Tag Archives: Logistics

Graph Blockchain Solutions Targets $15.5 Trillion Global Supply Chain Management Logistics Sector

Posted on by

Blockchain Data Management & Global Logistics Market

With globalization and the increased consumption of various products worldwide, efficient supply chain management and the role of freight and logistics has become increasingly complex.

The global logistics market involves all activities of Supply Chain Management (“SCM”), including transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and the flow of information and order processing.

As previously published by Transparency Market Research, this market is estimated to reach US $15.5 Trillion by 2023.

Multi-national global logistics and freight companies such as FedEx, UPS, and Purolator have openly acknowledged their endorsement of blockchain technology, with all three joining the Blockchain in Trucking Alliance (BiTA), noting that it will bring efficiencies to their industry through consistent, transparent and immutable data.

“We’re quite confident that blockchain has big, big implications in the supply chain, transportation, and logistics,” FedEx CEO Frederick Smith said at the Consensus 2018 conference.

On their company’s press release, Linda Weakland, UPS director of enterprise architecture and innovation, said: “Blockchain has multiple applications in the logistics industry, especially related to supply chains, insurance, payments, audits and customs brokerage.”

Tied to global logistics, South Korea has one of the world’s highest e-commerce rates, however, they have lagged in keeping pace with warehouses and distribution centers. As such, as reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, there has been a wave of investment into high-specification logistics projects across the country, both by the South Korean government through incentives and into Korean logistics properties by institutional investors such as the Canada Pension Investment Board.

Graph Blockchain Solutions

With the growth of this sector as a tactical objective, Graph’s foray into the global logistics industry commenced with providing solutions to divisions of Samsung and LG corporations. Both companies are South Korean based multinational conglomerates, known to be the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones, and the world’s second-largest television manufacturer, respectively.

By participating in the development of technology that could revolutionize logistics for multi-nationals, Graph has secured a solid position with the goal of becoming a leading solution provider in the sector, focusing on building a global logistics eco-system wherein the graph blockchain solution would reduce downtime by providing real-time monitoring, tracking and business intelligence analytics.

This will enable companies to realize cost savings by mitigating delays and minimizing the impact of lost goods due to cargo theft and fraud, while at the same time driving efficiencies across their SCM.

Read more at Graph Blockchain Solutions Targets $15.5 Trillion Global Supply Chain Management Logistics Sector

Please share your opinion in the comment box below. Subscribe us to get our latest updates.

Using Blockchain to Secure the Medical Supply Chain

Posted on by

Imperial Logistics leverages One Network’s Real Time Value Network cloud solution to manage the entire distribution process and help ensure the delivery of clean drugs to patients using Blockchain.

One Network Enterprises, the global provider of multi-party digital network platform and services, has announced that leading logistics provider Imperial Logistics is using One Network’s cloud platform to provide an end-to-end fulfillment backbone that manages the entire distribution process of essential medical supplies.

The solution includes serialization and authentication of critical drugs such as antimalarial medications.

By establishing One Network’s Real Time Value Network™ (RTVN) and serialization and tracking solutions for country-wide fulfillment, Imperial Logistics is safeguarding the distribution of medication.

The solutions enable Imperial Logistics to increase visibility and security throughout the global pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain process.

“Counterfeit or contaminated medication that contains the wrong or no active ingredients has long plagued the global, pharmaceutical supply chain. New regulations are coming into effect around the globe and mandates such as mass serialization and ‘track-and-trace’ are quickly becoming the worldwide standard for regulators,” said Dr. Iain Barton, Healthcare Strategy Executive at Imperial Logistics.

RTVN’s chain-of-custody and serialization authentication capabilities enable Imperial Logistics to track the control, transfer, management, and distribution of antiretroviral and antimalarial medication and supplies in real time, as they flow throughout the supply chain all the way to the individual patient.

The solution will also be used to comply with incoming national regulations in South Africa and other countries.

Read more at Using Blockchain to Secure the Medical Supply Chain

Share your opinions with us in the comment box and subscribe to get updates.

Related articles

Why You Don’t Need Perfect Data to Begin Implementing Sales & Operations Planning

Posted on by

Royal Boon Edam a global market leader in entry solutions, was looking to shift towards a combined business model of “made to stock” and “assembly to order” – where modules which could be placed into a configuration requested by the customer would be ready for production, this meant the company needed a different logistics approach to fulfilling these orders.

