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Author: Keith McKinley

Increase Visibility and Automation Across Ecommerce

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Linnworks, an inventory management system (IMS), order management system (OMS) and warehouse management system (WMS) solutions provider and recently announced Connected CommerceOps platform, is pleased to announce its partnership with Virtualstock, Europe’s largest dropshipping and curated marketplace SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform. As a result of this integration, Virtualstock users can automate their connection to key suppliers in their ecosystem to synchronise inventory and order routing details.

Linnworks connects thousands of small, medium sized retailers with over 100 selling channels including global marketplaces, D2C platforms and emerging selling channels. Virtualstock is one of those key channels, offering product placement into the top 10 UK Retailers including John Lewis, Sainsbury’s Argos, Robert Dyas, B&Q, Currys, Screwfix, Ryman and Toolstation. By pairing these two organisations both the marketplace entity (retailer) and the seller (supplier) can enjoy full transparency and visibility with fully automated transfer of critical data upstream and downstream.

The Virtualstock platform is cloud-based and provides a frictionless connection into the retailers ensuring visibility across their supply chain – including stock availability, order status and delivery status. With Linnworks alongside, this visibility extends into the supplier network improving the ability to connect, sell and fulfil orders seamlessly for all parties. Key deliverables for the supplier community include; de-risking operations by automating connectivity; saving time and money through real-time centralised visibility, and ensuring compliance with channel Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The integration between Virtualstock and Linnworks means that order and stock data will now flow seamlessly back and forth without the need for any manual interaction.

Other key functions of the partnership include:

• Inventory Updates – Linnworks can automatically send changes in stock levels to the channel
• Order Download – Channel orders can be automatically downloaded into Linnworks’ platform, allowing retailers to reserve available stock and avoid overselling
• Inventory Mapping – Existing and new channel listings can be linked to Linnworks inventory items for stock level and price updates
• Location Mapping – Orders can be downloaded and inventory updates sent from specific locations
• Order Despatch – Orders on the channel can be marked as shipped and provided with the tracking number and shipping service name via Linnworks.

Chris Timmer, Linnworks commented, “Automating a connection to market leading retailers is no longer a luxury, it is a must. Therefore, the partnership with Virtualstock couldn’t have come at a better time. In order to achieve smoother retail experiences for all, Linnworks and Virtualstock can now work together in order to meet ever-evolving customer demands. With this partnership, we are demonstrating our commitment to helping businesses conquer the complexities of multichannel selling and achieve new levels of productivity and profitability.”

Ed Bradley (pictured), Virtualstock concluded, “We are very excited to announce our partnership with Linnworks. Connecting thousands of vendors to the Virtualstock platform, not only enhances the control and visibility of consumer orders but offers choice to our retail clients and routes to market for brands and suppliers. With Linnworks’ extensive reach across a multitude of sales channels, it was the obvious choice to create the most powerful supply-and-demand network in the market.”

Fulfillment Experience Insights Dashboard

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ: MANH), a global leader in supply chain commerce, today launched the ‘Fulfillment Experience Insights’ dashboard to give retailers a real-time assessment of how their omnichannel fulfilment performance stacks up against the industry. Fulfillment Experience Insights provides continuous benchmarking of fulfillment performance, proactively informing retailers how they compare against a large pool of peers and competitors. This realtime ‘actuals versus actuals’ comparison avoids the inherent latency of most benchmarking tools.

Included in Manhattan Active® Omni, this new capability gives retailers a single view of digital order fulfillment KPIs like store pickup conversion, shorts and abandonment, time to fulfill and more. Retailers can evaluate, measure and adjust their supply chain execution strategies using aggregated and anonymized data from the Manhattan Active cloud ecosystem. This unique analytical tool, which includes the ability to quickly pivot between various timeframes, provides detailed insight into the experience a retailer is delivering for their customers.

