newsworthy
UPS Freight rolls out pickup notification service
UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) unit of UPS Inc., has launched
an online pickup notification service for LTL shippers, a significant leap
for a segment of the transportation industry not known for its technological savvy.
Under the free service, UPS Freight shippers will receive near real-time
information confirming when a pickup is scheduled, telling them when a
UPS driver is en route to the pickup location, and notifying them when
the pickup is made. Pickup notifications can be transmitted to up to five
different e-mail addresses per transaction, said UPS Freight.
Traditionally, shippers seeking status updates on their pickups would
either have to call UPS or send an electronic data interchange (EDI) message if they were set up to do so.
Although the traditional process was widely seen as inefficient and burdensome, shippers didn’t have an alternative if they wanted to stay in
touch with their carriers to manage shipment pickups. Adding to the confusion was the fact that many companies ship from multiple locations,
and that LTL, unlike the small-package segment, does not have regular
pickups and deliveries with drivers making daily scheduled stops even if
there aren’t any packages to pick up.
“The number of missed pickups on the LTL side is larger than you
think,” Tod Webster, UPS Freight’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, said in an interview with DC VELOCITY.
Webster said the new service would benefit shippers by eliminating the
hassle of making phone calls or sending multiple e-mails to check on the
status of their pickups. UPS Freight itself will gain because the service
enables dispatchers and drivers to plan their routes and schedules, no easy
task in an unpredictable business where carriers already struggle to meet
shipper deadlines while ensuring there’s enough space aboard a vehicle to
accept the freight. “It’s a juggling act for dispatch to determine how much
room is on the truck” before it arrives at a shipper’s dock to retrieve the
freight, Webster said. ;
ground breakers
Storage systems provider Mecalux will fully automate the new 19,700-
square-foot Petrobras distribution facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The
new warehouse has a 16,000-pallet storage capacity and five double-deep stacker cranes, allowing Petrobras to move 140 pallets per hour.
Petrobras is Brazil’s largest oil company. … Global locomotive manufacturing giant Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) and its third-party
logistics service provider, APL Logistics, have opened a 50,000-square-
foot production and warehousing facility in Patli, India. … DHL has
completed the expansion of its hub at the Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky Airport. The expansion, which cost $22 million, included the
widening of the existing parking apron to allow for nine additional
wide-body aircraft and nine new aircraft gates. … Third-party logistics
service provider Performance Team is opening five new locations
across the United States. The facilities are located in Redlands, Calif.;
Fontana, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C. (two locations); and Shreveport, La.
newsmakers
Colman Roche has been named executive vice president at Sapient
Automation. … William Cikos has
been appointed director of finance
and administration for Purolator
International, a provider of
U.S.–Canada logistics services. In his
new position, Cikos will oversee all
financial aspects of the global services organization. … Chris Hines has
been named the new executive vice
president of Zonar, a specialist in
fleet management solutions. …
Globe Express Services (Overseas
Group) has appointed Gregory
Tampas as president of its Americas
region. … Barcoding Inc. has promoted Martin Jack to chief technology
officer. … Clark Material Handing Co.
has appointed Corey
Rogers sales manager,
North America. … Jim
Stillings has been
named chief human
resources officer of
global third-party
logistics firm Jacobson
Companies. Stillings joins Jacobson
after a 20-year career with GE. … UPS
has appointed Jim Barber, a 26-year
UPS veteran, president of the UPS
Europe Region with responsibility for
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
… Western Pacific Storage Solutions,
headquartered in San Dimas, Calif.,
has added two new territory managers. Bill Edgy will assume responsibility for sales in the Southeast, while
Bruce Marks will be managing business development in the Northeast
and Eastern Canada. … Craig
Grossgart has joined Ceva Logistics as
vice president of ocean freight for
the Americas region. … Kyle
Goodman has joined MIQ Logistics’
sales team as a business development
manager. … Bill Schwar has been
named vice president of exhibit services at YRC. … RWI Transportation, an
asset-based logistics company, has
promoted Robert Savage to director,
logistics services.
ROGERS
