DC Velocity - January 2018

inbound

As the legal weed business goes mainstream, entrepreneurs are rushing to roll out support services tailored to the trade. Recent entries have included specialized e-commerce platforms and dedicated transportation and warehousing services. But the nascent industry still faces some challenges, particularly when it comes to regulatory compliance and banking.

That may be about to change. Word has it that several startups are working on ways to use blockchain—the digital ledger technology that some say will revolutionize the banking and financial services industries—to fill the marijuana tracking and documentation gap. These entrepreneurs include Toronto-based software developer Blox Labs Inc. and Vancouver-based weed distributor Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd., which are developing a blockchain-based “smart contract” supply chain management platform for the legalized cannabis industry. The “cannaBLOX” platform will help ease logistical bottlenecks, ensure product safety, minimize fraud, and assist with taxation and regulatory compliance, according to the joint partners.

Another technology provider, Newport Beach, Calif.-based Budbo, is also applying blockchain to the marijuana marketplace. Budbo’s software application will use the technology to standardize interactions between cannabis users, dispensaries, and couriers, tracking marijuana movements “from seed to sale,” the firm says. Budbo is funding its product development by launching a token sale, a fundraising strategy in which a company sells virtual coins representing shares in a cryptocurrency.

Blockchain for the potchain

Turning a profit can be tough for brick-and-mortar stores, which often struggle to cover the combined costs of rent, inventory, and, especially, labor. But what if a retailer could operate stores without any employees at all?

One of the world’s largest retailers,
China’s JD.com, is taking steps in that
direction. JD announced in December
that it plans to open a string of unmanned
convenience stores across that country.
The retailer said it will partner with the
Chinese real estate developer China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd.
(COLI) to open hundreds of retail outlets that replace clerks and cashiers
with “smart store solutions.”
JD says it has been testing the concept at its Beijing headquarters since
October, using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology as well as
facial and image recognition to track customers’ movements and product
selection. In the first few months of operation, the headquarters store has
seen an average daily customer flow of around 1,000 people and a repeat
purchasing rate nearing 70 percent, the company says.

Future versions of the smart stores are expected to incorporate JD’s “smart logistics” solutions such as autonomous vehicles for last-mile delivery and an automated pharmacy, featuring a vending machine that can hold up to 1,500 boxes of medicine and that replenishes its own inventory by connecting to JD’s “smart supply chain.”

No help needed. Really.

Lift truck manufacturer Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA) has chosen three research projects for its funded research program to develop supply chain technologies, the company said in December. This year’s winning projects focus on warehouse automation, electric vehicles, and Industry 4.0.

This is the second year for the TMHNA University Research Program, which promotes the development of next-generation technologies for supply chain, logistics, and material handling industry applications. As part of the program, the lift truck maker solicits proposals from universities across North America and then provides funding for the most promising ones. Selected proposals will receive financial support of up to $500,000 per year.

This year’s winning proposals were selected from a field of candidates solicited from more than 60 leading universities. They include: “Intelligent Material Handling (iMH) Systems for Warehouse Applications,” a proposal submitted by Michael Kuhl of the Rochester Institute of Technology; “A Unified Dynamic Control for Energy-Aware Electrical Vehicle Operations,” submitted by Seok Gi Lee of the University of Miami; and “A Modeling Framework for Material Handling for Industry 4.0,” submitted by Kevin Gue of the University of Louisville.

“The research this program generates fuels our industry’s future technological advancements,” TMHNA President and Chief Executive Officer Brett Wood said in a statement. “In our continued collaboration with top universities, professors, and researchers, we are excited to see how their work will impact our industry and the warehouse of the future.”