“Introducing cutting-edge innovation like the Fulfillment Experience Insights Dashboard is one of the reasons Manhattan continues to be ranked the only leader in omnichannel order management,” said Amy Tennent, senior director of Product Management at Manhattan. “For the first time ever, retail operations teams can see exactly how they are performing against the rest of the industry. This is a complete game changer, because they now have a starting point to begin creating more efficiency and improving fulfillment performance for their customers.”

Manhattan is uniquely capable of developing this solution because hundreds of the world’s top brands use its fulfillment execution tools to process millions of orders every week. Drawing upon this extensive knowledge and experience, the company has skillfully identified the key performance indicators crucial to fostering growth and maximizing revenue.

Last year, Manhattan launched the first-of-its-kind Unified Commerce Benchmark which measured 286 customer experience capabilities across four segments. Of these four primary segments, ‘Promising & Fulfillment’ returned the lowest scores by a significant margin. Manhattan’s new dashboard gives retailers their real-time performance in this critical area, helping them become Unified Commerce leaders.

 

Commit to Supply Chain Efficiency

Posted on by Keith McKinley

TradeBeyond has announced that OBI, Germany’s top DIY brand and a major player in home and garden retail across Europe, has selected TradeBeyond’s multi-enterprise platform for an extensive supply chain digitalization project. TradeBeyond’s CBX Suite will help OBI to optimize its supply chain end-to-end, from supplier management to its sourcing, quality, order management, and production processes for their own sourcing organization OBI Group Sourcing (OGS) in Asia.

TradeBeyond will replace OGS’s manual systems with efficient, interoperable cloud-based solutions based on real-time data, allowing the company to bring products to market faster and more cost effectively. The decision to partner with TradeBeyond comes at a crucial time, as OBI seeks to modernize its operations and maintain its competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market while moving beyond analogue systems that create inefficiencies and data re-entry challenges.

OBI’s adoption of TradeBeyond comes as tightening ESG regulations across Europe, including the new German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and the European Union’s impending Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, are necessitating higher standards and more rigorous data collection from retailers than ever before. These legal requirements align with OBI’s commitment to social responsibility, which is why the company has made ESG an integral part of its future strategy.

“We recognized early that manual supply chain processes were inefficient and no longer up to the task of ensuring the sustainable products that our customers expect,” said Thorsten Bauer, Managing Director and Vice President Asia from OGS. “We were impressed by TradeBeyond’s deep understanding of the complexities of global sourcing, and by the company’s strong presence in Asia. Our partnership with TradeBeyond demonstrates our commitment to a more efficient, responsible supply chain, and to our customers. We’re proud that as we continue to scale, we’ll be able to ensure we do so sustainably.”

“Retailers across the globe, and especially across Europe, are realizing that outdated, legacy supply chain processes fall short in monitoring compliance and managing the mounting complexities created by new global supply chain due diligence laws,” said Tim Chiu, Senior Vice President at TradeBeyond. “By choosing to partner with TradeBeyond, OBI has reinforced its commitment to sourcing to the highest standards of responsibility, while staying at the forefront of supply chain innovation. It’s a privilege working with such a respected, forward-looking retail institution.”

OBI’s implementation of TradeBeyond will unfold in phases over the next year, with the first release set to go live by early 2024. TradeBeyond’s tailored implementations allow brands and retailers to address their greatest needs first so they can realize rapid efficiencies and cost-savings from the platform sooner.

Interoperable Solutions for Supply Chain Resilience

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Blue Yonder, a leading supply chain solutions provider, today announced the release of its largest product update in the history of the company, launching the first set of interoperable solutions across the entire supply chain – from planning to warehouse, transportation, and commerce – delivered on the company’s Luminate® Cognitive Platform. Leaning into interoperability allows Blue Yonder to provide its customers with increased productivity, reduced waste, and more resilient supply chains.

“Today’s supply chains are operated by a fragmented ecosystem of legacy solutions, with many being stitched together over time with custom configurations and code,” said Duncan Angove, CEO, Blue Yonder. “While many supply chain solution providers claim to offer end-to-end capabilities, it is typically confined to planning or execution spaces where they’ve integrated their own product suites. Blue Yonder is changing that. With this release, we are redefining end-to-end supply chains, and establishing a new category of solutions with interoperable capabilities aligned with our vision to create the supply chain operating system for the world.”

