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Tag: logistics

Six supply chain predictions for 2022

Posted on by David Priestman

2021 saw many major challenges for logistics and supply chain professionals. With capacity constraints, ecommerce growth and driver shortages creating dilemmas for many as well as the increased focus from the industry on environment and machine learning, it was a year that was definitely not without its tests.

While reflecting on some of the ways the industry sought to overcome these challenges, Chris Jones*, Executive Vice President, Industry & Services at Descartes Systems Group, takes a look at what to look out for in 2022.

Global supply chains will be busy, congested, and chaotic

The challenges facing global supply chains show no signs of slowing down, with UK businesses left to navigate the complexities of Brexit and the subsequent delays to their operations, alongside the extra administrative burdens. Whilst some of the uncertainties surrounding the transition are beginning to ease, many firms remain concerned about how delays could impact their operations post-Brexit.

The key to navigating customs clearance is undoubtedly preparation. Planning is crucial not only for compliance – but also for growth and resilience – and businesses that are yet to lay the groundwork risk accidental non-compliance and further congestion at ports. With full UK customs changes now in effect as of 1st January 2022, businesses should prioritise the implementation of supply chain software solutions to take back control and handle customs declarations in-house or ensure they work with a customs partner who can provide full transparency at every step of the process.

Online buying will continue to fuel growth in home deliveries, presenting challenges that demand new strategies

The pandemic saw an increase in ecommerce that is set to continue in 2022 as the changes in consumer buying behaviour become more structural. This clearly presents both an opportunity and challenge for retailers and last mile logistics companies. The increase in volume will increase the challenge on an already tight last mile delivery capacity. Speed and reliability of deliveries will either come with a premium price, or remain as uneven as it has been over the last two years. For example, Amazon’s Whole Foods business is now incrementally charging for delivery to offset increased delivery costs.

We anticipate that more companies will re-evaluate their “free” delivery strategies and look for alternative delivery strategies such as combining deliveries for individual customers or locations, in order to minimise delivery costs and maximise the available delivery capacity.

The Great Resignation will accelerate the existing driver exodus, increasing the focus on retention

Whether long haul or last mile, the driver shortage is endemic and will continue to materially impact retail, distribution, and logistics companies. While finding new drivers to replace or add capacity will remain important, it’s also much harder to find drivers now than it has been in the past.

Instead, in 2022, companies will focus more on driver retention and productivity. Lowering turnover – which has traditionally been high – puts less pressure on the number of drivers that need to be hired and keeps the more experienced ones improving delivery performance. Keeping drivers driving and reducing stress will be the top retention priorities. Companies will need to do a better job at reducing wait times and improving driver quality of life through routes that are more realistic to execute, that don’t result in extended wait or on the road time and facilitate more predictable hours.

Driver shortage will force an emphasis on better planning

The increase in home delivery and driver shortage combined exacerbated supply chain vulnerabilities that, until now, retailers were just about managing to cope with – and have paid the price in terms of consumer expectations.

In the absence of effective planning, logistics companies and retailers will compromise a satisfactory delivery experience. While continuing to seek to recruit and train drivers, improving the overall productivity of existing drivers by optimising delivery routes should be the first port of call. By using advanced route optimisation software, all delivery options can be evaluated instantaneously, ultimately maximising capacity and increasing efficiency.

Sustainability will become an opportunity, not a challenge for supply chains

The focus on sustainability will increase in 2022 and it won’t just be from consumers. Many investment funds are taking an increasingly stronger stance on companies’ sustainability strategies and actual performance. This powerful combination will push companies to move faster to reduce their impact on the environment. It also presents an excellent opportunity for supply chain and logistics professionals to raise the visibility and value of supply chain strategies and operations.

Productivity enhancement is at the heart of any good supply chain performance improvement program and almost always results in greater efficiency, reduced paper and other waste that directly translates into reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Equally, many consumers are looking for delivery choices that help the environment, which presents retailers with the opportunity to look at innovative ways to combine or steer deliveries to reduce the mileage associated with home delivery.

