Supply chain

Demand for distribution centers and warehouses in Asia is set to climb as firms reappraise supply chains, increase inventories, and diversify into other countries after the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Former INTTRA executive said shipping lines, 3PLs, and shippers could learn from the way retailers and their suppliers have set up data-sharing arrangements to provide mutual benefit.

TMS and supply chain modeling software providers combine to build an integrated “what if” scenario capability for shippers that normally wouldn’t have the resources to acquire and staff such a solution.

A software startup aiming to be the connective tissue between data from disparate warehousing systems has received venture capital as retailers’ distribution needs get more complex during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal grants will go to waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and American Samoa.

Logistics software acquisitions continue to occur amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest being Descartes’ $12 million deal to purchase UK-based online forwarding software provider Kontainers.

The forwarder Flexport is edging toward a broader imprint on the shipping industry through the development of customizable interfaces for its customers and increased access to its systems for agent partners.

E2open customers will get access to free cargo visibility as the software company tries to combat the pull of standalone visibility providers.

Werner is the latest broker to use software from Trucker Tools to tap into the app provider’s reach into the North American small carrier and independent driver population.

More venture capital is being funneled toward logistics automation tools, this time a large early stage round in an Ireland-based software provider that build procurement bots for shippers.

A group of 10 maritime bodies argues for accelerating the pace of port data standardization and adoption of modern, single-window systems, among a list of other initiatives.

Blockchain-based electronic bills of lading can simplify shipping hurdles created when the effects of COVID-19 hamper travel and restrict normal processes.

Alibaba has tied up with logistics software provider Freightos to provide logistics services on its business-to-business platform while also allowing buyers to extend payment terms to sellers.

London-based digital 3PL Beacon lands a $15 million venture capital investment by focusing on supply chain finance, as the digital forwarder model continues to attract growth funding.

The acquisition of FMIC from Chainalytics helps transform DAT Solutions into a broader freight intelligence business aimed at enabling shippers, brokers, and truckers to understand freight costs and pricing.

A plethora of technology providers have emerged in recent years to arm forwarders with the ability to quote digitally, but not all are in the same category and most are geared to help existing forwarders compete with digitally-minded competitors.

After spiking in March owing to increased demand for essential goods amid the COVID-19 pandemic, truck detention has receded but remains a disruptive factor for truckers that can backfire on shippers when capacity is needed.

The addition of DP World to Maersk and IBM’s blockchain platform TradeLens is a feather in the cap of the still nascent container logistics network, bringing a string of more than 80 terminals and associated business into the fold.

The search for transportation’s fuel of the future is regaining the momentum built up in 2019, with high-profile initiatives launched in May to accelerate research into alternatives to fossil fuels.

A Salesforce-based logistics software provider has established a critical goods network to link suppliers, buyers, and 3PLs that wouldn’t ordinarily be connected to one another.

Expeditors has acquired Fleet Logistics, pulling digital forwarding capabilities into the arsenal of the trans-Pacific’s largest non-vessel-operating common carrier.

Forwarding software providers continue to link up to provide amplified value to logistics companies, the latest example being SimpliShip and Qwyk teaming to provide rating and quoting tools to an Asia-based forwarder alliance.

Partnerships between digital freight brokers and TMS providers continue to be formalized, which should benefit shippers looking for extra sources of capacity in their core transportation planning and execution systems.

The Marseille-based startup technology incubator’s newest cohort features a duo of companies aiming to automate the trade compliance and administrative work done by logistics providers on behalf of shippers.

Digitally-oriented freight broker Loadsmart, backed in part by Maersk’s venture fund, has begun offering a product that stitches together drayage, transload, and truckload operations.

Amid COVID-19 fears and lockdown-driven economic difficulties, domestic migrant workers employed at key Indian port locations have been heading back to their home provinces, severely hampering maritime trade.

project44 is ramping up the multi-modal nature of its visibility offering, another signal that shippers are craving single environments that connect all modes and regions.

Virtually all of DHL Global Forwarding’s ocean volume, and a third of its air freight, is now being handled through its new transport management platform.

Kontainers, which has made inroads in providing forwarders with an online transactional channel, is partnering with Portrix, a longtime supplier of rate management tools to top forwarders.

A partnership between airfreight software specialist WebCargo and cargo airline management platform IBS will enable carriers to quote more efficiently, and electronically, to forwarders.

A container line consortium that has tackled a range of shipping standards since launching in April 2019 now plans to drive adoption of electronic bills of lading, a standard that has long evaded adoption.

Combining FedEx’s logistics network with Microsoft’s AI, machine-learning, and cloud-computing capabilities, the companies plan to offer much more granular, near-real-time visibility for entire supply chains, as well as individual shipments.

Automation software provider RPA Labs has been backed by a group of supply chain-focused investors as it seeks to equip third-party logistics providers with pre-built process “bots.”

A new technology platform at Werner Enterprises is designed to break down communications barriers between the truckload carrier, its drivers, and customers, and automate more of the truck driver’s workflow.

OL USA, an NVO led by industry veteran Alan Baer, is using software from Blume Global to provide visibility and disruption recovery capability akin to larger and more well-capitalized competitors.

Forwarders wanting to build instant quoting capability often need to juggle multiple systems and navigate setbacks to get to a desired state of reaching broader customer segments.

A warehouse robotics integration platform has secured a venture capital investment to help contract logistics providers and shippers cope with the plethora of automation systems.

Brokerage solutions maker Trucker Tools will pull parking data into an app-based platform to aid truck drivers searching for available spaces.

Visibility provider OpenTrack has spent more than a year in stealth building an automated platform for ocean container status on the belief that shippers and 3PLs need faster access to cargo availability data.

Process automation is already a feature of logistics technology investment, but the drivers for that investment are changing from cost reductions to business empowerment.