Digital freight forwarder

CH Robinson will give birth to new tech in its ‘innovation incubator’

CH Robinson has begun to spend its $1bn tech investment, with the launch of an innovation incubator, CH Robinson Labs.
With teams in Minneapolis, Chicago, Silicon Valley and Warsaw, Poland, it will create, test and scale “the next big ideas in logistics” for its customers and carriers.
Data scientists and logistics experts will work with customers and carriers to create “personalised solutions for shippers’ challenges … built by, and for, supply chain …

The post CH Robinson will give birth to...

https://theloadstar.com/ch-robinson-will-give-birth-to-new-tech-in-its-innovation-incubator/

Shippers must think products not shipments, says FreightHub as it expands into China

As trade between China and the US slows, relations between Europe and China remain healthy. For forwarders in particular, this is good news as they shift focus away from the transpacific lane.
But many will find increasing competition from forwarders that have made significant investments in technology and new service offerings – the days of simply being the middle-man are over.
We’ve seen the growth of rail cargo between Asia and Europe …

The post Shippers must think products not shipments,...

https://theloadstar.com/shippers-must-think-products-not-shipments-says-freighthub-as-it-expands-into-china/

Flexport eyes Europe expansion and is close to opening a UK operation

US digital-first freight forwarder Flexport is ramping up plans for expansion in Europe, and is set to enter the UK market.
Flexport vice president for Europe Jan van Casteren (pictured above) told The Loadstar on a recent visit to London, “we are pretty close to finalising our plans for the UK”, and the appointment of a country managing director would be made soon.
“If you go into a new market you need …

The post Flexport eyes Europe expansion and is close to opening a UK operation appeared...

https://theloadstar.com/flexport-eyes-europe-expansion-and-is-close-to-opening-a-uk-operation/

Profits rise as Agility continues to forge ahead with digital development

Agility, which is aligning itself in the ‘digital’ forwarder category, has announced a mixed set of results for its third quarter, as challenges in the freight forwarding industry hit its logistics division. 
Its Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business saw ebitda fall 1% year on year to KWD7.8m ($25.6m), which, the company said, was down to increased operating expenses for new facilities and new digital investments. 
But the biggest surprise was a 15.8% fall in …

The post Profits rise as...

https://theloadstar.com/profits-rise-as-agility-continues-to-forge-ahead-with-digital-development/

Slowly, but surely, ‘digital’ and ‘traditional’ forwarders are getting closer

Incumbent forwarders with an interest in obscuring transparency have played a role in slowing efforts to digitalise the industry, according to Martin Ring, global chief operations officer for Damco.  
“There are forces in the industry that might not have had a great interest in accelerating digitalisation,” he told event group eft. 
“That’s what they made a living out of – making the complicated understandable. And of course, when you see more digitilisation, you get more transparency and more...

https://theloadstar.com/slowly-but-surely-digital-and-traditional-forwarders-are-getting-closer/

Maersk targets forwarders as digital-first revolution spreads in Latin America

Maersk Line appears to be continuing its process of vertical consolidation, admitting it is on the hunt for forwarding acquisitions in Latin America.
Lars Nielsen, Maersk Line chief executive for Latin America & the Caribbean, told delegates at last week’s TOC Americas Container Supply Chain event in Cartagena: “We haven’t so far invested in any Latin American start-ups, but we have been looking at Brazil, where there are some digital-first freight forwarders …

The post Maersk targets forwarders...

https://theloadstar.com/maersk-targets-forwarders-as-digital-first-revolution-spreads-in-latin-america/

Shippers love technology, but some people are irreplaceable

Shippers don’t see a single area of business where pure technology would be a preferable solution to the human touch.
In a survey carried out by Coyote Logistics, shippers said they would prefer even data-based tasks, like managing inventory, load scheduling and monitoring shipments, to be dealt with by a mix of humans and technology.
And there are some areas where shippers don’t see humans as replaceable.
Some 55% of respondents said communicating …

The post Shippers love technology, but some...

https://theloadstar.com/shippers-love-technology-but-some-people-are-irreplaceable/

People still key to success, says CHR, ‘we want talent with tec expertise’

3PLs must invest in both people and technology – but experience in freight is no longer needed, delegates at the 3PL and Supply Chain Summit in Brussels, were told.
CH Robinson’s vice president Europe, Jeroen Eijsink, said people remained key to success.
“The human factor is tremendously important going forward in our business model,” he explained. “It’s IT that supports people, and not vice versa. That’s what IT is about.”
CH Robinson announced last …

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https://theloadstar.com/people-still-key-to-success-says-chr-we-want-talent-with-tec-expertise/

Automate or stagnate as RPA transforms transport and logistics

If you work in transportation and logistics, technology may sometimes seem like the bane of your existence. The implementation of different kinds of software applications meant to elevate and simplify your business may, in fact, have the opposite effect.
Your employees may experience “portal fatigue,” trying to manually piece together a workflow involving a lot of copy-and-pasting among five or more technology platforms. The work can be mind-numbing and overwhelming. When …

The post Automate or...

https://theloadstar.com/automate-or-stagnate-as-rpa-transforms-transport-and-logistics/

How strong is the digital traction in container shipping?

Getting hard numbers about the take-up of digital services in container shipping – whether it is booking freight through neutral online platforms, or utilising digital-first freight forwarders – has hitherto been pretty difficult, which has left the debate of shipping’s digitisation often feeling obscured. However, here’s Lars Jensen to the rescue, with a LinkedIn post that fills in some of the blanks and clearly indicates that the adoption of digital …

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