DC Velocity - July 2011

Is your supply chain ready to support mobile commerce? If not, you’d better get a move on. Based on what we heard at two software user conferences—RedPrairie’s RedShift and Manhattan’s Momentum—you’re already behind the times.

Mobile commerce was a white-hot topic at both events. The term refers to technology that allows consumers to shop on the move, using devices such as smart phones to research and even purchase items. This increasingly popular technology is already affecting retailers’ supply chains, according to speakers at the two conferences.

The growth of mobile commerce has major implications for inventory management, particularly replenishment. Consumers who visit a retail store and don’t find what they want on the shelf are apt to use their smart phones to check on those items’ availability and pricing at other retail outlets—which could result in their making their purchases elsewhere. That means out-of-stocks are more likely than ever to lead to lost sales. To prevent this, retailers may need to invest in more inventory. That, in turn, will affect logistics organizations, which will have to change their delivery systems to satisfy consumers seeking instant gratification.

Not ready for mobile commerce?
Better get moving

Sealed Air, the maker of Bubble Wrap cushioning material, has long said its “pop-ular” product has many uses besides protecting shipments from damage. In fact, you can get quite creative with the bubbly stuff.

That’s the point of the annual Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors. This nationwide competition invites students in grades six through eight to submit inventions that incorporate the air-filled cushioning material.

This year’s grand prize winner was Lillith Bulawa of Ava, N.Y. Bulawa’s winning entry was the “Floating Garden of Bubble-On,” a garden that floats on water with the aid of Bubble Wrap cushioning. The self-watering garden, designed to help save crops in flood zones, sits in a box atop a raft that’s made buoyant by Bubble Wrap material.

The second place winner was Autumn Trogdon of Windsor, Calif., who designed a protective cell phone case made of Bubble Wrap.

Third place honors went to Mackenzie Conkling of Massapequa, N.Y., for her “Uber Bubble Glove,” a glove insulated with layers of Bubble Wrap to help people affected by ailments like Raynaud’s Disease keep their hands warm.

The Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors is administered in conjunction with Scholastic, the children’s publishing, education, and media company. To read more about the winners and their designs, visit www.bubblewrapcompetition.com.

Creativity bubbles up at annual competition
inbound

Truck fleets have tried any number of tactics to retain drivers, but if a recent survey is any indication, they might do better to focus on a few basic elements. A study of 164 German truck drivers showed that drivers mainly care about four things: job security, good relationships, a company-provided cell phone, and their own truck. The study findings were presented by Prof. Günter Prockl of the Copenhagen Business School at the CSCMP Europe 2011 Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

When asked how they felt about their jobs, 34 percent of the drivers said they were satisfied, while 27 percent were dissatisfied and 39 percent indifferent. Their most common concern: unspecified “annoyances in working conditions,” cited by 34 percent.

“Resources” also played an important role in drivers’ job satisfaction. When asked what kept them happy on the job, 98 percent cited a dedicated truck and 92 percent said a company-provided mobile phone. In addition, 93 percent pointed to good relationships with their superiors. The study also found a correlation between job security and satisfaction.

What (German) truck
drivers want

Alan Haberman, one of the prime movers behind the global push for automatic identification, died last month at the age of 81. Haberman, a former supermarket executive, led the committee that in 1973 chose the bar code as the vehicle for conveying the new Universal Product Code (UPC) product identifier. He spent decades promoting its use and that of other auto ID technologies, once comparing the UPC to “one language, a kind of Esperanto” that makes commercial transactions universally comprehensible.

Haberman was a longtime member of the board of governors of the Uniform Code Council, now known as GS1 US, the not-for-profit group that establishes various codes and standards. He also had a hand in the creation of the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.