An interview with Boon Edam’s Aron Waas

Implementing Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) has many benefits.

To truly leverage it to improve business performance and predictability, you need to embark on a change management process and you need the right technology to self-enable your team.

Often, teams think they also need plenty of clean and accurate data to do it right.

But starting small can pay off. We spoke with Aron Waas, Global Supply Chain Director at Royal Boon Edam International to hear about his company’s experience.

Hello Aron, can you tell me more about Boon Edam and your role as Global Supply Chain Director?

Boon Edam is a private, family-owned company that is over 140 years old. We are a manufacturer of premium entry systems, such as revolving doors and security access gates.

We have 3 factories, one in the USA, one in China and one in the Netherlands (in the city of Edam). We have over 20 sales subsidiaries and, at this stage, 3 different Distribution & Support Centers.

These centers (or D&SCs) support our sales subsidiaries with all their inquiries, service requests and the delivery of products and services.

I am part of the global management team, responsible for everything that has to do with supply chain management. The directors of our D&SCs report directly to me.

You are currently using AIMMS to enable your S&OP process. What was the driver to look for S&OP technology and how did you do things before?

We have worldwide demand for all kinds of products and services and as I mentioned before, we have 3 different factories. We were trying to optimize the workload between these factories to have our manufacturing be as efficient as possible.

We had a financial reporting tool and based on the financial forecasting of our different sales subsidiaries, we made a forecast for products and services which was translated into a monthly demand plan and a capacity plan. This process was based on a lot of assumptions.

Read more at Why You Don’t Need Perfect Data to Begin Implementing Sales & Operations Planning

Please share your opinions with us in the comment box and subscribe us to get updates.

Related articles

M&S selects Zetes to transform fresh food supply chain

Posted on by

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has selected Zetes to help transform visibility and fulfilment across its fresh food supply chain.

The partnership will also see greater collaboration between M&S and its food suppliers via Zetes’ supply chain visibility platform, ZetesOlympus.

Through ZetesOlympus, M&S will gain real-time fulfilment performance insight across its fresh food supply chain, with the platform helping to foresee any possible disruptions to availability, via real time alerts, meaning M&S can take fast preventative action to maintain its fresh food fulfilment standards.

The platform, which connects M&S to all its logistics providers, will also encourage greater collaboration across the supply chain.

With a significant and growing presence in the food market and a substantial supplier and logistics partner base, supply chain visibility is crucial to M&S. ZetesOlympus will provide a strong basis for enhanced collaboration and continuous improvement between key stakeholders within the supply chain network.

Syd Reid, Supply Chain Director, M&S said: “It is crucial for us to have complete visibility of our supply chain and be immediately alerted when unexpected events occur. That way, we can be agile and react at pace to ensure that our customers can get their favourite M&S food products when they want them, no matter what.”

Alain Wirtz, CEO of Zetes, commented: “Customer expectation for an efficient and fast omni-channel retail experience continues to grow and as such, the need for accurate, real-time visibility and proactive monitoring within the supply chain heightens. We are delighted that M&S has chosen Zetes to help it continue to deliver the level of service that its customers value.”

Read more at M&S selects Zetes to transform fresh food supply chain

Share your opinions with us and subscribe to get updates

Related articles

Yusen Logistics Opens Logistics Center in Myanmar to Expand Contract Logistics Service

Posted on by

The event was attended by Thilawa SEZ Management Committee Vice Chairman Cho Cho Win; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of Japan in Myanmar Tateshi Higuchi; Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development Limited (MJTD) Chairman Thein Han; Mitsubishi Corporation Chief Representative for Myanmar Mitsuo Ido, Yusen Logistics Co., Ltd.; Kenji Mizushima; Yusen Logistics (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. President Yasuhiko Nojima; and Yusen Logistics (Thilawa) Co., Ltd. President Tatsuhiko Saeki.

“This logistics center will be a cornerstone of our logistics business in Myanmar and an important part of our global network including the connection to surrounding countries,” said Kenji Mizushima, President, Yusen Logistics Co., Ltd.

“We can provide full logistics service from this center which has 6,300 ㎡of warehouse space, including temperature control and bonded areas, together with an assembled vehicles yard area. We will contribute to the development of the Myanmar economy by providing high-quality logistics service that meets our customer’s needs.”
The logistics facility is in the Thilawa SEZ in Yangon District, covering an area of approximately 6,300m2 out of a total area of 30,000m2.

