{"id":6891,"date":"2020-08-07T12:44:44","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T10:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=6891"},"modified":"2020-08-07T12:44:44","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T10:44:44","slug":"logistics-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/08\/07\/logistics-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Logistics Gets Schooled"},"content":{"rendered":"

The writing is on the wall. Logistics and supply chain companies that invest in ongoing education, innovation, and research can attract new talent and better serve customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Andrew Lynch started in the logistics business nearly 20 years ago, he had to learn the distance between hundreds of routes\u2014say, from Ashtabula, Ohio, to Edison, New Jersey\u2014as well as the cost to move a shipment from one location to the other. Today, logistics professionals like Lynch, president and co-founder of Zipline Logistics based in Columbus, Ohio, can retrieve this information online. Instead, they\u2019re faced with more complicated challenges, such as finding the optimal way to move a shipment when it has to be delivered in the middle of the night, incurring accessorial fees along with standard freight charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

As logistics challenges become more complex and technology advances, ongoing education, innovation, and research has become a competitive imperative for logistics and supply chain companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

A commitment to education and innovation is also key to attracting younger employees to logistics. \u201cWith millennials making up an increasing part of our workforce, it is critical that we modernize our processes and tools,\u201d says Gina Chung, vice president, innovation, Americas research and development with DHL.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, attracting and retaining logistics employees remain critical, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused soaring unemployment in some sectors. In contrast, many logistics firms are busy keeping supplies moving. \u201cWithin the logistics sector, there are still people hiring,\u201d says Gary Allen, vice president of supply chain with Miami-based Ryder Supply Chain Solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as important, some shippers do not have the resources needed to develop new capabilities or to monitor technological advances in logistics. Instead, many ask their logistics partners to keep abreast of emerging technologies and then use their knowledge to drive solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Ahead of the Curve<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

The goal of Ryder\u2019s innovation and product development group is \u201cto get ahead of the curve regarding what\u2019s next,\u201d Allen says. One result is the Coop platform. Developed within Ryder, Coop connects fleet managers who have idle vehicles with businesses interested in renting them.\u00a0Lenders on the site report average monthly earnings of more than $3,000 per single truck, and $4,000 for a sleeper truck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because innovation also occurs outside logistics companies, a number of logistics providers monitor and evaluate emerging technologies. \u201cOur customers don\u2019t necessarily have the time to stay in touch with everything going on in emerging technology, especially in supply chain,\u201d says Andy Moses, senior vice president of global products with Penske Logistics. To assist them, Penske\u2019s emerging technologies team uses both internal and external resources to monitor emerging technologies such as blockchain and 5G.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPenske doesn\u2019t pick winners and losers,\u201d notes Moses. Instead, they stay up on the key players in each technology sector, potential headwinds, and changes likely to occur in the near or mid term.<\/span><\/p>\n

Innovation Station<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Several years ago, customers of Kenco Group began asking the third-party logistics (3PL) provider to look at innovation that might help them. At the same time, Kenco leadership was working to identify the steps needed to remain competitive in the future, says Kristi Montgomery, vice president of innovation, research, and development, and director of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based firm\u2019s innovation lab.<\/span><\/p>\n

One result is a 10,000-square-foot working warehouse, complete with racking, a forklift, pick areas, and other features found in typical warehouses. \u201cThe lab allows us to test technologies,\u201d Montgomery says, and determine which will likely work for different customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, a consumer packaged goods company was considering implementing robotics as the volume of its smaller e-commerce orders grew. Kenco tested various options and concluded that an autonomous tugging solution that could carry a larger product assortment than some other robots would provide the efficiency the company needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

By design, the lab is not a \u201cshowcase, but a working warehouse,\u201d Montgomery says. This allows Kenco to test products in an environment that mimics real life\u2014that is, with noise and fans and other attributes common in warehouses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The term \u201cresearch and development\u201d often prompts images of expansive laboratories with equally mammoth price tags. But it\u2019s possible to incorporate innovation on a smaller scale. For instance, conversations with customers prompted Zipline to develop KanoPI, its logistics technology suite.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of Zipline\u2019s customers are mid-market businesses, and yet they were competing with firms that had invested millions in transportation management systems (TMS)\u2014an option beyond many budgets. \u201cThey need a transportation management partner, and not just software,\u201d Lynch says. While Zipline maintains KanoPI, its customers can access order information, see their freight in transit, and request quotes, among other capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ideas received through Zipline\u2019s innovation lab also generate internal efficiencies, such as a suggestion to create an application program interface connection between KanoPI and its less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, cutting the need to manually update progress on different shipments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt saves time for our team and our LTL partners,\u201d Lynch says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Education Nation<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

To develop their workforces and enhance innovation initiatives, a number of logistics firms partner with universities and even high schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

College internships help Gebr\u00fcder Weiss (GW) identify talented students while also providing them with opportunity, says Mark McCullough, U.S. chief executive officer; the company\u2019s global headquarters are in Vorarlberg, Austria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students typically remain with GW for about six months, working around their class schedules. On the job, they\u2019re \u201cdiving into real-world logistics, managing their own accounts and addressing actual logistics challenges,\u201d says Sandra Musielak, human resources manager. \u201cThey\u2019re not just going for coffee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

