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HHLA Sky named one of Germany’s top 100 innovators

Posted on by Keith McKinley

German company HHLA Sky has been named one of the 100 most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany by the renowned Top100 competition. The Top100 seal was presented to the managing directors of HHLA Sky, Lothar Müller and Matthias Gronstedt, by Germany’s prominent science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar at a gala event held recently in Frankfurt am Main.

The award evaluates how consistently a company focuses on an innovation goal and integrates it into its structures and planning, according to more than 100 indicators. The scientific analysis is conducted on the basis of five categories: innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success.

HHLA Sky is the technology leader in the field of mobile robot management. The company has developed a globally unique IoT platform that maps the entire process chain when using industrial drones. This software is used in HHLA Sky’s Integrated Control Centre (pictured), which can simultaneously control and monitor more than 100 drones worldwide, even when they are out of the pilot’s line of sight (BVLOS). In addition to simultaneous automated drone flights, the Integrated Control Centre also enables journeys by AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robots) to be carried out in a safe and controlled manner. The company’s software is globally scalable and can be fully integrated into customers’ existing IT systems.

From its headquarters in Hamburg, HHLA Sky also cooperates with various players in science, business and politics, for example in the pioneering research project “UDVeo”, which will organise the first European U-space, a special airspace for urban drone traffic, starting in 2023.

“We are grateful for the recognition of our efforts. Innovation is part of HHLA Sky’s DNA. With our Integrated Control Centre, we are opening up the third dimension for the safe and efficient deployment of drones for industrial and commercial purposes. With our mobile robot management software, we want to continuously open up the field of application for robot mobility in the air and on the ground,” says Matthias Gronstedt, Managing Director of HHLA Sky.

“Thinking ahead, pooling expertise and shaping ground-breaking technologies: Innovators are those who create space for this, who keep moving forward and always question things. Nothing is more conducive to innovation than systematically rethinking technology with our partners and our team and developing systems that are unique and ensure optimum customer benefits,” adds Lothar Müller, Managing Director of HHLA Sky.

Highest grade A+ for HHLA Sky

This consistent focus on innovation and new thinking is also reflected in the assessment by the Top 100 jury: altogether, HHLA Sky’s innovation management is awarded the highest grade of “A+”.

This ranking is even higher than the average “A” of all Top 100 innovators, which is described as follows: “’A’ is awarded to companies that have an unusually high level of innovation management and set standards, even when compared internationally. The probability of future innovation success is very high”. HHLA Sky was able to achieve the top score in four out of five criteria in the innovation assessment. The fifth criterion was not graded individually.

The compamedia GmbH Top100 award, which has been in existence since 1993, is an indicator that a company is excellently positioned for future changes and developments and can adapt well to them. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW). Media partners are manager magazine and impulse. The renowned jury consists of experts from business practice and research, as well as from the media and politics.

The scientific management of the TOP 100 innovation competition is the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, and a leading international innovation researcher.

Jurors are among others are the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ing. Reimund Neugebauer and also Prof. Dr. Fredmund Malik, founder, owner and chairman of Malik St. Gallen, the leading company for holistic management, leadership and governance solutions, Dorothee Bär, deputy chairwoman of the CSU, Prof. Dr. h. c. Roland Berger, founder and honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Frank Thelen, the founder and managing director of the venture capital company Freigeist Capital and Achim Berg, president of the digital industry association BITKOM.

Numerous world market leaders and “hidden champions” are among this year’s Top 100 winners. The scientific analysis is based on the comparative values of more than 10,000 companies.

 

Shippeo and Everysens form strategic partnership

Posted on by David Priestman

Shippeo, a leading provider of global and multimodal shipment visibility, has partnered with Everysens, a leader in rail and intermodal transport management systems, to enhance their multimodal transport visibility offering. Everysens will provide Shippeo with the most reliable rail ETA available on the market, based on real-time data from satellite tracking and rail operators.