End-to-End Interoperability

As manufacturers, logistics companies, suppliers, and retailers look to build greater resilience and mitigate market volatility in their supply chain, they are often hampered by: siloed business processes and communications breakdowns, lack of visibility, disconnected solutions, and burdensome workflows across planning, transportation, warehouse, e-commerce, and last mile fulfillment. This can lead to inventory waste, high costs, loss of sales, slow responsiveness, lack of resilience and more.

Solving these supply chain challenges requires companies to coordinate and streamline planning and execution management across the end-to-end ecosystem. This includes:
● Orchestrating sourcing, production, logistics and network strategies in a single operating system to shorten lead times, improve service levels, optimise operational efficiencies, maximise demand, and reduce cost.
● Aligning predicted customer demand, network capacity, warehouse capacity, labour capacity, and transportation scheduling prior to sourcing or allocating goods for seamless inventory flow and reduced overhead.
● Building logistics loads that factor in real-time, on-shelf inventory to balance customer demand and waste, generating maximum revenue and margin.

Blue Yonder’s interoperable solutions answer these challenges by:
● Connecting processes, systems, and data seamlessly across Blue Yonder’s Supply Chain Planning and Execution solutions, providing a smarter, more scalable, real-time digital twin to streamline and accelerate enterprise-wide decision-making.
● Offering the end-to-end visibility needed to understand how decisions or actions impact adjacent teams so businesses can work synchronously toward a unified goal.
● Deeply embedding artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) within the systems to drive decisioning, recommendations, and actions to support a future of autonomous supply chains.
● Ensuring all solutions connect through a single source of data, allowing true real-time collaboration across functions.

The result is more agile, coordinated decision-making that reduces costs, increases revenue, and improves customer loyalty.

Interoperability Enabled by Cutting-Edge Technology Innovations

Blue Yonder’s interoperable solutions are made possible as a result of three key strategic investments by the company:
1) Cloud Native Architecture on a Cognitive Platform: Blue Yonder’s Luminate ® Cognitive Platform is the industry’s premiere cloud-native supply chain platform, delivering enterprise-level speed, scale and security with upgrade-safe extensibility across workflows, data models, and functions. The platform offers infinite intelligence with unconstrained computing power, a single source of truth, and a reimagined user experience. Because Blue Yonder’s cloud-native applications all run on this centralised platform, this then allows companies to make faster, higher-quality decisions; eliminate data siloes; uplevel team performance by increasing productivity and accelerated adoption; and unlock capacity by leveraging the power of embedded AI.

2) Composable Microservices: A composable approach enables companies to augment and enhance existing technologies with Blue Yonder’s industry-leading IP and patented solutions — transforming business functions at the speed and scale that’s right for each company’s business. Blue Yonder’s composable microservices are small, deployable components that each offer a discrete set of capabilities, seamlessly integrated on connected workflows to solve specific functional needs, and interoperable with existing Blue Yonder solutions so businesses can innovate without the need to rip and replace existing investments. With Blue Yonder, businesses can start with the application stack they need today knowing they can easily add capabilities they want, when they’re ready. And instead of lengthy monolithic projects, Blue Yonder offers Composable Journeys, which are implementation paths tailored to the specific vision and budget of each customer and rolled out in phases that can provide expedited time to value.

3) Platform Data Cloud, Powered by Snowflake: Blue Yonder is among the first enterprise supply chain solutions companies building applications to natively run on the Snowflake Data Cloud. Blue Yonder’s Platform Data Cloud, Powered by Snowflake, makes it easy to deliver the right data, at the right location, at the right time by bringing together all the required data to run your supply chain in a centralised location. By combining Blue Yonder’s market-leading supply chain technology and IP with the Snowflake Data Cloud’s powerful capabilities, Blue Yonder is changing the game for its customers by reducing the cost, complexity and time required to transform data while enabling interoperability between applications and collaboration across clouds. Learn more here.

