BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR
PARCEL EXPRESS
transportationreport
Eyes on Eyes on
the skies the skies
Cloud-based technology
is being hailed as the next
big thing in the parcel
management sector.
But first, providers have
to allay shippers’ concerns
over cost, reliability,
and data security.
IN APRIL, THE U.S. DIVISION OF THE BRITISH FIRM KEWILL
PLC, a major player in the parcel technology segment, met in
Nashville, Tenn., to hold its annual customer conference, which
was dominated by the company’s parcel clientele.
Although the conference covered various topics, the most popular, according to those in attendance, was the symposium on cloud
computing.
The popularity of the cloud session is not surprising. Like other
businesses, parcel shippers and providers have heard their share of
glowing reports about the edge afforded by cloud computing, leaving them eager to learn how the technology could be integrated
into their own operations and how it could offer a different—and
potentially better—way of managing their parcel affairs.
“The whole topic of shipping spend management tends to
revolve around things going out the loading dock, not what happens in the offices above the loading dock,” said Peter Starvaski,
director of product management, parcel shipping, for Kewill. “That
spend—and the policies that go along with it—tends to be a black
