DC Velocity - September 2018

newsworthy

Truck routing software developer Wise Systems Inc. said it has launched a portal that gives delivery companies the ability to share key information and status updates with their customers.

The portal is an addition to Cambridge, Mass.-based Wise Systems’ “Autonomous Dispatching and Routing” platform and is intended to help subscribers enhance their businesses with improved customer service, the company said. For companies using the platform, the portal also reduces delays caused by customers not prepared to receive deliveries, according to Wise.

Wise Systems says it is targeting the software product at users in the food and beverage, parcel delivery, passenger transportation, retail, auto parts, less than truckload (LTL), field service, and business products sectors.

From customers’ point of view, the portal helps delivery recipients plan their day by sending them an e-mail or text link that lets them track the driver’s progress throughout the day, including that driver’s location on a map and his or her estimated time of arrival (ETA), the firm said. Customers can also opt to receive notifications in real time if there are delays or when the driver is about to arrive.

Wise’s Autonomous Dispatching and Routing platform automatically schedules routes, monitors routes in progress, and adjusts to day-of delays on the ground, using machine learning to continuously improve its decision-making over time. The system includes Wise Scheduler, Wise On-Demand Dispatch, Wise Dispatcher, Wise Drive, Wise Analytics and, now, Wise Customer Portal.

Walgreens expanding Ohio DC to
more than 1 million square feet

Drugstore giant Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has begun construction on an $82 million expansion of an Ohio distribution center that is targeted for completion in the summer of 2019.

Walgreens is adding 380,000 square feet to a 650,000-square-foot DC in Perrysburg Township, Ohio, located about 10 miles south of Toledo, according to Contegra, the Edwardsville, Ill.-based general contractor in charge of the job.

Contegra said the expanded facility would feature 40- and 50-foot
clear height warehouse spaces and 40 new dock doors. Material handling
equipment will include an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/
RS), pick modules, static racking, and conveyors, the contractor said.
The expansion will add 350 jobs to the current work force of 680,
according to Contegra.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens will use the site to continue supplying its existing stores as well as the 1,900 stores it acquired from rival pharmacy chain Rite Aid in a $4.4 billion deal in February. As of June, Walgreens said it operates some 9,800 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the company’s omnichannel business, Walgreens.com.

Automated piece-picking startup RightHand Robotics Inc. has partnered with order fulfillment service provider Capacity LLC to create a material handling system that could provide a competitive edge to Capacity’s clients by automating more of their e-commerce and B2B (business-to-business) fulfillment operations, the firms said.

The collaboration will integrate RightHand’s RightPick automation
system into North Brunswick, N.J.-based Capacity’s Lightning Pick
fulfillment solution, according to Somerville, Mass.-based RightHand.

Capacity said it would integrate the platforms first in its New Jersey fulfillment center this year and later expand it to its California operation. Capacity provides order fulfillment, e-commerce, and electronic data interchange (EDI) services, and deploys automation technology to improve speed, accuracy, and flexibility for its clients’ omnichannel fulfillment needs, the company said.