as a trailblazer in the field of automated storage solutions. Their dedication to excellence, innovation, and corporate responsibility positions them as a beacon for the industry as a whole. Looking ahead, Moffett’s vision extends beyond national borders. They aim to continue their expansion into global markets, sharing their expertise and technology with businesses worldwide.

Ensure Warehouse Security at Christmas

Posted on 20 October, 2023 by David Priestman

Christmas is two months away. This means that the peak season is now starting in e-commerce and preparations for the Christmas business are in full swing. As every year, valuable gifts are ordered that need to be protected against theft and transport damage. In order to increase the protection of high-value products in warehouses, Wanzl has developed the fully enclosed package roll cage, which meets stringent security requirements down to the smallest detail. Thanks to its modular system, it offers an individual equipment option for all requirements. This makes Christmas business in the warehouse not only secure, but also more convenient for the warehouse staff.

Focus on security and efficiency

“In times of increasing online orders as well as a growing demand for fast delivery, the security of goods and efficiency in storage and transport are paramount. With our enclosed package roll cages, we have created a solution that meets the needs of the industry,” explains Markus Spengler, Senior Vice President Business Development International at Wanzl Material Handling. The basic model is made of sheet metal or wire mesh and also has a hinged mesh cover and a two- or four-leaf mesh door. Thanks to its L-frame design, the container can be stored compactly. When empty, it can be folded up in no time at all and arranged in one row or crosswise in two rows. This makes it ideal for storing when not in use or for transporting safely and optimally in a truck.

A fully enclosed package roll cage prevents inventory differences during transport and defies all logistical challenges during the peak season.

Two overlapping metal tabs on the mesh doors, which the customer can firmly lock either with a padlock or a lead seal, provide additional security. The sealed package roll cage allows companies to store and transport their valuable goods, such as expensive jewellery, luxury perfumes or the latest technology, securely and efficiently. Especially during transport, the seal offers great advantages. The seals can be easily destroyed after delivery and there is no need for complicated key transfer. In addition, this system is much more secure and environmentally friendly than transporting goods on pallets wrapped in stretch film. With its robust design and reliable locking mechanism, the Wanzl trolley offers a high level of protection against theft and unauthorised access. Particularly during the busy run-up to Christmas, this is crucial when warehouses are full of high-value gifts and orders. With Wanzl’s security containers, end consumers can be sure that their Christmas gift orders will arrive under the Christmas tree in perfect condition.

The right solution for every requirement

The modularity of the package roll cage is another major advantage. Whether the trolley needs to carry large or small, light or heavy parcels, it can be easily adapted to the specific needs of the customer. The mesh doors can be installed in either a two-leaf or four-leaf model. The opening angle of 270° makes filling and unloading particularly easy. If you want to equip the trolley for even greater convenience, you can add a writing board for portrait-format documents in A4 or insert frames made of transparent plastic for A5 documents in landscape format attached to the side walls. The folding handle bars are ideal for ergonomic pushing and pulling of the trolley. These can be mounted at the desired grip height. The handle bars, on the side panels or on the rear panel, also help when manoeuvring. The locking device ensures that the trolley is stable when loading and unloading. This module is particularly advantageous for working on truck beds. Other equipment options that can be added to the package roll cage as required are foldable shelves made of sheet metal, wood or wire mesh. The package roll cage can be moved through the warehouse not only individually, but also as a train. The addition of a coupling and drawbar makes steering particularly easy for employees.

With expertise through the Christmas season

As an expert with decades of experience, Wanzl offers the ideal solution for warehouse logistics companies preparing for the upcoming Christmas period. The combination of protection, modularity and expertise makes this product an indispensable investment for anyone who wants to optimise their intralogistics. “With the modular system, we offer a suitably equipped product for every requirement in the warehouse and customers can be confident that their holiday orders will arrive safely,” concludes Spengler.

Ensure Warehouse Security at Christmas

Posted on 20 October, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Focus on security and efficiency

A fully enclosed package roll cage prevents inventory differences during transport and defies all logistical challenges during the peak season.

