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Achieving excellence in logistics, one less error at a time

Posted on by David Priestman

The best way to correct present and avoid future errors in the supply chain is to see what happened in the past. That’s something that was previously almost impossible, until Sweden-based SiB Solutions came up with an intelligent video and AI subscription service to do just that.

Even the best logistics operations incur errors, and they come in different shapes and sizes. Everything from picking errors, transport damage and negative inventory balance. The costs of these errors reverberate throughout the supply chain network bringing increased administration, and a negative impact on areas such as customer satisfaction, brand, reputation, partner trust, and even the environment with greater CO2 emissions from extra transport.

Visual insights, the way to flawless logistics

SiB Solutions offers intelligent video and AI services that enable you to use visual evidence to protect you from costs caused by other stakeholders in the supply chain. Intelligent video analysis provides you with insights that allow you to check back to when a fault occurred, take the appropriate action and then follow up to ensure the same fault doesn’t occur again.

These services let you travel in time. You’ve seen what went on, and you know the result of what happened. So now you can use learned insights from yesterday to proactively remove identified risks ­ today and tomorrow.

achieving-excellence-logistics-one-less-error-timeVisual evidence can serve to verify claims by letting you quickly view what you shipped before sending an extra item. With instant access to visual receipts of performed work you cut the long tail of problems that could cause your business to shrink.

Visual insights into operations solve problems and shortcut learning loops associated with high impact projects like warehouse automation or moving MES, WMS or TMS.

“Visual insights help solve disputes swiftly,” says Staffan Persson (pictured), Global Presales Director,  from SiB Solutions. “It helps you move beyond blame games and assure long-term customer and supplier relations without unnecessary friction related to logistics shortcomings.

The way to smart, continuous improvement is watching what went on. Check back, realise what happened, take action, then follow up. “Intelligent video analysis gives you an efficiency boost and a way to work with continuous improvement, says Persson. “An obvious example is administration where it now takes just a few seconds to save hours of administration and extra work sending new products.”

Easy to subscribe to, easy to use

SiB Solutions offers subscription-based services that include immediate gains from visibility and insights, best practice and technical requirements.

The company’s recommendation is to start with the most critical areas, normally where goods are exchanged or change ownership. Then you can include visual material in any feedback and staff training. This is of course an excellent tool when working across national boundaries as an image is easy to read in all languages.

As the company’s name suggests, Seeing is Believing. Once you see the immediate benefits of intelligent video and AI, it’s easy to grow your subscription and release even more value for your site, your company and/or your supply chain network.

“Our big promise to make is that we enable you to get one step closer to flawless logistics every day.” Says Persson. “We put all our logistics and technology expertise at your service. All you have to do is subscribe.”

Isn’t it time you subscribed to flawless logistics?

 

SYNAOS adds ZF as new customer

Posted on by David Priestman

SYNAOS, a software provider for AI-optimized intralogistics, has gained ZF – one of the world’s largest technology groups and automotive suppliers – as a new customer for its cloud-based intralogistics management platform SYNA.OS LOGISTICS.

SYNAOS optimises the control of automated guided vehicles (AGV) in intralogistics for ZF. In the future, heterogeneous AGV fleets are to be used in all conceivable scenarios with maximum efficiency.

The decision in favour of the SYNAOS solution was preceded by an intensive selection process lasting several months. The decisive factors in favour of SYNA.OS LOGISTICS were the far-reaching possibilities for increasing efficiency and the unparalleled flexibility of the solution in the use of heterogeneous AGV fleets. The consistently positive experiences of well-known OEMs in the industrial use of the SYNAOS software also played an important role.

Already this year, SYNA.OS LOGISTICS will be used in numerous projects at different ZF locations. The goal is to continuously optimize intralogistics processes at ZF with the help of state-of-the-art AI algorithms and by utilising all available data.

Harald Gärtner, coordinator for the implementation of a wide variety of AGV fleets in the ZF Group, said: “The increasing number of projects and complexity in the area of automated guided vehicles makes standardisation across all our global locations necessary. SYNAOS has already impressively demonstrated its capabilities with its AI-based software for intralogistics with other customers. In addition to the performance of SYNA.OS LOGISTICS, the know-how and passion of the SYNAOS team convinced us.”

Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, co-founder and CEO of SYNAOS, said: “Digitalisation and automation are penetrating more and more business areas. With our product, we are closing a significant gap in intralogistics, which will result in a substantial increase in efficiency for our customers. In addition, our solution is characterised by fast scalability, manufacturer-independent control and coordination, as well as simple and flexible connection to existing systems.”