“For years, the supply chain industry has had a data problem – there’s too much of it, it’s scattered across disparate solutions, and sharing has become so risky that some organisations have simply come to avoid it. By partnering with Blue Yonder, Snowflake is helping joint customers address these challenges by centralising data into a single source of truth, reducing the latency in decision-making, and making sharing secure, fast and easy,” said Tim Long, Global Head of Manufacturing, Snowflake. “Together, we’re enabling data, system and business process interoperability by connecting Blue Yonder’s entire end-to-end supply chain portfolio to a Blue Yonder’s Platform Data Cloud, Powered by Snowflake. Now, Blue Yonder’s solutions can deliver scale and performance that allow customers to significantly accelerate time to value, unlock team productivity, and drive greater resilience.”

Next Generation Planning

The first set of microservice-based solutions that bring together all of these interoperable features is Blue Yonder’s cognitive planning solutions. This holistic offering natively runs on the Luminate Cognitive Platform to deliver all the cognitive capabilities needed to support supply chain leaders in achieving higher forecast accuracy, accelerating decision making, and building a more resilient supply chain with fewer resources. Cognitive planning solutions are cloud-native and combine the latest data management technology with Blue Yonder’s proven supply chain planning IP.

Blue Yonder’s cognitive planning solutions also leverage the power of Blue Yonder Orchestrator, the company’s generative AI capability that allows businesses to fuel more intelligent decision-making and faster supply chain orchestration. Learn more about this capability here.

“Cognitive planning takes business planning accuracy and speed to the next level by empowering companies to realise their performance objectives. It does this by allowing them to be aware of critical events and prescribing solutions to manage risks and opportunities in both demand and supply, improving planner productivity and supply chain resilience,” said Angove.

Notably, these advanced solutions empower users to apply hundreds of demand-driving variables and patented ML models to provide unique demand projections, while factoring in business impact and risk. This allows planners to map out various scenarios, set boundaries and objectives, then fire-and-forget. The advanced algorithms autonomously reduce the problem scope to a logical set of scenarios that are realistic and most applicable. Embedded predictive AI evaluates this feasible set of scenarios and recommends the top scenarios that optimise pre-set objectives. This AI/ML-powered scenario planning reduces the average time taken from hours or even days down to minutes and allows planners to focus on more strategic decision-making and actions rather than just collating data.

Synchronised Execution

Blue Yonder is revolutionising supply chain execution by enabling seamless, autonomous collaboration across the execution network to drive unprecedented efficiency, resiliency, agility, and better customer experiences. Synchronised Execution strengthens supply chain resiliency with end-to-end execution interoperability and helps businesses manage disruptions in an optimal and automated fashion by synchronising the data and business process workflows across the order, warehouse, transportation, and resource domains. Customers will achieve operational resiliency through real-time situational awareness, real-time decision making, and the ability to predict and prevent disruptions. As an example, business process interoperability allows a business to seamlessly reallocate orders in the case of an inbound supply shortage, or create iterative optimisation loads to handle warehouse disruptions, or determine the optimal way to fulfill an order, even if it is sourced from multiple nodes.

“Retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and logistics service providers will achieve superior performance with intelligent insight and informed decisions to ensure they are ahead of every disruption with complete visibility at every point of execution. With advanced customer insights about buying behaviour and preferences, businesses can make informed decisions about inventory allocation, optimised fulfillment, transportation planning and warehouse operations,” shared Angove.

Solutions launched in this space include:
● Analyst Workbench delivers a new, user-friendly experience to explore data, visualise metrics and generate insights. These new, innovative capabilities deliver end-to-end visibility across the network and the ability to mix, match, and analyse data from any digital touch point driving more informed decisions and actions.
● Unified Commerce Simulator empowers businesses to create, analyse, and refine fulfillment sourcing strategies driving more predictable fulfillment results with less risk to the business. This digital twin environment means businesses can manipulate optimisation levers for various scenarios and run simulations against production data to enable comparisons between actual output versus output using the changed levers.