The two-way partnership allows Everysens to also benefit from Shippeo’s large network of road and ocean carriers, providing high quality shipment tracking data to rail and intermodal shippers and their customers. By sharing container events for ocean shipments, as well as highly accurate and reliable road freight ETAs, Everysens can better anticipate impacts on rail logistics.

In turn, Shippeo receives a stream of rail events from Everysens, including ETAs, GPS positions and loading statuses. Everysens provides ETAs for both full trains and single wagons; a unique capability within the market. The improved visibility across all types of rail transport will be available globally for Shippeo customers. In addition, Everysens covers the full transport processes, including tendering, collaborative smart planning, freight letters and CO2 emissions.

By integrating their respective shipment ETAs, both companies are able to offer their customers improved end-to-end visibility in a single offering, creating new opportunities for supply chain convergence and benefitting shippers with a higher level of supply chain transparency and optimised logistics flows.

“As shippers face more and more supply chain challenges around the world as a result of disruptive global events, they want to know when their shipments will reach their final destination,” explains Lucien Besse, COO and Co-founder at Shippeo. “With sustainability playing an increasingly important role in transportation management, rail is becoming a popular means of intermodal transport. However, visibility over rail shipments has not been easy for shippers to achieve. The partnership between Shippeo and Everysens increases shippers’ trust in rail and multimodal deliveries, providing them with critical monitoring milestones, as well as the ability to measure and improve their processes.”

“Rail is already an important part of multimodal logistics. Effects of the EU Green Deal are quickly positioning rail further as the future of freight,” says Dr. Youness Lemrabet, CEO and Founder of Everysens. “The target is clear: 30% modal share for rail by 2030, with an estimated impact of 290 million tonnes CO2 saved. To reach this, rail needs newcomers, for whom intermodal is the primary entry point. With this partnership, we can connect the dots between rail and first- and last-mile transport modes, to make modal shift truly happen.”

 

 

Shypple expands management team

Posted on by David Priestman

Shypple is adding two new members to its management team with immediate effect. The digital forwarder has appointed Patrick Weissert as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and René van Rappard as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the organisation. With this, Shypple takes a new step in realising its international growth ambitions and its aspirations to innovate the traditional global trade market.

Weissert has been building and managing tech products and tech product teams since the late 1990s. He has worked at Vodafone, Nokia/HERE and German unicorn Adjust, among others, and has founded several start-ups, including German Autolabs. At Shypple, Weissert is responsible for further innovating and strategically deploying the technology and scaling up the team.

“When building an AI assistant device for drivers with German Autolabs, which we manufactured in Malaysia, shipped to Europe and US and sold through a variety of online and shop based retailers, I got a glimpse into the arcane processes and tools used in the freight forwarding industry,” said Weissert. “As one of the early movers in this space Shypple is uniquely positioned to build one of the leading digital freight platforms, helping our customers to transform their supply chains with state-of-the-art booking, visibility, communication and collaboration capabilities.”

Van Rappard previously worked at McKinsey, and at tech scale-ups Catawiki and OneFit/Urban Sports Club. At Shypple he leads the finance team and is responsible for identifying  new investors and acquisition targets. He is deliberately making a move to a large, traditional industry that is finally seeing a lot of technological innovation.

“The global supply chain has come under a lot of stress over the past two years. This has accelerated the rate of industry innovation and Shypple is one the leading companies driving this change,” said van Rappard. “Once new customers start using our digital platform and visibility features, they tend to show great loyalty and steadily increase the volumes that they ship with us. This also creates a great opportunity for synergetic M&A. By joining forces with traditional freight forwarders, we can quickly onboard their customers onto our platform and dramatically improve those customers‘ experience. Last year, Shypple made its first acquisition, and we now receive much inbound interest in potential new business combinations.”

“Attracting Patrick and René is a further validation of our status as a prominent technology scaleup,” said Jarell Habets, CEO and founder of Shypple. “We are thrilled to add these talents to the management team, accelerating our international growth and taking giant steps to innovate the traditional freight transportation market.”