This will not only benefit the environment and delight the consumer but will also result in lower delivery costs for retailers.

Machine learning will go mainstream in supply chain technology

This year, we expect machine learning (ML) to continue to be quickly adopted by supply chain technology providers because of the rich supply chain data that exists to teach ML algorithms. The result will be more accurate plans, estimated-time-of-arrival (ETA) and improved recommendations that make supply chain and logistics operations more productive and reliable.

Rather than displace existing supply chain technology, ML will augment it through embedded uses, such as optimising stop times, delivery locations, drive times and ETAs, or as part of greater data analytics solutions that are used to provide deeper insights into supply chain performance.

While 2022 will undoubtedly be a challenging year for logistics and supply chain professionals, the “C-suite” will recognise that their supply chains need to be world-class to help drive revenue and profitability. This will provide plenty of opportunities to show the value of advanced logistics and supply chain strategies, tactics and technology – and transformation will not only be the key to success but, for some, the key to survival.

* Chris Jones – Executive Vice President, Industry & Services at Descartes Systems Group – has over 30 years of experience in the supply chain market, including the last 10 years as a part of the Descartes leadership team. Prior to Descartes, he has held a variety of senior management positions in other organisations including: Senior Vice President at The Aberdeen Group’s Value Chain Research division, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development for SynQuest and Vice President and Research Director for Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions at The Gartner Group and Associate Director Operations & Technology for Kraft Foods.

Collett delivers 57-metre wind farm blades

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Collett & Sons has  completed all wind turbine component deliveries to Twentyshilling Wind Farm, located approximately 4.8km south of Sanquhar, in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland.

Appointed to undertake all planning and deliveries for the nine Vestas V117 turbines, Collett began transporting the components from King George V Dock in June 2021. Each of the components for each complete turbine, the three towers sections, three blades, nacelle, drive train and hub, would require specialist transport logistics for the 170-mile journey to site.

With Collett Consulting having already surveyed the route in detail, including undertaking a test drive of the journey from the port simulating the loaded blade components, Collett identified several necessary route modifications. Most importantly, this highlighted the access to the wind farm site itself.

Two miles from the construction site, on approach to the wind farm, the 57-metre loaded blades would be unable to facilitate the necessary left turn to access. It was proposed that the construction of a turning head at this location would provide the required clearance to allow the all 27 of the blades to safely navigate the turn.

Identifying this pinch point during the test drive allowed for the construction of a turning head at Eliock Bridge ahead of the component deliveries, this would ensure that the vehicles could safely turn around off the main road and complete the right turn on the approach to site.

Working to a two-day delivery schedule, with three deliveries per convoy, Collett called upon its specialist fleet to deliver the 81 individual components.

The Collett team employed super wing carriers to transport the blades, each of which weighed 14.9 tonnes. In addition, the use of these specialist super wing carriers allowed Collett to overcome issues of the vertical alignment from the main road to Eliock Bridge, avoiding the need for works to be undertaken on the listed structure.

For other components – such as the 25m-long bottom and 26m middle towers, with weights of 67t and 44.5t – Collett utilised specialist clamp trailers, whilst the remaining components – the top towers, nacelle, drive trains and hubs – were transported using Collett’s five- and six-axle step-frame trailers.

Working to a detailed delivery schedule, produced in line with the site construction needs, over a period of 14 weeks the Collett Team delivered each of the components from King George V Dock to the Dumfries & Galloway construction site. All components travelled under Collett escort, with police escorts in attendance for the blades, tower sections, nacelles and drive trains.

All deliveries to the 38MW Twentyshilling Wind Farm are now complete with the nine Vestas V117 140-metre tip turbines expected to be fully operational in 2022.

Smurfit Kappa opens third ‘Experience Centre’

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Smurfit Kappa UK has launched its new eCommerce focussed Experience Centre, based at the heart of the UK’s logistics “Golden Triangle” in Northampton. The third Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre to open across the UK, this new flagship centre will incorporate all of the technology, skills and knowledge that Smurfit Kappa’s Mold and Yate Experience Centres boast, but with the additional facility of its very own ISTA Certified Lab.