Early on, SYNAOS relied on VDA 5050, a communication standard jointly developed by the VDA and VDMA, to control different transport robots. Today, SYNAOS is one of the leading providers and offers an extremely robust and finely balanced traffic management of heterogeneous AGV fleets. This means that even completely different vehicles, such as tugger trains and underride AGVs, can be deployed flexibly and without interference in the same driving areas.

The assignment of individual vehicles to static routes is no longer necessary. Well-known AGV manufacturers, such as SEW Eurodrive, MLR System, Kuka, Tünkers, Safelog and Götting, already rely on SYNAOS software.

Pictured (from left): Lennart Bochmann Co-Founder and CPO SYNAOS, Nicolas Galanulis Account Manager SYNAOS, Harald Gärtner Coordinator for the implementation of a wide variety of AGV fleets in the ZF Group.

GateHouse releases new data platform for ocean logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

GateHouse Maritime, a leading provider of ocean supply chain visibility and predictability services, has introduced its new data platform, OceanIO. The new feed is scalable to support the rapidly increasing number of data points anticipated from the growing use of IOT technologies fitted to shipped and shipping assets.

Martin Dommerby Kristiansen, CEO at GateHouse Maritime, said: “The digital transformation of the logistics sector is creating a tsunami of data. At GateHouse Maritime we wanted to proactively deliver a data platform that can scale to meet the demands of this growing resource. At the same time, we wanted to reinforce our reputation as the go-to provider for a robust data foundation upon which our clients can develop and deliver reliable and accurate services to their end customers.”

OceanIO receives up to 150 million new data points daily, drawn from diverse sources including nearly 300,000 oceangoing vessels reporting information regarding their position, heading, speed and depth, together with information from 160 satellites and 2,500 terrestrial stations, 110 container freight carriers, 4,000 container ports and terminals, and meteorological reports amongst many others.

“Most importantly,” continued Kristiansen, “as sector specialists serving the seaborne logistics for over a decade, we have been able to integrate historical and trend data into OceanIO for a more powerful end service. Using machine learning means that predictive services can be a great deal more accurate to meet end customers’ expectations of a better explanation of where their freight has been, where it is currently located and when it’s expected to arrive at port. Predictability has become an increasingly vital service attribute as the supply chain has degraded with more and more disruption over the past years.”

OceanIO is augmented with nearly 3,000 different types of data on a second-by-second basis. Coming from vastly different sources by data type, volume, velocity and interval, it must all be accommodated, rationalized, harmonized and then unified for use by GateHouse clients. At the same time, clients also need to have their own customised requirements satisfied in order to deliver a differentiated customer experience.

“Our clients create services based upon the foundation data comprised within OceanIO,” concludes Kristiansen. “To ensure the success of their current and future offers – especially as these become more predictive in nature – GateHouse provides a fully configurable ‘rules engine’ enabling different fusions of data to be served on demand. We can even look to co-develop solutions using client data to provide more granular services and greater value-add.”

OceanIO is available now from GateHouse Maritime to enable predictive services which answer questions including “where is my container or freight?”, “what condition is it in?”, “has it been opened or moved from one vessel to another?”, “where is it in the customs clearance cycle?” and “how soon am I likely to receive it?”.

Eye4Storage launches global warehousing marketplace

Posted on by David Priestman

Eye4Storage has launched a new digital marketplace that matches businesses looking for storage and distribution facilities with warehousing operators around the world, a major advance at a time when warehousing vacancies in many markets are at an all-time low.

Dubai-based Eye4Storage is a pioneer in developing tools for on-demand warehousing and warehouses for sale or rent. Its new space-matching platform will boost efficiency and utilisation rates for warehousing operators while shortening search times and lowering overall costs for businesses with storage needs.

Eye4Storage founder Barry Dekkers said: “The Eye4Storage platform addresses the costly inefficiencies and obstacles in the global warehousing market. It gives warehouse operators the ability to find customers for unused space and assess demand before they undertake expensive expansion studies or start construction of new facilities. It gives customers the ability to do market and requirements-specific searches instantly, and lets them compare rates, start negotiations and act quickly to secure the space they need.”

Eye4Storage enables businesses to search for facilities that meet their needs and allows them to look for space that is suitable in terms of location, size, environment, provider expertise, and other options, while also supporting sustainability and green logistics requirements.

“By providing a real-time overview and allowing people to apply a filter to match their needs, we reduce the time spent on finding the perfect facility and lower the amount of empty or under-utilised space,” Dekkers said.