The expansion of the management team with Weissert and Van Rappard follows several months after the addition of Vakis Rigas as Vice President of Marketing. Rigas previously built up Typeform’s Product Marketing department and was Global Product Lead at Google. He is responsible for the strategic growth and brand positioning of Shypple.

Peli BioThermal innovation webinars available on demand

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Peli BioThermal, the life science industry’s partner from discovery to distribution, recently concluded its InnovationShare webinar series. Launched in March 2021, InnovationShare was designed to fill the in-person learning gap during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Webinars brought industry innovators together to share knowledge and address challenges in a quickly evolving global supply chain.

“Learning and growing together over the past two years was arguably more important than ever for the cold chain industry. The pace of change required quick innovation and grounding in best practices,” said Adam Tetz, Director of Worldwide Marketing at Peli BioThermal. “With a return to more traditional events, Peli BioThermal is excited to continue to deliver these industry-leading online learning modules.”

While InnovationShare webinars are complete, all ten webinars are available on demand through the Peli BioThermal website.

Sessions include:

  • Part 1: Outline and Justification for the QT Methodology
  • Part 2: A worked example of the methodology
  • GDP Update – The Importance of Self Auditing
  • Analysis of shipper performance using performance curves
  • Points to consider when selecting or creating thermal lane profiles
  • Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR) and the role of clinical supply chain transparency
  • Using AI to Predict Ambient Temperature Throughout a Pharmaceutical Shipping Lane
  • Integrating Real Time Track and Trace via IoT into the Cold Chain
  • Cell and Gene Therapies and the Cold Chain Logistics Necessary for Success
  • Single Use vs Reusable for Temperature Control Packaging

 

 

PSI Logistics achieves “Excellent Brand” award

Posted on by Keith McKinley

PSI Logistics GmbH has been awarded with the German Brand Award as winner in the category “Excellent Brands – Logistics & Infrastructure” for the second time. The award was handed over recently to the company representatives, Janine Hellwig and Vanessa Schekalla, during a festive event in Berlin.

With the “Excellent Brand”, the German Brand Institute honours the best product and company brands of an industry. The jury is formed by independent, interdisciplinary experts from the worlds of business, science, consulting, services and agencies. Criteria such as independence and brand typology, brand distinctiveness and differentiation from the competition are evaluated. In addition, aspects such as sustainability, degree of innovation, continuity, future viability and economic success are taken into account in the assessment.

With this year’s award, PSI Logistics was named winner and leading industry company for the second time after 2018. “We are very pleased to receive this award again,” explains Dr. Giovanni Prestifilippo, Managing Director of PSI Logistics. “The honour underlines the substantial continuity of our work and our innovative strength. Thus, we will continue on this path.”

With around 1,200 entries from 19 countries, the German Brand Award 2022 achieved a great international response. The competitive process ensures the independence and excellence of this unique award for outstanding brand management.

The PSI Group develops its own software products for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) and industry (metals production, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics). The industry-specific products, which are built from standard components, are sold both directly and via the multi-cloud PSI App Store and can also be customised by customers and partners themselves. PSI was founded in 1969 and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.

BotsAndUs releases “seminal” white paper

Posted on by David Priestman

“The use of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies allows warehouses to become better at managing and performing a multitude of tasks, improve the operational efficiency by huge margins. They have real-time data transfer, flexible communication, and Big Data analytics. These, along with the cloud-based solution, enable automated, sophisticated, and agent-based control.”

These are the insights shared by British AI, Data and Robotics company BotsAndUs in its seminal White Paper –  Robotics And Automation: A Revolution In Logistics And Warehouse Management – that clearly lays out the business case for the use of AI and robotics solutions in logistics and warehouse management.  As the industry knows at a great cost, limited visibility of the goods’ journey affects every step and stakeholder within the supply chain. Robotics and AI introduce a total visibility of the good’s journey, together with cost-efficiencies, improvements in processes and optimisation of operations.