Responding to requests for an ISTA Lab in the UK and another Experience Centre, both of which would be convenient for customers all over the country, the team at Smurfit Kappa decided that this new venture would offer additional expertise and state of the art technology to their customers.

The existing Experience Centres are already hugely popular with customers, as they allow Smurfit Kappa to support businesses through the packaging design process from ideation to delivery.

Combining these two crucial facets of the packaging business under one roof means that customers will be able to quickly and easily source their packaging needs, from initial design elements, through test phases, and past final amendments and shelf appeal.

ISTA Lab

ISTA stands for International Safe Transit Association, and an ISTA lab has been fully certified by that organisation. ISTA is perfect for eCommerce companies suffering from packaging related issues in their supply chain as ISTA labs are designed to minimise product damage throughout the supply chain, by putting packaging thorough a rigorous testing process.

This is a particularly important matter when it comes to eCommerce ventures, in which packages are sent through the transit chain and can arrive to the customer in substandard conditions.

ISTA tests are designed to determine whether the package and product can withstand transit hazards through testing simulation, whereby real life warehousing and final mile delivery conditions are replicated.

There are certain tangible benefits to having received an ISTA certification – which can only be obtained from an ISTA lab.

What are the benefits of an ISTA certification for brands? One crucial advantage of an ISTA certification is the confidence it instils in buyers, who know that the packaging has undergone rigorous testing procedures – and so won’t cause reputational damage. In fact, an ISTA certification is often required by larger retailers like Amazon.

On top of that, you have the assurance that there will be a reduction in transit damage, and therefore product – and customer – loss.

The new Smurfit Kappa ISTA lab will not only be the company’s first in the UK, but its second globally.  Previously, design samples were sent to the Smurfit Kappa Global lab in Hoogeveen. With the advent of this new facility, Smurfit Kappa customers from all over the UK will have access to quicker testing.

It will also be able to offer customers the facility to design, manufacture, test and certify products, all under one roof, to Amazon’s Frustration Free packaging standards as Smurfit Kappa are proud members of Amazons Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS).

But the lab is not just for full ISTA testing, it can also be utilised for more basic requirements such as compression testing in order to validate how much weight a parcel can withstand during stacking. The lab is designed to help eliminate a range of packaging problems across the supply chain, minimising product damage and boosting manufacturers’ bottom line.

How do ISTA tests work?

There are actually a range of ISTA tests, depending on the level of certification you’re going for. The 1-Series preliminary tests cover shock tests, atmospheric preconditioning, and vibration tests.

There’s a variety of shock test options: it’s up to you and the lab to decide which type of test is most suited to your operation and supply chain. The incline-impact shock test measures how the package holds up under tilted stressors, and it’s noted that impact velocity varies according to the package’s weight.

The atmospheric preconditioning for the 1-Series covers ambient temperatures and humidity. Jumping up to the 3-Series, and more specifically Project 3K – which concerns FMCGs – we find that the atmospheric preconditioning tests become much more thorough. Depending on how the goods are going to be shipped, the test can measure the package’s hardiness in ambient, chilled, or frozen environments.

Then there are five required shock tests – including drop-on impact and flat drop tests – as well as vibration and picking tests.

It really is a rigorous process – and having a Smurfit Kappa ISTA Certified Lab in the UK will make the process much more streamlined for customers.

The Experience Centre

The other half of a perfect pairing, the Northampton Experience Centre doesn’t have the accolade of being the first of its kind in the UK.

Instead, it joins two others in Yate and Mold. The Experience Centres exist to offer Smurfit Kappa customers a wealth of industry expertise. From design elements to sustainability options, the Experience Centre team are more than happy to share their ideas, knowledge and research.

The teams at the Experience Centre are adventurous, and keen to push the boundaries of what can be done – opening up new market opportunities for customers and producing the best packaging solutions for the brief. As they say, “the best way to predict the future is to create it”.