UK Logistics Fund Raises £427m

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Clarion Partners Europe, the real estate investment fund manager specialising in logistics and industrial assets, announces that it has held the final closing of its core-plus, closed-end UK logistics fund (“Fund”). Exceeding its capital-raising target, equity commitments totaling £427 million have been secured from a mix of European, North American, and Asian institutions, including investors in Clarion Partner Europe’s previous pan-European logistics strategies. The Fund, with gearing, will provide c. £650 million of investable capital and is now closed to new investors.

The Fund is Clarion Partners Europe’s first to solely focus on the UK, a market it recently re-entered following a seven-year break. It will target a portfolio of high-quality, ESG-compliant logistics assets underpinned by strong rental growth fundamentals in established UK logistics hubs. With the flexibility to invest across the asset class, from last mile logistics to big box single tenant warehouses, the Fund will target both best-in-class assets whilst also seeking to create value through investing in underperforming assets and selective development opportunities.

The Fund will leverage Clarion Partners Europe’s management’s 24-year investment and asset management history, which includes over £3 billion of logistics asset transactions across the UK and Europe, as well as the broader expertise of Clarion Partners, which has a 40-year track record in real estate investment management and a $45 billion, 1000+ property global industrial portfolio.

Alistair Calvert, CEO of Clarion Partners Europe, commented: “This is an opportune time to be scaling up in the UK, a market with strong long-term property fundamentals and where we have deep experience, and which is witnessing a pricing adjustment the likes of which hasn’t been seen in at least the last 30 years. We focus on delivering strong investor returns by identifying the industrial sector’s evolving trends and tailoring our strategy accordingly. Having amassed a portfolio of highly sustainable product that meets the demand of today’s occupier on the Continent, we are convinced we have the local, on-the-ground origination and asset management expertise to replicate this in the UK.”

Rory Buck, Head of Investment at Clarion Partners Europe, added: “Significant rental growth in recent years means many existing properties have baked in reversion and lease rent review mechanics, which provides investors the ability to capture this regardless of lease length. Additionally, our specialisation in the industrial sector allows us to enhance certainty of execution to potential sellers which contributed to completing two transactions in the UK last year.”

The Freight Crime Supply Chain

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Surprisingly, this shadow supply chain uses all of the same components as the legitimate one, from route planning to warehousing, with stolen goods marketed and sold using legitimate platforms to unsuspecting buyers. Freight insurance provider TT Club is promoting awareness of this supply chain ‘Black hole’.

Much freight crime is perpetrated by organised crime with profit, similar to commercial businesses as the ultimate aim. The process of storage, transport, distribution and marketing of stolen goods often shadow those of legitimate supply chains with criminals acquiring sophisticated logistics skills. Their knowledge assists them in targeting shipments at a multitude of points; from truck hijackings to pilfering items from unsecured warehouses. Needless to say such theft not only results in significant financial losses but also disrupts the flow of goods, leading to delayed deliveries and dissatisfied customers.

“At TT we are striving to highlight the responsibility that landlords in particular have to properly vet tenants of storage facilities and how they can prevent their properties being used to warehouse stolen goods” says Josh Finch.

“In a recent operation, police in the UK discovered a warehouse, at a location in Bradford that held hundreds of pallets of stolen goods. With the assistance of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) the goods found were linked to known cargo theft incidents which spanned the previous six years and amounted to several million pounds in value,” continues Finch.
“The warehouse itself was an unassuming commercial unit, which blended seamlessly with other legitimate businesses and exemplifies the duty landlords have to ensure that the sites they own and lease are not being used by their tenants for illegal purposes.”

