newsworthy
One World Direct puts shoe on other foot with Sanyo acquisition
The nascent convergence of e-commerce and logistics has
been led for the most part by traditional third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). Established 3PL firms like
Menlo Worldwide Logistics, UPS Supply Chain Solutions,
and MIQ Logistics, among others, have offered e-commerce
services as a natural extension of their service portfolios.
Thomas Unterseher, however, plans to move the needle
by reversing its direction. Unterseher, CEO of One World
Direct, spearheaded in early June the purchase of Sanyo
Logistics Corp., the former 3PL unit of the Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp. Under the acquisition, terms
of which were not disclosed, Mobridge, S.D.-based One
World will acquire Sanyo’s client base, its staff, and its
500,000-square-foot facility outside Los Angeles.
Unterseher sees the Sanyo acquisition as a normal pro-
gression of both his company and of e-commerce. The 19-
year-old company began in physical distribution but soon
refocused its model on direct-to-consumer fulfillment, 24/7
call center, and e-commerce services to mirror the
Internet’s growing relevance. Along the way, it dropped
“Distribution” from its name and replaced it with “Direct.”
Today, large manufacturers, some of whom are former
Sanyo Logistics customers, are struggling with the nuances
of e-commerce, according to Unterseher. They see the
potential but also the daunting economics of scale of devel-
oping in-house e-fulfillment services. The plan, he said, will
be to marry the digital and the physical worlds to give cus-
tomers the full platform without the hassle of running it
themselves.
short takes
FedEx Corp. has acquired businesses in South Africa,
Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia. All of the
businesses are operated by Supaswift (PTY) Ltd., FedEx’s
service partner on the African continent. … Crown
Equipment Corp. has released its 2013 “ecologic report,”
which highlights the company’s global efforts to minimize waste, manage energy use, and maximize product
and facility lifespan. Crown has also opened a company-owned branch in the Cleveland area. … Wynright Corp.,
a provider of intelligent material handling systems, has
agreed to acquire the software and controls group of
BoxLogix Automation, a Wisconsin-based systems integrator. … Hannibal Industries Inc., a storage systems
manufacturer and provider, has produced a white paper,
“TubeRack: A Revolution in Steel Pallet Storage Rack
Systems.” … A five-minute video from machine vision
company Vitronic demonstrates how its VICAMsnap!
multicode reader can be used for tasks such as sorting
and picking goods. … ITW Muller, a manufacturer of
stretch wrap equipment and stretch wrap film, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Octopus rotary ring
stretch wrapping machines. … Penske Truck Leasing has
ordered 100 compressed natural gas (CNG) Freightliner
Cascadia tractors equipped with Cummins Westport 12-
liter engines. … Combi Packaging Systems LLC has intro-
duced the TBS-100SA and TBS-100100FC sanitary top and
bottom case sealers. … To better serve customers making
smaller shipments to Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and
Central America from the U.S. Midwest, Crowley
Maritime Corp.’s logistics group is launching a new weekly less-than-container load (LCL) service from Chicago. …
With the launch of two new services—the ISC-Bangladesh
Service and the Intra-Gulf Service—Evergreen Line will
enhance its service network in the Indian subcontinent
and the Gulf. … A new white paper from contract logistics provider Exel offers energy companies advice on how
to optimize indirect material supply chain performance.
The company has also published a new automotive white
paper in which it argues that the automotive industry
should re-evaluate its approach to supply chain management and logistics. … Transwide has updated its transportation management solution so that it can calculate
and analyze the impact of the French “Ecotaxe,” which
takes effect on Oct. 1. … Seagull Scientific has released
BarTender 10. 1, the latest version of its software for
designing, printing, and automating the production of
bar codes, labels, cards, RFID tags, and more. … Santana
Equipment Trading Co., a buyer and seller of used material handling equipment, has completed the first year of
its social media marketing program.