Years of global experience delivered to Smurfit Kappa customers locally – that’s what the Experience Centre promises. They won’t take over your project, though: there’s a holistic approach that combines customer goals and desires with Smurfit Kappa’s endless knowledge.

Packaging often seems like an unknown element in eCommerce – but Smurfit Kappa’s Experience Centre takes the guesswork out of it.

The team at the Experience Centre are full of expertise, and a big reason why Smurfit Kappa is so popular. However, they are backed up by some pretty fancy software designed to demystify the packaging process.

There’s the Paper to Box database: a constantly updated log of paper grades that can be quickly combined to simulate box grades.

Then there’s Innobook: a resource intended to inspire packaging ideas, updated directly by the designers themselves.

Possibly most exciting is the Store Visualiser. Our team of graphic designers have worked hard to create a program that allows you to see your design on-shelf, alongside competitor products. It’s a wonderful tool for comparing how designs stand out – without risking the investment of having actually made the packaging – and for analysing how to improve.

As always at Smurfit Kappa, there’s a focus on sustainability. Brands often want to explore more eco-friendly options, and the team at the Experience Centre help them to better manage their environmental impact – whether that’s through sleeker designs that ship less air or FSC-certified materials.

The combination of Experience Centre with ISTA Lab means that Smurfit Kappa’s customers can reach out at any stage in their packaging journey. Whether it’s a new business who wants to branch into eCommerce and needs some guidance, or an established brand who wants to tweak their existing designs, the new packaging hub awaits. Smurfit Kappa  says no challenge is too big for its team.

 

2022 “shaping up to be an exciting year”

Posted on by Keith McKinley

2021 was another year of massive growth for the warehousing industry. Online retailers became accustomed to handling yet larger volumes and clicking ‘buy it now’ the established norm for the consumer.

Despatch Cloud, the cloud-based warehousing and delivery solution specialist for e-commerce, saw its services in huge demand following the surge in online orders. Matthew Dunne (pictured), founder and CTO, believes that 2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for fulfilment and warehousing, but he is quick to highlight the issues that are holding the sector back from colossal growth.

Fulfilment and warehousing

“Sadly, capacity issues restricted some businesses across the sector in 2021, but these should hopefully be resolved in the coming year, and with the continued likely growth of e-commerce,” comments Dunne.

When it comes to physical warehouses, he cites: “Two kinds of warehouses are emerging to cater for the growing requirement for space and different needs of the industry and the consumer. The demand for mega warehouses is still high with significant numbers of construction projects planned in 2022. Meanwhile there is an explosive growth in mini warehouses in central locations within cities, which enable the same day delivery of common items.”

He believes that due to continued e-commerce growth, 2022 will see the ongoing trend of warehouse automation, from cobots to a fully automated warehouse. He adds: “The cost savings of automated warehouses will impact the industry greatly. Whether 2022 will be the tipping point remains to be seen, but the trend is clear.”

E-commerce

“Due to the pandemic, we have witnessed 5-7 years of growth compressed into the last two years. Whilst we expect, and hope, that the world will head towards stability and normality in 2022, the move to online shopping is not one we or our clients expect to reverse,” adds Dunne.

“We are expecting to see increased sales through social media platforms in the 12 months ahead. Rumours continue to swirl around Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) and the potential ability to monetise the huge traffic volumes on social media apps into more value-added services.

“C-commerce (chat commerce) where you can ask to be shown items which are then sent to your phone for you to browse, select and purchase, is predicted to break into Europe and the UK soon.

“Consumers are increasingly seeking to buy from smaller firms, with local and/or ethical connections. Now is the time where traditional bricks and mortar shops must go online, leveraging another fulfilment trend.

“With the rapid emergence of same-day delivery companies, same-day, or even more rapid, delivery is becoming more of an expectation within bigger cities, bringing us full-circle to today’s warehousing and fulfilment needs.

“Retailers must seize the moment or risk being left behind.”