Eye4Storage is an easy-to-use platform that lets warehouse providers list facilities for rent, sale or flexible, on-demand use. Companies looking for storage space submit searches and get listings of available space. The platform connects providers and searchers to allow them to negotiate directly.

The rapid growth of e-commerce and pandemic-driven need for additional inventory in many sectors have led to a shortage of available warehousing space in many markets. Eye4Storage was developed by a team of logistics industry veterans using their combined experience and knowledge of the market to create a technology-driven platform that allows providers and searchers to connect easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively. The company aims to enable the reduction of unused warehouse space across the world and contribute to a sustainable future.

According to research firm Interact Analysis, there were 150,000 warehouses and more than 25 billion square feet of warehouse space globally at the end of 2020. In spite of the global warehousing crunch, there is space available that is not being used or utilised efficiently.

Eye4Storage aims to bring clarity and facilitate both searchers and warehouse providers in this US$245bn market that is expected to touch the $326bn mark by the end of 2024, according to market intelligence firm Beroe.

Partnership promises “new opportunities” for intralogistics

Posted on by David Priestman

A partnership between NAiSE and start-up company symovo is enabling the automation and robotisation of intralogistics.

The automation of intralogistics is becoming a growing need for companies. Due to the increase in the volume of work, the use of smart and multi-purpose AGVs is becoming more and more present. Intralogistics, as one of the departments of large companies, requires great efficiency, elimination of accidents, protection of employees, all means of transport and goods.

In the coming period, NAiSE and symovo will cooperate on many innovative projects and are currently working together to align the NAiSE Traffic product and symovo’s robotic system. This combination of products can lead each intralogistics to a new dimension of technology 4.0.

NAiSE is a company that offers three products for intralogistics: NAiSE Traffic (nominated for an IFOY Award in 2022), NAiSE Tracking and NAiSE Safety. They make intralogistics automated and completely safe for all participants in traffic, which leads to 30% more efficiency, and all this means 20% less costs for companies.

 

STILL establishes own 5G network

Posted on by David Priestman

In order to participate in various research projects, develop innovative products and implement a smart factory, the intralogistics provider STILL has now set up its own 5G network at its Hamburg headquarters.

Already today, we see largely autonomous transport vehicles in production halls and warehouses. However, their capabilities still remain inferior to those of humans, as many processes still need to be learned and are not intelligent in every respect. Therefore, many suppliers are striving to fill this gap and make vehicles even more intelligent.

This broader vision of autonomously driving transport vehicles, however, can only be realised with very powerful mobile networks in order to move large amounts of data safely, promptly and efficiently. For this reason, STILL, which has always been very intensively involved in the development of innovative logistics and production solutions, has now installed its own 5G-SA campus network at its corporate headquarters in Hamburg.

“This 5G network, with which we are once again underlining our innovativeness, as 5G is not yet widespread in industry today, will on the one hand help us to take autonomously running logistics processes to a new level for our customers,” says Ansgar Bergmann, STILL expert for data and networking, describing the most important reasons for installing the company’s own 5G network.

“To this end, we have already been participating in numerous international research projects for many years that explore the idea of Industry 4.0. On the other hand, we will optimise our production with super-fast data transmission technology. In future, wireless production robots and people will be able to work together smoothly there in the sense of the ‘smart factory’ thanks to fast wireless communication.”

Innumerable technological approaches

Particularly interesting, according to Bergmann, are the performance and reliability aspects of 5G, as it is a licensed frequency spectrum for the user. “These are interesting, for example, in indoor logistics when integrating driverless transport systems. The operator is thus better supported than was previously possible with WLAN. Entire AGV fleets can be coordinated in real time and the control and route data can be managed in an edge cloud of the company,” says the expert.

Further possible applications include robotics, collaboration between humans and machines, and imaging processes for environment recognition.

Numerous new scenarios

Industry 4.0 approaches are also noticeably boosted by 5G technology. This optimises the step from classic to fully automated systems because Industry 4.0 is primarily based on data technology processes, and it is precisely these that are supported by 5G. All systems and products in the field of automation, process transparency, pay per use, predictive maintenance or consulting will be further advanced by 5G.

New visions, especially those based on machine learning, for which this data transfer boost is targeted, will soon be implemented by STILL in real existing technology. To this end, the company is involved in numerous international research projects, such as the ARIBIC project. The aim is to make better use of the data that automated guided vehicles (AGVs) collect via their sensors and cameras during their journeys through the warehouse. For example, digital twins of the environment are created that process relevant information in real time.