The right solution for every requirement

With expertise through the Christmas season

Routing, Mobile and Telematics Innovation Forum

Posted on 19 October, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, unveiled numerous innovations to customers at its 2023 Innovation Forum for Routing, Mobile & Telematics, which expand the capabilities of its routing, mobile and telematics solution suite for fleet operators. New solutions and integrations, in addition to enhancements to existing systems, allow companies to improve the operational performance of their fleets, driver safety and customer engagement.

Innovations include:
• Descartes Fleet Control Tower. New comprehensive performance management solution integrated with existing Descartes route planning and execution solutions.
• Descartes Customer Engagement Platform. Digital self-service solution integrated with Descartes route planning and execution solutions to allow customers on demand access to view delivery updates, book, reschedule or cancel deliveries and to interact with delivery drivers or call centres.
• Proactive driver safety training for Descartes Mobile customers. Seamless integration of microlearning-based driver safety training and tracking platform with Descartes Mobile solution.
• Advanced optimisation for couriers. Enhanced strategic and operational modelling capabilities and optimisation for high delivery volume carriers.
• Hours of service (HOS) status aware optimisation with Geotab electronic logging devices (ELD). Route planning integrated with Geotab ELDs to automatically consider drivers’ hours.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning performance improvement and simulation. Significantly more precise machine learning-based recommendations for stop and drive times and ability to simulate the recommended impact on daily operations.
• Advanced for-hire trip and leg optimisation and rating. Improved capabilities for companies that want to manage fleet and commercial transportation through a single transportation management platform.
• Live and historical asset tracking. Ability for fleets to now track assets in their route planning solution, in addition to tracking drivers and deliveries.
• MagicLogic load and cube optimisation integration. More accurate load building through the combination of Descartes route planning solution and Magic Logic.

“We’ve made significant investments to expand the breadth and depth of our existing solutions, brought new solutions to market and integrated important third-party solutions to allow our customers to significantly improve their fleet performance, make drivers safer and better engage customers in the delivery lifecycle,” said Sergio Torres (pictured), Senior Vice President, Product Management at Descartes. “These innovations are part of our vision to provide our customers with comprehensive solutions that allow fleet operators to use digitisation and automation to transform not just fleet performance but positively impact their business more broadly.”

Descartes helps fleet-based companies dramatically improve their productivity, customer experience and safety compliance to not only reduce costs but also to allow them to better compete and minimise risk. From delivery appointment booking to route planning and execution and mobile solutions for drivers and other field workers to digital customer engagement, Descartes solutions give fleet operators the ability manage and optimise and interact with customers during the delivery lifecycle. Descartes fleet performance management, telematics and safety solutions allow fleet managers to understand and optimise their operational and individual driver and vehicle performance, and better train and coach drivers to be safer and more productive. The cloud-based solutions utilise state-of-the-art technologies, such as continuous optimisation, real-time GPS data and systems processing, analytics, AI and machine learning, and can be deployed as a suite or as modules.

Routing, Mobile and Telematics Innovation Forum

Posted on 19 October, 20237 August, 2025 by David Priestman

AMR Solution Provider Opens U.S. Office

Posted on 19 October, 202325 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Robotize, a leading provider of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for internal pallet transportation, has announced its formal expansion into North America by establishing the company’s first office in the U.S., located in the metro Detroit area, in Michigan.

“North America is an extremely interesting market for us, and we already have several customers and partners in both Canada and the U.S. However, the interest in our unique GoPal® AMR solution is so high that it is a natural next step for us to establish our own presence in North America,” said Anders Pjetursson, Robotize CEO and co-founder.

Heading Robotize’s new U.S. office is Dan Hasley, a robotics and automation veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. “I’m thrilled to be joining Robotize at this exciting time and to lead GoPal® AMR solution sales and Channel Partner development in North America,” said Dan Hasley, Robotize Regional Sales Director, North America.

Robotize helps companies automate their internal pallet transportation by providing autonomous mobile robot solutions to organizations of every size. Our unique GoPal® solution provides the AMRs, infrastructure and fleet management system for fully automated material handling and is a completely certified solution for internal pallet transportation. Robotize is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

AMR Solution Provider Opens U.S. Office

Posted on 19 October, 2023 by David Priestman

Decarbonise UK Freight Transport Sector

Posted on 19 October, 20237 August, 2025 by David Priestman

The end of project report released today by the Decarbonising UK Freight Transport (DUKFT) Network, suggest several ways to overcome the chicken-and-egg problems associated with decarbonising road, rail and maritime freight transport. Collectively these sectors represent nearly 7% of UK CO2 emissions and continue to rise fuelled by e-commerce demand and cheap transportation costs.