Infor provides supply chain IT for sports brand owner

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Infor, the industry cloud company, has announced that Pentland Brands Limited, owner of the Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Endura, ellesse, SeaVees and Mitre brands, has adopted the Infor Nexus supply chain platform. The technology will help Pentland Brands improve visibility of inventory, enhancing collaboration with suppliers, automating the vital procure-to-pay process, and accelerating the onboarding of new suppliers and partners.

The Pentland Brands UK businesses are already live on the platform, with the US-based businesses going live at the end of 2021.Now its entire supplier network across China, East Asia and Europe is connected to Infor Nexus, with standardised best-practice processes for all interactions.

Following a thorough review of the market, Infor Nexus was chosen based on its capability to combine both the physical and financial supply chain processes.  This helps provide:

  • Real-time supply forecast and order collaboration.
  • Digital shipping processes to help streamline both carton scanning and transport booking.
  • Automation of the procure-to-pay process, including invoice generation, auto-approval, and settlement. This will help reduce costs and provide real-time cashflow visibility to both suppliers and Pentland Brands.
  • Enhanced visibility, enabling Pentland Brands to respond quickly to production issues and changes in available quantities, as well as tracking the process of all goods in transit.

As the system of engagement, Infor Nexus was also chosen because of its complete integration with Pentland Brands enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This helps synchronise orders generated in the ERP, order change requests, supplier pack lists, advance shipping notices (ASNs), estimated time of arrival (ETA), and payment authorisation back to the ERP. This helps extend the visibility across Pentland Brands’ supply chain and reduces supply and capital costs.

Looking to the future, Pentland Brands is also assessing the predictive estimated time of arrival (PETA) capabilities of Infor Nexus.

“For brands, especially those linked to the sports, outdoor and lifestyle markets, efficient operations and speed to market are critical,” said Abhy Thomas Joseph, Pentland Brands, global director IT, Digital & Innovation. “The enhanced collaboration, connection and visibility provided by Infor Nexus gives us a competitive advantage with our suppliers and also allows us to on-board new partners faster.”

“Modern brand management is just as much about ensuring a world-class supply chain as it is ensuring you have the best creative talent,” said Sam Keers, Pentland Brands global sourcing and planning director. “We have hundreds of suppliers across the globe, and we’re now able to deliver a standardised set of best practices that will mean we’re more agile across all of our markets.”

“Combining supply chain, operational and financial aspects into cohesive processes enables faster, more controlled growth,” said Mark Illidge, Infor vice-president and general manager for supply chain in EMEA. “As brands look to re-engage with a drastically changed retail market, the ability to be agile, fast and responsive throughout the supply chain will be key to success, and technology such as the Infor Nexus platform will be a vital part of that.”

EPG Rocket Club established to help start-ups

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As one of the world’s leading logistics experts, Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) is always looking to the future. And this outlook sees the Boppard-based family business treading new paths. With its newly established EPG Rocket Club, the international software provider has created a new innovation platform for start-ups to present their solutions. Seven companies from Hamburg, Munich, Vienna and elsewhere have now presented their innovative and creative IT solutions to EPG.

Digitalisation is opening up exciting new perspectives for the logistics sector – from driverless transport systems and intelligent robots that collect goods in warehouses to fully automated warehouses controlled by artificial intelligence. Boppard-based Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) is right at the centre of this phase of transformation, with the company having enjoyed success on the market for more than 30 years through its warehouse management system LFS.

With the launch of the EPG Rocket Club, the software provider is looking to provide young companies with the opportunity to strike up a dialogue with the experts at EPG and to become part of the group’s international network, which currently spans 19 locations worldwide.

“The EPG Rocket Club serves as a platform for visionaries and pioneers within the sector. We aim to honour and promote the most innovative companies and to work with them to help shape the logistics sector of tomorrow,” explains Dennis Kunz, Director Marketing at EPG. A nine-strong panel of judges – made up of experienced logistics experts from companies such as Fressnapf, Flaconi, Metro and Lekkerland – was responsible for choosing a winner among the companies.

