inbound
Innovations that will
transform transportation
It’s hard enough to keep up with the technological advances that are transforming
almost every aspect of transportation—
never mind predict where new innovations
might lead. But Connected World:
Transforming Travel, Transportation, and
Supply Chains, a new report issued by the
World Economic Forum and the Boston
Consulting Group, takes a stab at identifying the innovations that could have the
greatest impact on transportation by 2025.
Here are three examples:
▪ A traffic management system for
megacities would integrate and process up-to-the-minute information from vehicles,
travel infrastructure, individuals, and the
environment to manage traffic in urban
areas. Before congestion reaches a crisis
point, the system would reroute drivers or
adjust tolls to encourage alternate routes.
▪ A “smart” visa system would eliminate
the long lines at airport screening points
and land border crossings, simultaneously
enhancing security. Visa applications would
be standardized across multiple countries
with data available to officials in participating nations. Biometric identity checks
would speed up customs processing.
▪ A real-time tracking system for optimizing logistics would solve many problems associated with “last-mile” deliveries.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
chips would be incorporated into product
packaging and used to track the real-time
location of items as well as other factors,
such as the average temperature during
shipping and the carbon emissions associated with the shipping of the product.
The report noted that although some of
these technologies exist today, widespread
implementation will require surmounting
institutional barriers. The main obstacle is
the lack of cooperation across industries
and public agencies, the report said.
Additional challenges include concerns
about data ownership, data privacy, and
resilience against cyberattacks.
A copy of the report is available at
http://wef.ch/connectedworld. ;
Uplifting outlook for pallets
We tend to take pallets for granted, but in fact they are big business—so big that by 2017, U.S. demand for new pallets will reach 1. 3
billion units, while the total number in use will be twice that. Those
figures come from Pallets to 2017, a
300-page market study on pallets by
Freedonia Group, a Cleveland, Ohio-based research and analysis firm.
There are three main factors behind
the projected jump in demand, the
report says. First is the rising number of
shipments as the U.S. economy
improves. Second is the need to replace
the lower-cost refurbished wooden pallets that many companies
bought during the recession. And third, the report predicts, many
manufacturers will replace existing stringer pallets with block versions.
Although wood pallets will remain by far the most common type of
equipment, plastic and metal platforms will see above-average increases in production and demand over the next four years, the report says.
Pallets to 2017 provides detailed statistics and analyses of various
aspects of the pallet market as well as profiles of 55 pallet suppliers
and service providers. All that information is costly—the full report
sells for $5, 100. But if your budget’s tight, fear not: Freedonia says it
will sell individual pages and chapters from the report beginning in
August. More details are available at www.freedoniagroup.com. ;
There are plenty of educational logistics- and supply chain-related
videos on You Tube. But did you know that there also are some humorous offerings? The quality (in terms of both humor and production
values) is all over the map, but they offer a welcome break from late-night work sessions. Just a few examples:
▪ “Logistically challenged: A lot less than truckload,” posted by
1TradeLogistics, has a boss’s son (who appears to be channeling the
character Michael Scott of “The Office”) forcing a skeptical traffic
manager to turn an LTL shipment over to a “trucker” he found on
Craigslist. ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4AkooaLO1Q)
▪ “Moving up the supply chain” pokes fun at how buyers put pressure on suppliers and expect them to take all the risk for very little
return. ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9y-Utsj79c)
▪ Kinaxis, a provider of supply chain management software, has created several video series: “Married to the Job” features husband and
wife supply chain managers who take different approaches to problem-solving. “New Kinexions” is a series of commercials personifying
bad supply chain software as annoying ex-girlfriends or boyfriends.
And then there’s the witty and well-acted “Suitemates,” about the
sleazy CEOs of two enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
firms who end up as cellmates in prison after their companies complete a dubious merger. To find them, search “Kinaxis” on You Tube. ;
Supply chain humor pops up on YouTube