In recent years, the logistics and warehouse markets have experienced unprecedented growth. This was mostly driven by the surge in e-Commerce in response to the pandemic and restrictions, as well as by the industry’s need for efficient warehousing, inventory management and real time data to deliver efficiencies and cost savings. Across the supply chain there are challenges in stock changes, shortages in workforce, issues with deliveries and a rise in overall costs. In addition, billions of pounds are lost annually due to the lack of real time data on warehouse operations and crucial logistics nodes.

Coupled with other major concerns that include the ability to quickly identify and act on problems in the warehouse, logistics and wider supply chain early on, it is easy to see why the industry is looking for solutions.

BotsAndUs is a London-based data-driven technology company using artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and robotics. It is transforming the logistics industry through automation and real time digitisation of assets. Its White Paper explains the technology and allays the concerns – and myths – that are worrying operators of logistics and warehouses in the UK.

Oana Jinga, BotsAndUs Co-Founder commented on the White Paper, saying: “The release of our White Paper – Robotics And Automation: A Revolution In Logistics And Warehouse Management – coincides with an increased demand from the industry for practical and cost-effective solutions. At first glance, it would appear that the only way for companies to ease these pressures will be to introduce big changes to the way they operate along the supply chains.

“However, we know that automation in logistics and warehousing present immediate solutions and immense opportunities for early adopters in terms of more efficient processes and space optimisation, regardless of the size of their operations.”

Andrei Danescu, CEO and Co-founder continued: “At BotsAndUs, we are pioneers in this industry and we are building the next generation of AI and robotics technology to help organisations harness the power of real-time data and become more efficient in driving their operations. We have developed autonomous technology that works alongside logistics and warehouse employees. The technology focuses on data capturing and automation through fleets of autonomous robots that scan the entire warehouse, building up data for a digital twin for real-time analysis and insights on storage of goods in warehouse space.

“This then feeds into optimisation programmes. There is no workflow disruption at any stage. The data-gathering robot accelerates productivity, reduces unnecessary time spent processing and tracking and allows businesses to drive better business decisions.”

The White Paper features a clear explanation of this technology and how it can be delivered across the logistics and warehouse operations. The White Paper may be collected/retrieved from the BotsAndUs stand #8045 at Multimodal.

BotsAndUs uses artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and robotics to transform the logistics industry through automation and real time digitisation of assets. Founded in 2015, its state-of-the-art robotics and AI products combine social sciences with human-centred design and cutting-edge engineering. Mim, its fully autonomous mobile and modular robot measures, tracks and finds goods across warehouses without workflow disruption and provides real time data at every stage of the process.

WATCH NOW: Digital ROI for Freight Forwarders

Posted on by David Priestman

In the latest Logistics Business webinar, Julian Alvarez, CEO of white-label shipment visibility software provider Logixboard, was joined by Mike Levy, General Manager of London-based international freight, FBA & eCommerce logistics specialist Corten Logistics, to discuss the digitisation of the supply chain and the advantages it brings to shippers, brokers and customers.

Now available on-demand via THIS LINK, the webinar looked at the advantages Corten Logistics has enjoyed since offering real-time visibility to its customers, as well as talking through the challenges freight forwarders face and how the straightforward remote implementation of the Logixboard solution has now freed up personnel to focus more on added-value activities.

Logixboard connects directly to your operating system to surface real-time shipment data to your customers and internal team in a modern, user-friendly interface. It enables you to always stay up-to-date with real-time alerts and to share tracking links with all critical stakeholders.

A must-see for anyone with a stake in shipping and forwarding, the webinar, hosted by Logistics Business News Editor Peter MacLeod, is available to view free of charge.

INFORM optimises Toyota Logistics Services’ delivery network

Posted on by David Priestman

INFORM, a leading provider of AI-based optimisation software that facilitates improved decision making, processes and resource management, has successfully completed an ambitious network optimisation project on behalf of Toyota Logistics Services, the finished vehicle logistics provider for Toyota North America.