The start-ups impressed the judges with their fresh ideas and innovative spirit. The range of solutions presented was extremely diverse and provided further proof that the logistics sector is highly innovative and has a promising future. The solutions showcased included a cloud-based application for purchasing replacement parts, software for the digitalisation of container transport and a digital pallet note.

Award goes to Vienna company

The companies presenting their solutions were competing for the stylish, shiny green EPG Rocket Club Award. The panel of judges ultimately opted to hand the rocket-shaped award to SpotVessels GmbH in recognition of the solution it has developed for the inland navigation sector.

The Vienna-based company offers an online platform that fundamentally improves the booking of freight transport as well as the fleet management of inland vessels and barges. The solution helps to utilize loading capacity more effectively, reduce the number of empty runs and thus increase freighter efficiency.

“The presentations given by the start-ups were very impressive,” says a delighted Dennis Kunz. “We had the chance to listen to fascinating visionaries from the logistics sector who presented their ideas with great passion and verve. In the era of the digital transformation, it’s important that we learn from each other and create new synergies. As a community, the EPG Rocket Club will continue to play an important role in future.”

CLICK HERE to view a video of the EPG Rocket Club event.

FarEye joins Microsoft Cloud for Retail

Posted on by Keith McKinley

FarEye, a global SaaS platform transforming last mile, has been selected by Microsoft as an Amplification Partner in Microsoft Cloud for Retail. The collaboration empowers and transforms how retailers orchestrate, track, and optimise the movement of goods, enabling enterprises to lower logistics costs while meeting the needs of end consumers.

If retailers wish to remain competitive in an ever-evolving landscape, a strong logistics framework with keen attention to last-mile delivery solutions will be the key differentiating factor to help boost customer satisfaction.

“Microsoft is bringing together leaders across all sectors of the retail space to help retailers enhance their delivery solutions to ultimately result in a positive customer experience,” said Amit Bagga, Chief Revenue Officer at FarEye. “The collaboration signals strong industry recognition, and we’re looking forward to the power FarEye’s intelligent delivery management platform can provide to Microsoft’s retail ecosystem.”

With the combined capabilities of Microsoft Cloud for Retail and FarEye, retailers can attain:

  • Real-time dynamic routing
  • Improved operational control
  • Branded and consistent customer experience

“We believe FarEye’s delivery visibility tools and scalable, low-code, no-code platform will be a critical component in helping streamline the fulfilment process and digitise retailers’ customer service offerings,” said Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President, WW Retail & Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft. “Adding FarEye to our line-up of integral retail partners enhances our capability to transform modern-day deliveries and customer experience.”

FarEye’s intelligent delivery management platform handles 100 million transactions per month among 45,000 drivers and 30,000 carriers traveling over 1 million miles per day. The company works with its enterprise customers across industries such as retail, manufacturing and more to provide a higher level of control over their logistics and offer a superior delivery experience to their end customers.

Webinar: How To Navigate The New Logistics Landscape

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Buying habits have changed, and it’s time delivery caught up. These days, the third party you engage to drop off your products represents your company. Increasingly, we’re seeing consumers say goodbye to brands they love due to poor customer service at the last mile.

So, partnering with Honeywell, FarEye is holding a webinar entitled How to Navigate the New Logistics Landscape on 26th January at 3.00pm GMT with an expert panel who will bring you up to speed on transport and logistics in 2022. It’s free to attend, and can help you align your online and last-mile experiences.

Topics being covered include:

  • The current logistical landscape
  • Emerging transport technologies
  • How data can be leveraged to improve delivery
  • What tools you can use to enhance the last-mile experience

In 2021, eCommerce transactions increased by 30%. It’s not hard to see why – for the past two years, we’ve embraced buying everything online. Today, we expect companies to spend the same amount of investment on the back end as they do on the front. But to achieve this, their delivery must be as seamless as their website.