Operating over three years, the UK Research & Innovation funded DUKFT Network, a collection of over forty academic, policy and industry organisation, undertook six research projects and two stakeholder events exploring how to mobilise investment that can enable UK freight decarbonisation whilst managing risk and maximising opportunity.

The synthesis report released from the Network presents the key findings, transition pathways and the gaps in investment for each of the freight sectors and how the gap can be closed. Electrification is a common need across all freight modes and therefore is a no-regrets low-risk investment from both public and private investors. Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin e.g. hydrogen derived fuels such as methanol and ammonia, may also be important in some niches for road and rail freight, but have the greatest role in decarbonising domestic and international maritime freight.

Given the above, the report finds that UK freight decarbonisation strategy can be most efficiently informed by a whole freight system, whole UK analysis capability, which needs to couple detail on both infrastructure and vehicle/vessel fleets with operational and technology specifics.

Professor Phil Greening, Joint Principal Investigator of DUKFT, Director of Centre for Sustainable Road Freight and Centre for Logistics and Sustainability, Heriot-Watt University said: “There remains a clear need for identifying and articulating the least-cost configuration and strategy for UK freight decarbonisation. New Modelling approaches are required to address the challenges of simultaneous wholesale changes across all the transport modes. These models are sophisticated and take time to build but they are the only way of addressing complexity and they offer a low risk, cost effective pathway to reducing uncertainty and accelerating investment.”

In addition to whole freight system modelling, co-creation processes were a successful tool and will continue to be important for future research on UK freight decarbonisation, not only to maximise the relevance and quality of research, but also for the co-benefits of creating and enabling shared visions within stakeholder communities, framing of the challenge ahead and helping to enable a dialogue between industry and government stakeholders. DUKFT primarily had the resources to explore co-creation at small-scale and regionally, which showed that even within the UK, freight decarbonisation can require place-based specialisation.

Dr Tristan Smith, Principal Investigator of DUKFT, Associate Professor at UCL, said “The research has shown that when effort was invested to bring stakeholders from different parts of freight value chains together (industry, academia, NGO and government stakeholders), there was benefit to identify a shared vision and co-create ideas for both public and private actions aligned with unlocking investment in decarbonisation”

The report suggests that UK ports can be key nodes in the UK freight sector’s decarbonisation. They are both interfaces between the modes (road, rail and shipping), but also represent locations where infrastructure and decarbonisation solution synergies are most likely exploited. They are also likely to be hubs for wider offtake of electrification and RFNBOs, for example for decarbonising co-located industries. The role of ports in the UK’s transition needs to be considered broadly to help reframe them as centres for green opportunity.

Bringing stakeholders from across the supply chain together i.e. energy suppliers, port owners, vessel/vehicle owners, logistics companies, along with investors and financiers including institutional investors, is crucial in establishing opportunities and creating a platform to mobilise infrastructural investment. DUKFT found that there is a lack of clear demand for zero emission fuels and this needs to change to create a business case.

Dr Nishatabbas Rehmatulla, Co-investigator and project manager of DUKFT, Principal Research Fellow at UCL said: “Early movers can mobilise and de-risk investment in the emergence phase of the transition by establishing alliances and initiatives, ahead of regulations. Alliances between cargo owners which aggregate local/regional demand for zero emission fuelled freight services, thereby creating long-term offtake agreements of future fuel usage between fleet operators and suppliers, can be highly valuable kickstart the diffusion of fuels and technologies”.

Policy makers have a critical role in setting clear, ambitious targets supported by effective policies, and acting on evidence on electrification, including shore power in ports and charging infrastructure for HGVs. Stakeholders carrying transition risk, e.g. financiers, should use their critical role by ensuring they’re using tools such as the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) to ensure their investments are 1.5-aligned i.e. rapidly moving away from dependence on fossil fuels.

