NOTED: Supply Chain Highlights
↑ Estes partnered with Watershed, an enterprise sustainability platform, to assess and set benchmarks against its sustainability program. The initial phase will be to complete Estes’ first carbon footprint, which it will use as a baseline to analyze its emissions data and identify emissions hot spots.
Green Seeds
• Wen-Parker Logistics has entered a partnership with 4ocean to help remove up to 20,000 pounds of plastic and trash from the oceans, rivers, and coastlines.
UP THE CHAIN
← J.B. Hunt Transport Services appointed Shelley Simpson as chief executive officer and president, and nominated her for election to the company’s board of directors. Simpson has served as the company’s president since August 2022.
→ Robert Kossick will join A.N. Deringer’s Trade Advisory Group as a senior trade advisor. Kossick is a licensed customs broker, an attorney whose practice experience has centered on customs and trade issues, and a member of the Washington District Export Council.
SEALED DEALS
↑ Kilcoy Global Foods deployed the Nexterus transportation management system to help manage freight and improve freight spend reporting. Kilcoy provides high-quality food products to independent restaurants and national chains.
• Ice company Arctic Glacier has improved distribution network efficiency, fleet performance, and the customer experience by using Descartes’ strategic route planning solution to optimize ice distribution from 100+ facilities and 1,000 vehicles to 75,000 customer locations across the United States and Canada.
• flaconi, a German beauty and perfume e-retailer, selected GreyOrange’s GreyMatter fulfillment orchestration platform in combination with a fleet of 70 GreyOrange Ranger Assist robots to attain peak season flexibility in the warehouse.
↑ As part of a new multi-year agreement with RightHand Robotics, Staples will deploy and install the company’s RightPick item-handling system to automate operations for higher service levels and next-day delivery to 98% of the United States.
M&A
↑ The Kenan Advantage Group (KAG) acquired Northern Dry Bulk, a Clare, Michigan-based company specializing in the transportation and storage of plastic resins in the United States and Canada.
• Armada Sunset Holdings acquired ATEC Systems and its affiliates. ATEC will operate as a division of Armada Supply Chain Solutions, the company’s food and restaurant logistics operation.
• Cheetah Net Supply Chain Service completed its acquisition of Edward Transit Express Group, a California-based global inbound non-vessel-operating common carrier providing ocean and air transportation services.
• Accenture will acquire Insight Sourcing, a strategic sourcing and procurement services provider.
• Cleveland-based KODIS Holdings, a collection of niche logistics companies, completed the acquisition of Syracuse-based Empire Freight Logistics.
• RD Last Mile Holdings, a final-mile delivery company headquartered in Omaha, acquired the assets of Sonic Systems, a provider of customized and final-mile logistics services in Florida.
Milestone
↑ CB Customs Broker, a Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary, customs-cleared 50 million shipments in just three years. The company specializes in all aspects of customs and customs clearance for import and export shipments by air, sea, rail or road.
RECOGNITION
↑ The Hyster® H40-70A forklift series is a winner of the 2023 GOOD DESIGN® Award. The H40-70A models, which are available with 4,000-to-7,000-pound lift capacities, are designed around a singular base configuration derived from direct feedback from operators, managers, technicians, safety coordinators and other professionals. From there, operations can tailor additional features, creating a forklift based on their specific application.
• Kaleris was named the overall leader in the Yard Management System Competitive Ranking by technology intelligence expert ABI Research. The Kaleris yard management system was the highest-performing solution across multiple categories, earning both Top Innovator and Top Implementor rankings, which culminated in the overall leader ranking.
↑ The Allen Lund Company was designated a 2023 Warehouse Delivered Carrier of the Year for PepsiCo’s Central and North Divisions.
• AutoScheduler.ai won the BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition, taking home both the Judge’s Choice and the People’s Choice Awards. Awards included $5,000 provided by former Shark Tank winner Venti and $10,000 in services by Benesch.
• IntelliShift was selected as winner of the IoT Analytics Company of the Year for the second year in a row in the 8th annual IoT Breakthrough Awards program conducted by IoT Breakthrough, a market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global Internet of Things market.
↑ Schneider National received the National Safety Council’s Green Cross for Safety Advocate Award for the company’s work piloting technology to combat impaired driving. The NSC’s safety awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to the advancement of safety in the workplace, on the road and in homes and communities.