TT Club is endeavouring to pinpoint the warning signs, and the nature of due diligence that is essential in preventing such properties from being exploited by criminals. Such measures include:

• Background checks to scrutinize the business operations, financial stability, and track record of potential tenants
• Inspection of premises regularly to ensure they are being used for legitimate purposes
• Monitoring tenant activity, employing modern monitoring technologies, such as security cameras and access control systems
• Collaborating with law enforcement at a local level to share information and report any suspicious activity promptly
• Review lease agreements to include clauses specifying the permissible uses of the property and outline the consequences for illegal activities
• Engagement of professional services such as security experts with experience in identifying and preventing criminal activities

Increasing evidence from law enforcement agencies is confirming that a shadow supply chain operates alongside the legitimate transport of goods, using all of the same components from route planning to warehousing, with stolen goods marketed and sold using legitimate platforms to unsuspecting buyers.

“As TT helps operators to navigate the complex world of cargo theft and freight crime, it becomes increasingly clear that shedding light on this black hole requires a collective effort from all stakeholders in the supply chain, from law enforcement agencies to warehouse landlords. Only through such collaboration can we hope to mitigate this ongoing threat and safeguard the integrity of the supply chain,” concludes Finch.

Weserport Rail Loading Facility

Posted on by Keith McKinley

For more than 25 years, Rhenus Weserport Bremen has stood for expert and professional transshipment of various goods and materials. As a member of the Rhenus Group, the port agency has previously focused on transferring cargo from seagoing vessels onto trucks and inland waterway vessels.

But for its recently forged partnership with Nabaltec AG, Rhenus Weserport is now substantially extending its existing railway line. The rail loading facility in Germany’s southernmost seaport will be used for the shipment of imported aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide.

Nabaltec AG supplies growing markets all over the world with eco-friendly flame retardant fillers and specialty alumina. Due to high energy costs, and given the trend towards de-industrialization, which is expected in Germany as a result, the company is looking to expand its ability to purchase aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide, two materials which are of vital importance for its product portfolio, from smelters in Europe, in Brazil and – depending on cost and quality – all over the world.

The materials are shipped to Germany by sea, as German ports offer cost advantages for Nabaltec over Dutch and Belgian ports and storage of the materials in Bremen ensures a reliable supply.
“The decision to route the aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide through Rhenus Weserport was made because of its existing railway line, which is perfectly suited for a project-based extension. Other crucial factors included the direct link to oceangoing traffic and the existing loading and storage facilities. The materials are shipped by rail from Bremen right to us in Bavaria. We expect to see cost benefits due to the extension of our supplier portfolio, which will allow us to continue offering our products on a competitive basis,” explains Johannes Heckmann, the CEO of Nabaltec AG.
Aluminum hydroxide is a flame retardant and a key component in plastic cables and other metallic conductors. Aluminum oxide is used in the production of technical ceramics and in the refractory and polishing industries.

Rhenus Weserport has already started shipping goods for Nabaltec. By extending its facilities for the shipment of cargo by rail, the port services provider is positioning itself for the future: “This new area of business is an important development for us. Our first rail loading facility will allow us to unlock new markets and potential relationships,” explains Rudolf Egbert, Managing Director of Rhenus Weserport. “This creates new opportunities for us, particularly in a time when Germany is de-industrializing.”

Until the new fully automated rail loading system in Terminal 4 is completed, Nabaltec is temporarily using Terminal 2, in Bremen’s industrial harbor, for the shipment of aluminum hydroxide. The licensing procedure for the alterations to Terminal 4, as well as the construction process, are fully underway. The new system is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2024. With the extensions to the terminal and the automated rail loading system, Nabaltec will be able to meet its target of shipping 70,000 to 140,000 tons of aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide per year.
The contractual agreement between Rhenus Weserport and Nabaltec has been concluded for a term of 10 years, with an option to extend the term of the agreement.

How to Overcome Supply Chain Crises

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Supply chain crises are becoming more frequent in today’s fast-paced business landscape, posing challenges for global firms that demand proactive and strategic solutions. The ever-evolving global economy, coupled with unforeseen events such as natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and pandemics, presents the need for businesses to strengthen their supply chains.
This guide aims to provide insightful strategies and practical tips for businesses to weather the storms of supply chain disruption and emerge stronger and more resilient in the face of global
trade and uncertainty.