Decarbonise UK Freight Transport Sector

Posted on 19 October, 2023 by David Priestman

Company Culture puts People First

Posted on 18 October, 202331 July, 2025 by David Priestman

In the fast-paced world of logistics, company culture has emerged as a powerful driver for success. “At Invar Group,” writes Dan Migliozzi, Head of Sales for the warehouse automation specialists, “we understand the significance of cultivating a strong organisational culture that not only aligns with our core values and resonates with our customers, but one that also empowers our employees and allows them to thrive.

“The recent formation of our People and Culture division – supporting 111 employees across our UK and European teams – has seen us step up our commitment to nurturing our talent. Its targets sit beyond traditional HR functions, with the team serving as the driving force behind fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and inspiring work environment. By investing in and caring about our people, we hope to strengthen a culture where talent thrives and innovation flourishes. And in a bid to achieve this, we have identified a set of guiding strategies to support our vision.”

Fostering a Shared Vision: Promoting Our Purpose, Vision, Mission, and Values

“At Invar, we hold a strong commitment to what we call the ‘Invar Way’— a holistic embodiment of our Purpose, Vision, Mission, and Values (PVMV). We firmly believe that aligning our employees with a shared PVMV creates a sense of identity and belonging within our organisation. It ensures that everyone understands the bigger picture and their instrumental role in achieving it. For this reason, we have built a strong fabric of core values — integrity, collaboration, passion, and innovation — which have set the foundations for nurturing a cohesive and motivated workforce that strives for excellence and delivers exceptional results for our customers. By communicating and reinforcing these principles, we aim to inspire our employees to embrace the Invar Way, embody our core values, and work collectively towards a common goal — we aim to ensure each and every employee knows that they are working on a crucial part of something greater.”

Elevating Recruitment and Onboarding Practices

“For us, building high-performing teams requires more than simply recruiting and retaining top talent, it’s also about prioritising cultural fit. Our recruitment strategy is focused on finding candidates that resonate with our core values, enhancing the potential for a harmonious fit within the organisation. Furthermore, we understand that the onboarding process is pivotal in helping new employees integrate seamlessly into the organisation. We are committed to continually improving our onboarding experience, to ensure that our new recruits are well-equipped to contribute effectively from day one.”

Investing in Talent Development and Career Growth

“Empowering our employees to reach their full potential is not just a goal; it’s a core component of our people strategy. Through initiatives like our appraisal scheme, we identify and develop the right training programs, ensuring opportunities for continuous growth and skill enhancement. Listening to our employees and providing them with the tools they need to thrive, both personally and professionally, is absolutely key to supporting talent development. By investing in talent development and career growth, we aim to not only foster a sense of loyalty and commitment among our employees, but we also wish to help them remain at the forefront of their respective fields, throughout their career.”

Supporting Work-Life Balance and Creating a Positive Work Environment

“We recognise the crucial role that work-life balance and a positive work environment play in the well-being of our people. Therefore, our people strategy includes initiatives that actively support work-life balance, such as the introduction of Smarter Working Days, a scheme in which individuals can gain an extra day of holiday each month if they meet their objectives. Furthermore, the majority of our contracts are home-based, meaning that people have the flexibility to work how and where they like. But importantly, our offices provide a much-needed physical focal point for building a sense of community, a space that brings our teams together beyond work. In the coming months, we will be developing a structured programme whereby staff can vote on charity initiatives they would like to engage in.

“A positive and productive work environment is one where clear job descriptions, regular feedback, and effective management practices encourage accountability. Employees that understand their roles and responsibilities fully can take ownership of their work and reap the rewards from their efforts.”

Encouraging Collaboration, Knowledge Sharing, and Continuous Improvement

“The power of people working together, pooling their expertise, and encouraging creativity is incredibly important to us. By fostering a culture of collaboration, we create an environment in which ideas flow freely, and best practices are shared across the organisation. Invar’s journey has been punctuated by periods of growth and change, and we encourage our employees to embrace the mindset of taking on challenges face on, striving for continuous improvement. Identifying opportunities for innovation and promoting a working environment of learning, agility, and adaptability are essential components of our culture.

“Overall, we hope that our continued efforts to put people at the heart of everything we do will enable us to stay ahead of the curve and create a workplace where collaboration and trust flourish — an environment where both our company and individual team members can thrive together.”

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