Read more at Yusen Logistics Opens Logistics Center in Myanmar to Expand Contract Logistics Service

Share your opinions with us in the comment box and subscribe to get more updates.

Related articles

Top 20 Supply Chain Management Software Suppliers 2017

Posted on by

The market for supply chain management (SCM) software, maintenance and services continued its growth in 2016, generating more than $11.1 billion, a 9% increase over 2015 revenues, according to the research firm Gartner.

That total includes applications for supply chain execution (SCE), supply chain planning (SCP) and procurement software. Since the market’s 2% decline in 2009, the market has posted double-digit growth in four of the past six years, according to Gartner. The SCM market is expected to exceed $13 billion in total software revenue by the end of 2017 and exceed $19 billion by 2021, Gartner forecasts, with software as a service (SaaS) enabling new growth opportunities.

“It continues to be a good year for the supply chain overall,” says Chad Eschinger, managing vice president of Gartner. “The Cloud-based segment grew 20%, which is consistent with what we’ve seen in recent years.”

The push for Cloud capabilities also fueled some of the acquisition activity over the last year. Eschinger cites examples such as Infor’s acquisition of GT Nexus, Kewill’s acquisition of LeanLogistics, Oracle’s acquisitions of LogFire and NetSuite, and E2open’s acquisitions of Terra Technology and, more recently, Steelwedge.

“Broadly speaking, we’re seeing cyclical consolidation,” Eschinger says. “For some companies it’s a land grab, for others it’s an effort to add functional and technical underpinnings to go to the Cloud or provide a fuller complement of Cloud capabilities.”

Suite vendors are increasingly inclined to offer end-to-end solutions, Eschinger says, tying in customer relationship management capabilities, replenishment, network design, clienteling and more. In addition to supply chain efficiency, these solutions are also aimed at improving and standardizing the consumer’s experience.

“The Amazon effect continues to wreak havoc in retail and for manufacturers selling direct-to-consumer,” Eschinger says. “Everyone wants real-time visibility into inventory, so data and the associated analytics continue to be front and center for most organizations.”

Read more at Top 20 Supply Chain Management Software Suppliers 2017

Let us know what you think about this article and subscribe us to get updates.

Related articles

What to Expect from the Logistics & Shipping Sectors as E-Commerce Grows Up

Posted on by

Driven by new technologies and e-commerce growth, changes in the global supply chain are expected to impact industrial real estate for the foreseeable future.

Since 2012, Amazon has been aggressively expanding its logistics and shipping services worldwide, disrupting traditional supply chain operators with direct competition for their business.

Chinese “e-tail” giant Alibaba, meanwhile, has deployed technology that cuts into a portion of third-party logistics (3PL) operator profits.

Alibaba’s “One Touch” platform automates export-related services, such as customs clearance and logistics, to make it cost-efficient for small/medium-sized merchants to participate in the global marketplace.

Cyclical and structural factors, including overcapacity in the container shipping industry and greater use of technology in manufacturing, retail and logistics industries, are also disrupting the sector.

Automation and robots are replacing manufacturing, logistics and warehouse workers. A survey by PwC found that 59 percent of all U.S. manufacturers are using robots for some tasks.

A recent report from real estate services firm Colliers International analyzes how these changes are impacting the logistics landscape. The report also looks at the impacts on industrial and logistics properties.

Report author Bruno Berretta, associate director with Colliers International who leads the firm’s pan-European research activities, says that Amazon Prime has entered the logistics market to take control of its supply chain and improve delivery times. He notes that unofficially Amazon is becoming a 3PL service to third parties.

The company is making a big push to establish a logistics network, opening smaller distribution facilities near customers, according to Berretta, who suggests that Amazon is likely to start competing with traditional 3PL services as it opens new markets.

Additionally, Amazon wants to reduce shipping costs, which have a big impact on profits. The Colliers report notes that in 2015 Amazon spent $11.5 billion on shipping costs, which equated to 10 percent of its global sales. By delivering its own goods and using technology to streamline deliveries, the company estimates it would save $3 per package, or $1.1 billion annually.

Read more at What to Expect from the Logistics & Shipping Sectors as E-Commerce Grows Up

Feel free to express your opinions about this topic. Contact us or subscribe to get the latest updates.

Related articles

2017 Parcel Express Roundtable: Paying for peak performance

Posted on by

It can be hard to believe that very much happens in a year, but that theory is put to the test when it comes to the parcel express market.