Key Takeaways
● Supply chain crises arise from a combination of factors, such as increased demand, labour shortages, and logistical challenges. Recognizing these issues highlights the importance of resilience and adaptable strategies.
● Resilience, technology adoption, and ongoing improvement are critical for long-term success in the dynamic global business landscape.

What caused the supply chain crisis?

The supply chain crisis resulted from a convergence of factors, including increased consumer demand, labour shortages, and logistical challenges. These elements created a complex web of
disruptions, beyond production capacity, exposing vulnerabilities and emphasizing the need for supply chain resilience and adaptable strategies.

How to fix the supply chain disruptions?

Addressing the complexities of supply chain disruptions requires a strategic and proactive approach. Let’s delve into five essential ways to fix this issue and ensure seamless operations in the global supply chains.

Diversify Supply Chains

Diversifying supply chains involves strategically expanding sourcing and production options to reduce vulnerability to disruptions.
● Identify critical suppliers and explore alternatives in different geographic regions.
● Establish transparent communication channels with current and potential suppliers,
fostering collaborative relationships.
● Assess and prioritize risks, considering geopolitical stability, transportation logistics, and regulatory environments.

Implement Technology Solutions

The global supply chain can be more resilient and efficient using technology solutions like blockchain and artificial intelligence. Begin by assessing specific needs and selecting technologies that align with business goals. Integrate robust data analytics for real-time insights and predictive capabilities. Keep an eye out for new technologies to remain ahead of the curve and promote competitiveness and agility in the supply chain ecosystem.

Building resilience amidst the global supply chain crisis needs a multifaceted strategy. Start by identifying weaknesses through comprehensive risk assessment. To lessen any interruptions to
critical goods, create safety stock and backup procedures. Additionally, review and improve resilience plans regularly to guarantee ongoing development and readiness for unforeseen difficulties and future shocks.

Collaborate with Partners

Effective collaboration with partners in the supply chain involves open communication and mutual trust. Create clear channels for information exchange to promote responsiveness and
transparency. Align goals and expectations through collaborative planning sessions. Share data and insights to enhance collective decision-making. Invest in technologies that facilitate seamless collaboration and real-time visibility. Regularly engage in feedback loops to resolve issues promptly. Build strong relationships by recognizing and rewarding successful collaborations, promoting a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement within the companies and the supply chain network.

Invest in Talent and Training

For supply chain management to have a resilient workforce for future disruptions, talent and training investments are essential. Identify key skills required for current and future challenges.
Develop tailored training programs encompassing technologies, crisis management, and adaptability skills. Encourage a collaborative and knowledge-sharing atmosphere by promoting open communication, shared goals, and mutual support. In addition, it is essential to provide opportunities for cross-functional training to enhance versatility. To sum up, regularly assess training effectiveness and adjust programs to align with evolving industry demands, ensuring a skilled and agile workforce capable of both global production and navigating supply chain complexities.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, a proactive approach is a must to improve supply chain resilience. By implementing these strategies, businesses can navigate new challenges and other supply chain issues with agility, ensuring stability and adaptability. In an ever-changing global landscape, commitment to innovation, collaboration, and ongoing improvement will be the cornerstone of supply chain success.

St. Modwen Logistics Lets DC in Wales

Posted on by Keith McKinley

St. Modwen Logistics, one of the UK’s leading industrial and logistics developers and managers, has leased an additional 76,000 sq ft of logistics space at St. Modwen Park Newport, Gwent in Wales as an increasing number of businesses seek to capitalise on its strong location for distribution and manufacturing.

Solus, the Aviva-owned accident repair group, has leased a 24,000 sq ft unit to be used as a centre for paint repair work, whilst a separate 52,500 sq ft unit at the park has also been let to an unnamed ecommerce business.

