For anyone who thinks about issues of physical distribution, the challenge of getting 12 million books to the right place at the right time under strict security requirements is a compelling story.
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.
The cover story in this month's issue is the third article I've written on the Harry Potter phenomenon. For anyone who thinks about issues of physical distribution, the challenge of getting 12 million books to the right place at the right time under strict security requirements is a compelling story.
What that story shows in spades is something everyone in the business of distribution already understands—that each link in a sprawling global supply chain must operate as seamlessly as possible with every other link. Publisher, bindery, carriers, distribution centers, and customers all had to be aligned.
Of course, in this case, the end customer for Scholastic Inc. was often the midpoint of the books' journey. The Amazons, Barnes & Nobles, and Borders of the world worked with their own partners to ensure that books got to stores or to customers' homes on time.
Maybe I was just more attuned to it than most people because of my work on the story, but I found it amazing in the days after the book was released to see just how ubiquitous Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had become. It seemed that just about everyone under the age of 20 (and not a few parents) had a copy open, tucked under an arm, or sticking out of a backpack. At the time, I was spending a few weekends on a community project with several teenagers as well as adults, and every one of the teens had the book. One girl proudly announced on Sunday afternoon, some 40 or so hours after the book was released, that she had finished. She hadn't wanted anyone spoiling the surprise for her, she told us, so she wouldn't discuss the book with the others until they had a chance to finish it.
I take a couple of things away from that experience. First, as someone who has spent a career in print journalism, it pleases me no end to see young people actually reading books. Researchers tell us that school-age children read less with each passing year. That is disheartening, and it is good to have evidence that the right book could instill a love of reading. Avid young readers are likely to become the next generation's articulate writers, whether in journalism, other forms of non-fiction, novels, or poetry. Even if print fades and some form of online communication becomes dominant, users will still seek out forums that present information in clear, trustworthy prose.
The other thought I had on seeing the book in so many hands and seeing the ready piles of books at local retailers is something that I think about often as editorial director of this magazine, and that is just how vital well-executed physical distribution is to our economy— and how little awareness exists among the public of just what it takes. Millions of Harry Potter fans expected the books would be there at midnight on July 21 or at their doors in the morning, and they were right. Likewise, their parents expect to find food at the grocers, tools at the hardware store, and the current fashions at the mall. And while 100-percent satisfaction is well nigh impossible to guarantee, it is almost astonishing, when you think about all the details involved, just how well those in the business of distribution succeed day in and day out, allowing the public to remain blissfully unaware of what goes on behind the scenes.
Unlike the world of Harry Potter, there is no magic involved—just careful planning, close attention to details, the application of the right tools and technologies, regular and candid communication, and reliable execution. That's true for the biggest event in publishing history. And it's true for the more mundane business of ensuring that goods reach the nation's factories and stores every day of the week.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.