“These processes generate enormous amounts of data that must be transmitted at a very high speed. Without our new 5G data network, some approaches are not even possible. The previous technologies are usually quite susceptible to interference, which makes our work more difficult,” says Bergmann.

New CampusOS flagship project

Only a few weeks ago, at the beginning of 2022, the CampusOS lighthouse project was launched, which will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with €18.1m over the next three years. Its goal is to build a modular ecosystem for open 5G campus networks based on open radio technologies and interoperable network components. It is intended to help strengthen the digital sovereignty of German companies.

To this end, various scenarios of regular operation at industrial project partners are being evaluated. STILL is, of course, one of the participants. The technology company is testing and evaluating the low-latency and resilient control of vehicles and the transmission of videos at very high data rates.

Bergmann: “This will be the first time our new 5G network is put to the test and will be benchmarked against other solutions. I am quite sure, however, that our system will pass this test with flying colours. Through these activities, STILL will also expand its expertise to advise its customers in this field of technology.”

 

Forto secures $250m to accelerate international expansion

Posted on by David Priestman

Forto, a leading provider of digitised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, has raised $250m in a pre-emptive Series D investment round led by Disruptive. Also participating in the round are existing investors including Softbank Vision Fund 2, G Squared, Northzone, Unbound, and A.P. Moeller Holding. The current round places the company valuation at $2.1bn.

According to Forto CEO and Co-Founder Michael Wax, this earlier-than-anticipated investment will further advance the company’s plans to enhance its offering for customers on a global scale. “We recognise that this is an exceptionally challenging period for many of our customers. As our business remains well-funded from our previous round in 2021, this new round will simply allow us to accelerate the execution of our existing strategy, particularly on our geographic expansion,” commented Wax.

“It will allow us to further widen our customer offer, bring our technology platform support to customers in new markets, and capitalise on new opportunities as they arise.”

The latest investment comes just eight months after a June 2021 announcement of a $240m investment round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2. The new funding builds upon the company’s significant financial position, with the total investment raised over $600m to date. This fresh commitment from both new and existing investors serves as a clear validation of the company’s vision, robust business model, and successful strategy, which are all focused on building better logistics and supply chain experiences.

Forto is using its digital platform to simplify interactions, remove process friction, and increase visibility around the supply chain — in turn empowering customers to make smarter commercial decisions. It strives to make the movement of goods around the globe simpler and more certain, while simultaneously helping the logistics industry become more sustainable.

Disruptive, a leading technology investment firm based in the United States (Austin, TX), explained the opportunity it sees in Forto: “the last few years have presented significant challenges and well-publicised uncertainty around the worldwide movement of goods. They have clearly highlighted the need for further visibility and control across the supply chain, and for Forto’s transformative solutions,” commented Alex Davis, CEO of Disruptive.

“Forto has significant potential to drive real change and improve global logistics experiences for customers across industries and touching all sectors of the shipping industry.”

Forto has a worldwide presence with offices across Germany and Asia (including Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Singapore and Hong Kong). In 2021, the company expanded its European presence with offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark, Madrid in Spain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It also opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2022, Forto plans to further expand its footprint to customers in Poland, Belgium, Sweden and southern Europe.

Forto will continue to grow the company, with the addition of further industry-leading expertise in technology and logistics and the expansion of the senior leadership team to underpin this growth. In addition to the appointment of logistics industry experts to lead its regional expansion efforts, Forto recently appointed Jochen Freese, formerly Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer for CEVA Logistics, as Executive Vice President of Procurement and Business Development.

The company will also continue to advance its work to make global trade more sustainable. It aims to make climate action easy for customers, which starts with visibility on emissions and information that empowers them to make impactful data-based decisions. The goal is for sustainable choices to become the default.

The transaction remains subject to statutory closing conditions and is expected to conclude in the next few weeks.

 

Flowlity secures funding to aid European expansion

Posted on by David Priestman

Flowlity, an innovative AI-based supply chain planning and forecasting solution, has secured over £4m in funding, led by Fortino Capital, to expand throughout Europe.

The funding will be used to accelerate its development with the aim to becoming an industry leader by providing innovate ways of reducing waste across the entire supply chain – enabling companies to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.

Armed with its innovative AI-based tool, Flowlity is already working with several companies in the manufacturing and retail sectors, such as Saint-Gobain, Miba, and Bosch. For La Redoute, the software has already led to an inventory reduction of 40% and at e-commerce retailer Camif, stock shortages have reduced by 10%.