TLS sought to further advance its mission of operational excellence and turned to INFORM to address today’s increased market and operational complexities including various contract conditions (i.e., carriers’ rates, capacity constraints, minimum/maximum viable volumes, etc.), while gaining the tools needed to better evaluate and manage its large volume of data and criteria.

INFORM’s network planning optimisation solution for TLS includes a user interface which eliminates the need for users to have programming skills, enabling TLS to quickly gain the solution’s benefits without a lengthy learning curve. The solution provides intelligent, strategic and holistic planning for the organisation’s entire outbound logistics network.

It enables information relating to locations, logistics services providers (e.g., freight forwarders) and partners (i.e., rail and truck carriers) to be recorded with the data entered into the solution for improved network stability and service quality. Using the INFORM network planning tool, TLS is able to benefit from optimised routes and modes of transportation determined in conjunction with transport volumes and with consideration to various restrictions and business rules.

INFORM’s optimisation solution enables numerous scenarios to be run based on various criteria. The network planning strategy process began with a baseline scenario, which evaluated TLS’ existing network and bid rates, and then created a scenario focused on pure cost optimisation and a limited set of restrictions, less weight on transit times, and no limit on potential changes. This then led to the creation of several competing business scenarios incorporating business requirements and restrictions along with information such as costs, Service Level Agreements, and other factors like emissions.

Next, various business rules were applied, including minimum/maximum volume, number of legs and distance between origin and destination, lead times, and volume of business being allocated to individual carriers. After this process of scenario building and discovery was completed, TLS could achieve the optimum decision making.

As a result of its network optimisation project and the related optimisation process, TLS has been able to derive many important benefits. It has realised a 3% cost reduction annually; an important accomplishment given that TLS has seen its costs increase annually by 2%, which computes to a 5% cost avoidance. TLS is also now able to check on the accuracy of its assumptions and compare them to the actual number of vehicles it is shipping month to month.

Overall, TLS can now interpret data and arrive at optimal decisions as to its best carrier partners based on their performance and related costs. TLS can issue RFPs that give them real world competitive bid information, since the organisation can now ask its partners to provide additional data as the INFORM network planning optimisation tool is able to handle a very high volume of data and calculations with relative ease. Even prior to the process beginning, TLS had maintained a very high quality of data which is required for the optimisation process to work.

Other key benefits derived from its network optimisation project include the ability to better address their sustainability goals. TLS recognises that rail has lower CO2 emissions than trucks and therefore it is striving to introduce more rail ramps to somewhat reduce truck miles. TLS is reviewing truck miles per unit and considering a ratio of rail to truck to determine carbon footprints, as well as factor in whether a carrier has a CO2-reduced fleet. The organisation is also able to promote greater cost competitiveness between rail and truck carriers.

Due to the success of its network optimisation project, TLS plans to run the optimisation process every five years.

Improved customer service with Beumer Smart Glasses

Posted on by Keith McKinley

If faults and downtimes occur in machines and companies are unable to rectify them as quickly as possible, this can be expensive for them. With the Beumer Smart Glasses, the Beumer Group has developed a pioneering product that helps users to avoid precisely this quickly and easily: Beumer Customer Support employees look over the shoulder of the customer’s service technician virtually and solve the problem together with him. Remote commissioning is also possible.

The employee at the machine puts on the glasses and starts the Beumer Support App via voice command. He transmits a service number and a pin code to the hotline, and the connection with image and sound is established securely. The Beumer technician receives the same image that the customer sees. This means that he can give him instructions directly and display all relevant information in the field of vision.

The employee has both hands free to follow the expert’s instructions and perform the necessary actions. In this way, faults can be solved quickly and precisely – at any time. Beumer experts are available around the clock, seven days a week. Language barriers or a lack of specialist knowledge are therefore no longer relevant when troubleshooting. Based on the recorded images, the experts can better clarify with the operator why the fault occurred in the first place.