Up to 66% of millennials think all purchases should have a one-hour delivery option. And 55% of all consumers say that three late deliveries would prevent them from using a service provider again. The fact is, if your final stage of the customer experience is letting the side down, you’ll lose customers.

That’s why in this webinar, we’re asking industry heavyweights to comment on the challenges of transport and logistics right now. They’ll provide answers like leveraging big data, data science and data analytics to refine the delivery process.

The panel includes speakers from Honeywell and FarEye, all helping us to solve problems such as customer expectations, driver retention and poor asset utilisation.

You can watch them, and host John Bradshaw, Vertical Marketing Manager at Honeywell, set the new world to rights by following THIS LINK to sign up for free.

Attendees can ask questions and use the information provided to kick-start their ambitions for 2022. What’s more, you’ll be able to counter the change in customer expectations, and gain the tools to exceed them. Sign up today and tap into the insights of industry leaders.

FarEye is a low-code, Intelligent Delivery Management Platform, enabling enterprises to orchestrate, track, and optimise their logistics operations. FarEye’s native SaaS products provide real time visibility across transportation networks and logistics orchestration for the execution of deliveries across the first, mid and last mile.

CLICK HERE  to register for the free webinar – How To Navigate The New Logistics Landscape

Supply chain tech firm KlearNow raises $50m

Posted on by Keith McKinley

KlearNow, a smart Logistics as a Service (LaaS) pioneer founded in 2018, raised $50m in new capital to transform broken supply chains – simplifying and providing real-time cargo visibility to the customs clearance and drayage processes. KlearNow says its AI-powered platform eases the worldwide supply chain disruptions that have left businesses grappling with delays and shortages.

The Series B investment was led by Kayne Partners Fund, the growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, with continued participation from existing investors including GreatPoint Ventures, Argean Capital, and Autotech Ventures, plus new investment from Activate Capital.

Though the global logistics market value is $8.6tr, it is a highly fragmented and archaic industry and one of the last to embrace technology and collaborative innovation. The global pandemic has further exacerbated supply chain bottlenecks, accelerating the need for digital transformation.

Investors were drawn to KlearNow’s platform as it eases import/export burdens by digitising and streamlining complex paper-based logistics processes – reducing manual entry times and human errors. The platform takes the digitised data to power its customs clearance marketplace, providing an unprecedented level of real-time end-to-end visibility, collaboration, and cost savings for its customers.

Since its $16m Series A funding round led by GreatPoint Ventures in January 2020, KlearNow has grown exponentially, increasing its customer base tenfold and its monthly revenue run rate by more than 50 times. During this time, US-based KlearNow has expanded into Canada, and launched its UK service in January 2021 to support UK and EU businesses operating in the post-Brexit landscape.

KlearNow recently added a drayage marketplace to its smart LaaS platform to support drayage companies facing planning and scheduling challenges and importers demanding extended visibility. With both customs clearance and drayage marketplaces, KlearNow provides a single view of multi-leg shipments from port of lading to the warehouse. The Series B investment strengthens KlearNow’s position as the go-to digital supply chain solution for businesses that trade across borders.

“This latest round of funding enables us to aggressively accelerate our technology development and deployment, geographical expansion, and talent investments, helping us transform supply chains that power commerce,” said Sam Tyagi, KlearNow Founder and CEO. “We are excited to have strategic partners and investors with deep knowledge in this space, and we believe that with their support, our technology can lead to a meaningful, sustainable impact on global supply chains.”

“The supply chain and logistics industry is primed for incredible disruption in the upcoming years, and continued investment in technology and tech-enabled infrastructure is a critical component of the solution,” said Nishita Cummings, Managing Partner and Co-Head of Growth Equity at Kayne Partners. “KlearNow is the leading technology partner in this space, with an advanced AI-based platform that removes friction in moving goods across borders in an easy, efficient, and cost-effective manner.”

