DC Velocity - August 2016

4 DC VELOCITY AUGUST 2016 www.dcvelocity.com inbound

Here’s our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

; Jerry Moyes, owner of the Phoenix-based trucking company Swift Transportation Co., has donated $5 million to Utah’s Weber State University to help establish a supply chain management program. In recognition of the gift, the program will be named the Jerry and Vickie Moyes Center for Supply Chain Excellence within the John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics. Jerry Moyes graduated from the Goddard School in 1966 and went on to launch his career in the trucking and logistics business.

; Atlanta-based freight and logistics giant UPS Inc. will award more than $7.4 million to 36 different organizations that support inclusiveness and economic empowerment opportunities for women and diverse populations across the globe. Recipients include Accion International, a nonprofit that provides affordable financial services to women in Nigeria; the Cuban American National Council and its Financial Literacy and First Time Homebuyer Education Workshops; the Muhammad Ali Center’s UCREW Program, which provides students with opportunities to learn the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship; and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing’s Knowledge Center website.

; BM W Manufacturing Co. LLC of Spartanburg, S.C., supported 30 students in its fifth class of BMW Scholars, providing tuition assistance as the students worked their way through a two-year apprenticeship program. After graduating from one of three schools—Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College, or Tri-County Technical College—BMW Scholars are hired at the BMW plant as logistics, production, automotive, or equipment service associates.

Logistics gives back

Moving freight across the country by rail is a complex task under the best of conditions. Throw extreme weather conditions into the mix, and the job gets even tougher—how can a freight carrier adjust its operations to something as unpredictable as the weather?

Union Pacific Railroad Co. believes it has found a solution: AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions’ track-specific storm warnings. In contrast to generic weather forecasts that focus on static population centers like cities and highways, these customized Accu Weather forecasts track conditions around moving assets and remote sites.

That capability made a crucial difference on May 25, when the service notified Union Pacific that an EF-4 tornado was predicted to cross its tracks just west of Chapman, Kan. Within 25 minutes of the warning, the railroad stopped eight trains that were scheduled to pass through the area. Inspectors later found that the storm’s winds of 166 to 200 mph had shifted their steel rails by 18 inches—which would virtually guarantee derailment for trains engineered to run on tracks that are precisely 4 feet, 8. 5 inches apart.

A new twist on
forecasting?

Supply chain management professionals from across the nation will gather in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 17 for MHI’s Annual Conference. With a focus on four themes identified by the “U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics” and the “MHI 2016 Annual Industry Report,” the event will offer tracks on building the future supply chain work force, managing change, the impact of automation and big data on supply chains, and investing in material handling solutions for future success.

This year’s agenda includes four keynote addresses. Two executives from the drone operations firm Skyward will deliver a talk titled “Scanners Taking Flight: The World of Warehouse Sensing Is Changing.” Buddy Bush from JB Training Solutions will give an address titled “Millennials Mean Business: Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Leaders.” Economist Jason Schenker from Prestige Economics will deliver an economic outlook. And Vivek Wadhwa, Duke University’s director of research, will offer “A Tour of our Amazing—and Scary—Technofuture.” Register online at www.mhi.org/conference/.