DC Velocity - June 2016

4 DC VELOCITY JUNE 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.

; Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Pacific Railway will donate $77,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support fire relief efforts in and around Fort McMurray, Alberta. The company will also match employees’ donations to offer relief to those displaced by the 1. 2 million-acre wildfire.

; Atlanta-based logistics giant UPS Inc. committed $500,000 to aid in response and recovery efforts following the earthquake that struck Ecuador in April. The funds will help provide urgent relief and on-the-ground logistics support via the United Nations Logistics Cluster’s Logistics Emergency Teams. UPS is also providing in-kind logistics support, such as 767 relief flights, and has provided additional funding to the World Food Programme.

; The California-based Port of Long Beach will help found a specialized “Academy of Global Logistics” at nearby Cabrillo High School, coordinating with the school board to create a four-year global trade and logistics pathway. The port also awarded college scholarships worth a total of $59,500 to 40 students at regional high schools and colleges.

; Lowell, Ark.-based truckload and logistics giant J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is giving $5 million to the Arkansas Children’s Northwest construction project. A satellite of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, the new Springdale, Ark., facility will bring expert pediatric care close to home for more than 200,000 children.

Logistics gives back

It sounds like it could be the windup for a joke: An astronaut, a digital technology expert, and a drummer speak at a supply chain conference. But it’s actually going to happen in September. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) recently released the line-up of general session speakers for its upcoming annual conference, and all three were on the list.

Though they may have no obvious connection to supply chain management, CSCMP says there’s a reason for its picks. It hopes that these diverse presenters will provide insights that will inspire attendees to think about their careers and organizations in new ways.

The conference, which takes place from Sept. 25 to 28 in Kissimmee, Fla., will kick off with an address by Captain Scott Kelly, a U.S. astronaut who recently returned from spending a year on board the International Space Station. Kelly will talk about pushing one’s own limits and what it takes to survive in demanding conditions.

The following day, attendees will have the opportunity to hear a presentation by Seth Bodnar, chief digital officer for GE Transportation. Bodnar will talk about ways to bring machines, data, insights, and people together to create real-time connectivity and data intelligence.

Mark Schulman will close out the conference with a look at how habits and practices used by great musical performers can be translated into the corporate world. Schulman is a world-renowned drummer who has performed with the likes of Pink, Beyoncé, Cher, Billy Idol, Foreigner, and Sheryl Crow, to name just a few. To register for the conference, go to https://cscmp.org.

CSCMP conference kicks off in Florida Sept. 25

When it comes to vehicles of the future, the story doesn’t end with aerial drones and driverless cars and trucks. For the past few years, the iconic automotive company Rolls-Royce has been at work designing another kind of unmanned conveyance: the cargo ship.

In March, the company unveiled its vision of the land-based control centers it believes will allow small crews to remotely monitor and control unmanned ships of the future. According to plans for what the company calls the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA), a land-based crew of seven to 14 people could monitor and control distant ships using tools like interactive screens, voice recognition systems, and holograms.

In the event of trouble or lost communications, they could launch surveillance drones from each ship and watch real-time video to get an overhead view or to monitor nearby events. Staff could also stream sound from on-board microphones to help them diagnose mechanical problems by listening to engine noise.

Rolls-Royce has released a six-minute film summarizing its research into these “shore control centers” and laying out its plan to build a demonstration version by 2020. You can watch it at https://youtube/vg0A9Ve7SxE.