GW also offers Orange College, an interactive mini-university available to all employees. Subjects include freight forwarding basics, customer service, and compliance with different regulatory bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cohabitation Realization<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

At Georgia Tech, university-business partnerships tend to fall into several groups, says Tim Brown, managing director of the school\u2019s Supply Chain and Logistics Institute. One-to-one collaborations between the university and a company can range from one semester to several years. A company might partner with the school for several years, for instance, to conduct an in-depth study of a new containerization approach across a 3PL network.<\/span><\/p>\n

An increasingly popular approach is what Brown calls the \u201ccohabitation of industry and academia.\u201d Georgia Tech\u2019s Advanced Technology Development Center, a business incubator, provides space and expertise to startups in a range of industries. Nearby, a growing number of established companies are building offices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt creates an intermingling of faculty, students, researchers, startups, and established companies,\u201d Brown says.<\/span><\/p>\n

What distinguishes a university partnership from a traditional consulting arrangement? Yossi Sheffi, director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, points out a few differences. \u201cIf we know the conclusion to the problem, the school won\u2019t work on it,\u201d he says. For instance, organizations shouldn\u2019t expect to partner with the university to help with a software installation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students are always involved in these collaborations. \u201cIt\u2019s part of their learning,\u201d Sheffi says. In addition, a researcher needs to be interested in the problem. \u201cThere are more problems than researchers,\u201d he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, MIT never commits to delivering a specific solution. \u201cWe promise our best effort,\u201d Sheffi says. \u201cBut there may not be a solution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few logistics firms are reaching out to high schools. A group of high school students helped Kenco improve dock door turn time and reduce detention charges stemming from drivers who had to wait to load or unload their trailers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their solution? Place large television sets that act as monitors at each dock door and display data, such as order number and due-out time. The background color changes from green to yellow when the due-out time hits 30 minutes, and a red background means due-out time has passed. A supervisor at a facility with dozens of doors can easily see which are bumping against deadlines. Among other benefits, the solution has reduced detention charges and boosted performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

While innovation and education are key to advancing technology, they\u2019re also critical to enhancing skills such as leadership and quality management. \u201cWe need engaged workers,\u201d says Hiram Hartnett, executive vice president of sales with Pegasus Logistics, based in Coppell, Texas. He adds that 80% of most problems are people related.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pegasus Logistics\u2019 Leadership Training Program extends for eight months, during which students participate in workshops on leadership effectiveness, retention and talent development, and delegation. \u201cThe focus is on leadership, learning, and management,\u201d Hartnett says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another program, Level Up, will launch later in 2020 to prepare participants to \u201cbetter understand the levers used to manage the business,\u201d Hartnett says. To that end, it will offer exercises in managing conflict and analyzing financial statements, among other subjects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research, education, and innovation are helping logistics firms advance both their technology and their workforce. All parties involved\u2014the logistics firms, their employees, and their clients\u2014benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
From Economic Development to Talent Development<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Several years ago, when leadership at KC SmartPort talked with different companies, they learned labor and workforce concerns had risen to the top of the list when evaluating new markets, along with real estate and the cost of doing business, says Elli Bowen, KC SmartPort\u2019s vice president of business development.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, KC SmartPort, a nonprofit economic development organization\u00a0working to attract freight-based companies to the Kansas City region, increased its focus on workforce development.<\/span><\/p>\n

To address the skills and interests gaps, the organization reached out to universities, community colleges, and even high schools. A number of these institutions now offer supply chain programs. One example is a range of programs in railroad conducting offered through a partnership between the National Academy of Railroad Sciences, Johnson County Community College, and BNSF Railway.<\/span><\/p>\n

These initiatives reach students who may not have been aware of the opportunities in the supply chain field. \u201cWe\u2019re shifting the mindset of what it means to be in supply chain,\u201d Bowen says.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Driver Training Gets Real<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
\n

About 15 years ago, faced with older drivers retiring and other drivers using increasingly advanced technical tools, UPS started examining its driver training procedures, says Jon Bowers, director of learning technology at UPS.<\/span><\/p>\n

By leveraging a $1.8 million grant from the Department of Labor and collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Virginia Tech, and the Institute for the Future, UPS built a high-tech, next-generation training facility: UPS Integrad. Ten Integrad sites are now located across the United States, along with two international sites.<\/span><\/p>\n

A key feature is Integrad\u2019s replica outdoor city, Clarkville, which boasts real streets, street signs, sidewalks, and simulated commercial and residential delivery and pickup sites. Students maneuver their trucks and pick up and deliver packages throughout the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

This \u201cexperiential learning\u201d has helped boost safety, performance, and employee retention, Bowers says.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Karen Kroll<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.inboundlogistics.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The writing is on the wall. Logistics and supply chain companies that invest in ongoing education, innovation, and research can attract new talent and better serve customers. When Andrew Lynch started in the logistics business nearly 20 years ago, he had to learn the distance between hundreds of routes\u2014say, from Ashtabula, Ohio, to Edison, New…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[32],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6893,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891\/revisions\/6893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}