In fact, over the past 12 months we’ve seen major changes in pricing from the parcel duopoly of FedEx and UPS; the accelerated emergence of regional parcel players; and don’t forget we’re all watching the increasing power and reach of e-commerce giant Amazon as it grows its own delivery capabilities globally.

These developments require parcel shippers to do whatever it takes to stay on top of their parcel game from both a financial and operational perspective. To help them along, Logistics Management has gathered Jerry Hempstead, president of Hempstead Consulting, a parcel advisory firm; David Ross, transportation and logistics director at investment firm Stifel; and Rob Martinez, president and CEO at Shipware, an audit and parcel consulting services company.

Over the next few pages, our experts offer their insight into what’s driving parcel market trends and offers some practical advice for how shippers need to re-adjust to ever-changing market conditions.

Logistics Management (LM): How would you describe today’s parcel marketplace?

Jerry Hempstead: All of the parcel carriers are doing well in volume and earnings—even the USPS is making money if you back out the Congressional mandates. And it’s clear that e-commerce is driving the volumes. To top it off, service levels this year are at record levels and are predictable and consistent.

My observation is that there’s no statistical difference between the service performance offered by FedEx and UPS across a year’s worth of activity, although FedEx offers a faster delivery on ground to about 25% more city pairs than UPS. This pressure on speeding up the promise and refining the networks to make the magic happen will only improve the consumer experience in parcel services.

Read more at 2017 Parcel Express Roundtable: Paying for peak performance

Leave your comments below if you have any opinions and subscribe us to be the first to get our updates.

Related articles

Big data analytics technology: disruptive and important?

Posted on by

Of all the disruptive technologies we track, big data analytics is the biggest. It’s also among the haziest in terms of what it really means to supply chain. In fact, its importance seems more to reflect the assumed convergence of trends for massively increasing amounts of data and ever faster analytical methods for crunching that data. In other words, the 81percent of all supply chain executives surveyed who say big data analytics is ‘disruptive and important’ are likely just assuming it’s big rather than knowing first-hand.

Does this mean we’re all being fooled? Not at all. In fact, the analogy of eating an elephant is probably fair since there are at least two things we can count on: we can’t swallow it all in one bite, and no matter where we start, we’ll be eating for a long time.

So, dig in!

Getting better at everything

Searching SCM World’s content library for ‘big data analytics’ turns up more than 1,200 citations. The first screen alone includes examples for spend analytics, customer service performance, manufacturing variability, logistics optimisation, consumer demand forecasting and supply chain risk management.

Read more at Big data analytics technology: disruptive and important?

Share your opinions regarding this topic in the comment box below and subscribe us for more updates.

Related articles

How IoT logistics will revolutionize supply chain management

Posted on by

As with many other areas of the economy, the digital revolution is having a profound effect on delivery logistics.

The combination of mobile computing, analytics, and cloud services, all of which are fueled by the Internet of Things (IoT), is changing how delivery and fulfillment companies are conducting their operations.

One of the most popular methods for fulfilling deliveries today is through third-party logistics, which involves any company that provides outsourced services to move products and resources from one area to another. Third-party logistics, or 3PL, can be one service, such as transportation or a warehouse, or an entire system that maintains the whole supply chain.

But the IoT is going to change how this process operates. Below, we’ve outlined the impact of IoT on supply chain, and how IoT management will transform inventory, logistics, and more.

Internet of Things Supply Chain Management

One of the biggest trends poised to upend supply chain management is asset tracking, which gives companies a way to totally overhaul their supply chain and logistics operations by giving them the tools to make better decisions and save time and money. Delivery company DHL and tech giant Cisco estimated in 2015 that IoT technologies such as asset tracking solutions could have an impact of more than $1.9 trillion in the supply chain and logistics sector.

And this transformation is already underway. A recent survey by GT Nexus and Capgemini found that 70% of retail and manufacturing companies have already started a digital transformation project in their supply chain and logistics operations.

Asset tracking is not new by any means. Freight and shipping companies have used barcode scanners to track and manage their inventory. But new developments are making these scanners obsolete, as they can only collect data on broad types of items, rather than the location or condition of specific items. Newer asset tracking solutions (which we’ll get into shortly in the next section) offer much more vital and usable data, especially when paired with other IoT technologies.

Read more at How IoT logistics will revolutionize supply chain management

We would like to know what you think about this topic, share your opinions with us in the comment box. If you need assistance, you can contact us via email. You can subscribe us to be the first one to get the latest article.

Related articles