In today’s world, traditional JIT (Just-in-time) models are not robust enough to handle increasingly frequent supply chain disruptions. COVID has demonstrated the importance of supply chain planning to manufacturers and the general public around the world, but it has also highlighted a host of problems, including raw materials shortages and increasing lead times. Around $2tr are lost every year as a result of overstocking or shortages, all caused by the use of obsolete forecasting models.

Intending to provide an effective response to the challenges, Flowlity has come to the fold with a new planning and stock optimisation methodology called ‘Resilient Planning’. The solution allows supply chain planners to capture market volatility and react to disruptions in an agile and effective way.

Jean-Baptiste Clouard, CEO at Flowlity, said: “Thanks to support from Fortino Capital, OSS Ventures and 42Cap, we will be able to work with more European companies in their planning challenges to help them to reduce scrap and waste and to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Filip Van Innis, Investment Director at Fortino Capital, said: “We believe Flowlity has a clear strategic focus and an experienced team to accelerate the transformation and digitalisation of supply chain optimisation models across Europe and thereby facilitate a more robust economy.”

Alexander Meyer, Partner at 42Cap, a Munich-based seed investor, said: “We are delighted to continue to support Flowlity in their European expansion. Since they first launched, we have believed in the power of their platform and their growth potential.”

2021 was a good year for Flowlity, – as well as featuring among the winners at the 23rd edition of the iLab Innovation Competition, it also expanded internationally by signing the first cross-Atlantic contract and doubling its client portfolio.

Building on 100%+ growth, Flowlity is continuing its rise in 2022 and is welcoming Peter Schram, former Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, and Edouard Fourcade, former Managing Director EMEA at Anaplan, to the board. To achieve the business objectives, it hopes to expand its current team of 30 employees to around 50 by the end of the year.

 

 

Alaska Air Cargo selects iCargo software

Posted on by David Priestman

IBS Software, a worldwide leader of SaaS solutions to the travel industry, has signed a long-term agreement with Alaska Air Cargo to transform and modernise its air cargo IT ecosystem. IBS Software will implement its full suite cargo management solution across the air cargo business of Alaska Airlines.

iCargo will digitally transform Alaska Air Cargo’s sales & inventory, cargo terminal operations, air mail handling and revenue accounting, and mobile applications. Additionally, iCargo will enable the airline to have an end-to-end view of its air cargo value chain activities and provide important operational insights across the entire network.

The enhanced messaging and communication capabilities of iCargo will also ensure that Alaska Air Cargo can connect seamlessly with customers and partners in near real-time for better collaboration, resulting in faster decisions and better business outcomes.

“Selecting IBS Software’s iCargo was a strategic decision, and part of our digital transformation programme,” said Adam Drouhard, managing director, Alaska Air Cargo “This fully integrated solution will allow us to re-imagine and deliver a truly digital air cargo ecosystem of solutions to our employees, while creating a seamless business experience for our customers.”

“IBS Software is proud to partner with Alaska Air Cargo and be part of its digital cargo transformation. We welcome Alaska Air Cargo to the growing iCargo family of airlines and ground handlers and believe it’s the start of a great journey for both of our companies,” said Sam Shukla, Vice President of The Americas Region at IBS Software.

UK Logistics Technology Firm hits Milestone

Posted on by David Priestman

A fast-growing logistics technology firm from Birmingham, UK is celebrating after hiring its 50th member of staff following two years of tremendous growth.

Wise, founded in 2019, specialises in providing software to improve the self-employment experience within the logistics and last-mile delivery sectors – the business is celebrating this latest hire as it takes the total headcount to 50, officially making it a medium-sized business.

The technology firm, named Digital Startup of The Year at the 2021 West Midlands Tech Awards, provides software to over 250 UK logistics firms helping them to streamline the way that they engage their self-employed workforce. This technology covers everything from onboarding subcontractors through to protecting compliance and payments – this software has been used by over 50,000 subcontractors since its launch in April 2021.

Logistics technology

Hannah Jarrad, People & Culture Manager at Wise, said: “We’re delighted to have hit this major business milestone and to have done it in such a short space of time is genuinely outstanding. As we’ve grown the team across all departments, we’ve worked hard to make sure that we retain our culture of compassion and inclusivity that is at the heart of all of our decisions.

“Like every other business, we’ve navigated the difficult circumstances of the last couple of years carefully and we’re delighted to have been able to obtain Great Place To Work status along the way as evidence of our positive culture.”

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