With the digital solution, customers can not only be helped in case of malfunctions or downtimes of existing plants. Remote maintenance is also possible, in which Beumer experts connect to the system – regardless of the time or day. This increases the availability of the machines, as no long journeys are required. In addition, there is the option of remote commissioning: The Corona pandemic is massively changing the travel behaviour. Due to travel restrictions, the technicians cannot always be on site. Nevertheless, it is important to get new machines up and running quickly.

The data goggles allow an overview of the entire system: Beumer Customer Support sees the same as the wearer on site and can directly prescribe the correct actions. In this way, he guides the user step by step through commissioning. The Beumer experts can react flexibly with this procedure.

 

Walbusch first to use OSCA DC software

Posted on by David Priestman

The Walbusch Group has taken a decisive step forward in modernising its infrastructure as well as IT applications: Since the end of 2021, the Solingen-based company has been using Setlog‘s cloud-based SCM software OSCA DC (Digital Core) to gain transparency and improve management, collaboration, and communication in the supply chain.

What makes it special: Walbusch is the first Setlog customer to rely on the new standard product version of OSCA. This means that the processes of the Walbusch, Avena and Mey&Edlich brands were adapted to best practice workflows from OSCA – and not vice versa. This way, the group bypassed costly, customer-specific adjustments in the OSCA SCM software. The advantage: Above all, in addition to costs, the company saved time. Less than six months passed from the initial contact to the software’s go-live.

“We definitely wanted to avoid customer-specific adaptations and were able to bring transparency to the supply chain within a few months with the new software generation. We can inform our most important suppliers of changes in real time via a single tool. Emails, phone calls, and Excel spreadsheets are now a thing of the past,” reports Ralf Seggering, Head of IT and member of the management team at Walbusch.

Currently, the main suppliers are integrated into the system. In addition to other suppliers, forwarding agents of the Walbusch Group will also be connected to the software. “We are convinced that the Walbusch example will set a precedent – also in other industries. Because in volatile times, there is no alternative to an agile, digital value chain. The digital supply chain based on OSCA is based on three values: simplicity, transparency, and control,” emphasises Guido Brackelsberg, member of the board of Setlog.

According to IT project manager Thomas Betzhold, the user-friendliness, the attractive best-practice offering and Setlog’s SCM expertise in the fashion industry tipped the scales in favour of the Bochum-based software provider when it came to selecting a system. “We are convinced that OSCA’s new software generation is also a very good prerequisite for the migration project of the Ravenna-Park logistics center,” says Betzhold.

Background

Christian Busch, majority shareholder of Walbusch, acquired the logistics centre from Gerry Weber in 2021. Since then, planning has been underway for the integration of the large-scale facility in Halle/Westphalia.

Whether men’s shirts, women’s blouses, or outdoor jackets: Walbusch offers a wide range of goods online as well as in its 42 stores and through other channels. The articles are mostly produced in Europe, but also in the Far East. They are stored centrally in Solingen in a distribution centre with more than 350,000 storage locations. Walbusch transmits orders to its suppliers from the ERP system via OSCA. The SCM software acts as a central communication and processing tool in the supply chain. The software is used for numerous purposes – including:

the placement of purchase orders

monitoring, controlling, and tracking of orders

as a network between customer, supplier, carrier, and warehouse locations

for digital collaboration

for managing delivery parameters such as timing and mode of transport

and as a database for important documents such as customs-related paperwork.

A KPI dashboard visualises key metrics for employees working with the solution. As soon as delivery data changes, all partners in the supply chain are informed simultaneously. More than three million shipments will pass through the system each year.

Ralf Seggering is very satisfied with the progress of the project so far: “It was a prime example of agile project work and a blueprint for our IT strategy: we are modernizing our entire IT infrastructure based on our own ERP core and department-specific best-of-breed solutions.”

Seggering is already planning further steps in IT. The OSCA CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) module is also being considered for the future. The company, with its more than 1,000 employees, will be well prepared for the implementation of the new German Supply Chain Due Diligence Law, which will come into force in 2023, says the IT division manager.

 

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