Ashok Krishnamurthi, Managing Partner at GreatPoint Ventures, added: “We are more excited than ever to have partnered with KlearNow. Digitalisation has become mission-critical for supply chain logistics. KlearNow provides tremendous value for the supply chain logistics ecosystem, demonstrated by the rapid adoption of its platform by importers, transporters, brokers, and freight forwarders.

“We are thrilled that KlearNow has continued to expand beyond real-time shipment visibility, offering new unified workflows. During the pandemic lockdowns when the world and companies needed work from home capabilities, KlearNow stepped up, unshackling employees from the office, scanners, and fax machines. With a smart digital solution, supply chain logistics teams were able to work remotely from home and leave the paper world behind. Visibility, productivity, and sustainability are a great combination.”

Supply chain crisis drives consumers to buy locally

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As the global supply chain crisis continues to disrupt the retail industry, consumers are being forced to change their shopping habits and buy local (within their own countries) for speed and availability, new global research from SOTI has found.

Consumers are feeling the effects of supply chain issues first-hand, with over half (57%) of global consumers (58% UK) saying they have recently experienced one or more items not being available, have had to purchase alternatives when preferred products were not available, or have had to go to different retailers to find items in stock. Worse still, over one third of shoppers (35% global/38% UK) said items they wanted to purchase have not been available at all.

Compounding these supply issues, more than a third (34% global/30% UK) said they feel delivery times have been slower than usual and more than half (53% global and UK) said that shipping/delivery time is the most frustrating aspect of ordering online.

Unwilling to compromise on speed and availability, consumers are now paying special attention to the purchasing journey. More than a third (36% global and UK) said that if delivery or pick up of an item takes longer than two days, they will look elsewhere. Meanwhile, with deliveries from outside their own country now taking longer to arrive, more than half of consumers (52% global/60% UK) have changed their habits, saying they are now less likely to order an item that requires shipping from overseas than they were a year ago.

As part of the From Clicks to Ships: Navigating the Global Supply Chain Crisis 2022 Report, SOTI surveyed 10,000 consumers across the UK, US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, France and Australia to understand how consumers are responding to the supply chain crisis, as well as their expectations of brands and retailers to cope with it.

It’s clear from the findings that consumers are unwilling to give retailers any leeway. When asked about their expectations and intentions:

  • Over two-thirds (68% global and UK) agreed that they now expect to know where their order is throughout the delivery process at all times
  • More than half (61% global/60% UK) agree they are continuing to shop with brands that can deliver goods the fastest
  • More than half (52% global and UK) agree they would be more likely to shop from a retailer’s store if multiple return points were offered
  • Over one third (35% global and UK) agreed that knowing who a retailer’s delivery partner is has resulted in them not completing an order with that retailer

The onus is now on retailers to adapt to these behaviours and match up with consumer preferences.

“Brands and retailers are having to rethink how they approach customer relationships and go-to-market strategies in response to this state of flux,” explains Sarah Edge, Director of Sales, UK and Ireland at SOTI. “It’s imperative they have the right data at their fingertips to cater to these changing consumer preferences. The brands that have the flexibility that allows them to provide the best possible customer experience, no matter how or where customers shop, will be the most resilient.”

Looking to the future, when asked if they would consider using any of the following alternative delivery options in 2022, 63% (global and UK) said they would consider in-store delivery/collection (“click and collect”/buy online and pick up in-store) and half (50% global/46% UK) would consider delivery to a designated drop-off point.

Consumers are also open to even more significant changes in the way they receive their goods as technology advances. Almost half (46% global/45% UK) said they would consider either autonomous vehicles to deliver larger packages to their home or other convenient location, or delivery drones to deliver small packages (43% global/39% UK).

“Having the right mobile technology will help retailers to improve both their communications and customer experience across all their channels. Ensuring they have mobile-enabled operational intelligence, will give brands and retailers the ability to diagnose problems quickly and adapt fast to meet ever-changing consumer needs and preferences. The only certainty is uncertainty in this current retail environment. But, by ensuring their consumers have choice and flexibility, brands and retailers, as well as their logistics partners, can prepare themselves for all eventualities,” concludes Edge.

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