The units, which form part of the c.345,000 sq ft of space delivered at St. Modwen Park Newport to date, have been built to St. Modwen’s ‘Swan Standard’ of sustainable development and incorporate various energy efficiency features including LED lighting and PV panels, achieving an EPC ‘A’ rating as a result. The scheme’s existing units also support customers on their own journeys to net zero by facilitating electric vehicle charging and providing occupiers with the necessary tools to limit their operational carbon emissions, including low-energy lighting.

St. Modwen Park Newport is strategically located just two miles from Junction 23A of the M4 motorway, providing excellent connectivity to South Wales and South West England. The Park’s location between major urban centres either side of the Severn Bridge, and the quality of space delivered at the scheme, is encouraging a diverse range of manufacturing and distribution businesses to choose Newport as their preferred location to facilitate their growth.

Solus joins a number of other high-profile occupiers at St. Modwen Park Newport including Amazon, Genpower, Mitel and Ureka Global.

Ben Quarrie, Development Director at St. Modwen Logistics, commented: “We are pleased to be welcoming Solus to St. Modwen Park Newport, with this deal adding to the growing number of businesses already operating at the park. We know how important access to the national transport infrastructure is for our customers and being placed at the gateway to South Wales makes Newport an ideal location for Solus and our community of businesses to thrive.

“There remains an acute undersupply of suitable logistics space in the region and we are continuing to explore opportunities to deliver even more space, including the possibility of a variety of bespoke, build-to-suit units upto 600,000 sq ft for interested companies.”

Premiere for Yale Reliant Lift Truck

Posted on by Keith McKinley

With Yale Reliant, a package of advanced operator assistance systems, Yale Lift Truck Technologies is putting ergonomics and occupational safety centre stage at LogiMAT in Stuttgart. In Hall 10 F20 from 19 to 21 March 2024 the intralogistics solutions provider will bring its international insight, local knowledge, and previously unseen products and new technologies to show how warehouses can optimise opportunities and outsmart their biggest challenges.

At LogiMAT, visitors can see a live demo of Yale Reliant, a system that can continually monitor people, trucks and loads and can recognise and help avoid hazards. With around 5,000 units already in use in the USA, it is a multiple award-winning solution developed with customer-driven design.

The system combines location-based and event-based functionality. Examples include if the operator lifts a load above recommended heights or where there is increased pedestrian traffic, obstacles or other hazards.

The speed is automatically reduced at the end of an aisle, at junctions or in the event of obstacles. Among other features, pedestrian areas are avoided, the fork height adapts to the surroundings and the sight lines support the driver.

Logistics managers around the world are looking for solutions that support warehouse safety across all lift truck types. With this solution, Yale Lift Truck Technologies is also responding to the trend towards higher goods turnover and the simultaneous shortage of skilled labour in the logistics market.

“With 100 years of experience and a network of independent dealers with local knowledge, we are helping customers worldwide by delivering solutions for the real-world challenges they face today,” says Ron Farr, Director, Warehouse Sales EMEA at Yale. “At the same time, our experience gives us the insight to understand the future intralogistics roadmap and provide the support to guide our customers past the next challenges.”

“Yale Reliant demonstrates how we tailor our advanced technologies as a customised solution. Key customers in the USA are already using the solution and we look forward to launching in Europe with decision makers who are concerned about the growing skills shortage as volumes increase,” he continues. “From order pickers and reach trucks to tow tractors and counterbalance trucks, we offer a wide range of integrated technologies and are one of the few suppliers on the market to offer comprehensive and customised solutions for operator assistance systems.”

Yale Lift Truck Technologies leverages over a century of material handling experience and substantial investment in innovation to bring the most advanced technology-driven lift truck solutions to market. The company offers a full line of award-winning lift trucks, including reach trucks, order pickers, very narrow aisle trucks, pallet jacks and trucks, pallet stackers, tow tractors and counterbalanced forklifts, as well as powerful operator assist solutions, proven robotics and a wide range of power sources to help customers adapt to today’s demanding supply chain. Yale and its independent dealer network support these solutions with comprehensive after-sales service, parts, financing and training.

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