Joe Finney is joining Ozburn Hessey Logistics as senior vice president of transportation services. Finney was most recently president and CEO of Bullet Freight Systems in Anaheim, Calif. In his new role with OH Logistics, Finney will focus on developing growth strategies and enhancing transporta-FINNEY tion operations for the company and its clients.
Saddle Creek Corp., a third-party logistics services company based in Lakeland, Fla., has named John Pleasants vice president of Florida operations for Saddle Creek Transportation. He will oversee the company's fleet of more than 100 power units and 340 trailers. He most recently was operations manager at Schneider National in Chicago.
In addition, Saddle Creek has added two new directors of business development to its team. Letitia Strowbridge joins the firm after serving as a sales and marketing consultant for Atlanta's Coalescent Group. Jeff Alexander was most recently vice president of sales and marketing for Atlas Cold Storage.
Ed Jones has joined the consulting team at TranSystems/ESYNC. Jones has deep expertise in material handling automation and the development of warehouse management and controls software. Previously, he held positions at Working Machines, Real-Time Solutions, Hewlett- Packard, and The Gap.
Robert Niblock is the new chairman of the board of directors for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Niblock is chairman and CEO of Lowe's Companies. In addition, Paul Jones has joined the group as vice president of asset protection. He previously served as senior vice president for loss prevention at Limited Brands. Jones will lead RILA's asset protection and loss prevention activities and serve as RILA's representative to its many private and public sector partners.
Aaron Aleithe has been named vice president and general manager of low-voltage drives at ABB Inc. Automation Products. He replaces Rick Hepperla, who was recently promoted to regional division manager at the Wisconsin-based equipment drives manufacturer.
John Bowe, president of the Americas for global container-shipping line APL, has joined the State of California's Goods Movement and International Trade Advisory Group. Bowe is one of nine business, government, and labor leaders appointed to the advisory committee, which was created to strengthen the Golden State's role in international trade.
CEVA Logistics has hired three new business development executives. Tamara Histand is now director of global automotive accounts, based in Southfield, Mich. Rick Allen joins CEVA as business development director for automotive in Nashville, Tenn. And David Eaton has been hired as business development director for the Chicago area.
Kevin McAleenan has joined the Sentinel HS Group as vice president. Sentinel HS Group is a homeland security consulting firm. Prior to his appointment, McAleenan was a senior executive with Customs and Border Protection and most recently was area port director at the Los Angeles International Airport.
The American Society of Transportation and Logistics has recognized six people as Distinguished Logistics Professionals for their contributions to the industry. The six are Jim Cochrane, manager of package services for the U.S. Postal Service; Harold Friedman, senior vice president for global corporate development at Data2Logistics; Joe Hete, president and CEO of ABX; Eric Joiner, regional customer manager-Americas for DHL Global Customer Solutions; Douglas Kahl, transportation products director for Unishippers; and Tom Underkoffler, director of logistics at Medco Health Solutions.
Exel has promoted a number of its managers to new posts. Fred Takavitz is the new senior vice president for customer development, technology and DHL Solutions, Americas. Adrian Kumar is now vice president of solutions development, Retail. Chris Blickhan has been promoted to senior director of business development, retail. George Cocoles is now the senior director of operations, consumer. And Rick McCann assumes the role of senior director of operations, automotive.
Donald Trump has been clear that he plans to hit the ground running after his inauguration on January 20, launching ambitious plans that could have significant repercussions for global supply chains.
As Mark Baxa, CSCMP president and CEO, says in the executive forward to the white paper, the incoming Trump Administration and a majority Republican congress are “poised to reshape trade policies, regulatory frameworks, and the very fabric of how we approach global commerce.”
The paper is written by import/export expert Thomas Cook, managing director for Blue Tiger International, a U.S.-based supply chain management consulting company that focuses on international trade. Cook is the former CEO of American River International in New York and Apex Global Logistics Supply Chain Operation in Los Angeles and has written 19 books on global trade.
In the paper, Cook, of course, takes a close look at tariff implications and new trade deals, emphasizing that Trump will seek revisions that will favor U.S. businesses and encourage manufacturing to return to the U.S. The paper, however, also looks beyond global trade to addresses topics such as Trump’s tougher stance on immigration and the possibility of mass deportations, greater support of Israel in the Middle East, proposals for increased energy production and mining, and intent to end the war in the Ukraine.
In general, Cook believes that many of the administration’s new policies will be beneficial to the overall economy. He does warn, however, that some policies will be disruptive and add risk and cost to global supply chains.
In light of those risks and possible disruptions, Cook’s paper offers 14 recommendations. Some of which include:
Create a team responsible for studying the changes Trump will introduce when he takes office;
Attend trade shows and make connections with vendors, suppliers, and service providers who can help you navigate those changes;
Consider becoming C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) certified to help mitigate potential import/export issues;
Adopt a risk management mindset and shift from focusing on lowest cost to best value for your spend;
Increase collaboration with internal and external partners;
Expect warehousing costs to rise in the short term as companies look to bring in foreign-made goods ahead of tariffs;
Expect greater scrutiny from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol of origin statements for imports in recognition of attempts by some Chinese manufacturers to evade U.S. import policies;
Reduce dependency on China for sourcing; and
Consider manufacturing and/or sourcing in the United States.
Cook advises readers to expect a loosening up of regulations and a reduction in government under Trump. He warns that while some world leaders will look to work with Trump, others will take more of a defiant stance. As a result, companies should expect to see retaliatory tariffs and duties on exports.
Cook concludes by offering advice to the incoming administration, including being sensitive to the effect retaliatory tariffs can have on American exports, working on federal debt reduction, and considering promoting free trade zones. He also proposes an ambitious water works program through the Army Corps of Engineers.
ReposiTrak, a global food traceability network operator, will partner with Upshop, a provider of store operations technology for food retailers, to create an end-to-end grocery traceability solution that reaches from the supply chain to the retail store, the firms said today.
The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.
That accomplishment is important because it will allow food sector trading partners to meet the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204d (FSMA 204) requirements that they must create and store complete traceability records for certain foods.
And according to ReposiTrak and Upshop, the traceability solution may also unlock potential business benefits. It could do that by creating margin and growth opportunities in stores by connecting supply chain data with store data, thus allowing users to optimize inventory, labor, and customer experience management automation.
"Traceability requires data from the supply chain and – importantly – confirmation at the retail store that the proper and accurate lot code data from each shipment has been captured when the product is received. The missing piece for us has been the supply chain data. ReposiTrak is the leader in capturing and managing supply chain data, starting at the suppliers. Together, we can deliver a single, comprehensive traceability solution," Mark Hawthorne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Upshop, said in a release.
"Once the data is flowing the benefits are compounding. Traceability data can be used to improve food safety, reduce invoice discrepancies, and identify ways to reduce waste and improve efficiencies throughout the store,” Hawthorne said.
Under FSMA 204, retailers are required by law to track Key Data Elements (KDEs) to the store-level for every shipment containing high-risk food items from the Food Traceability List (FTL). ReposiTrak and Upshop say that major industry retailers have made public commitments to traceability, announcing programs that require more traceability data for all food product on a faster timeline. The efforts of those retailers have activated the industry, motivating others to institute traceability programs now, ahead of the FDA’s enforcement deadline of January 20, 2026.
Online grocery technology provider Instacart is rolling out its “Caper Cart” AI-powered smart shopping trollies to a wide range of grocer networks across North America through partnerships with two point-of-sale (POS) providers, the San Francisco company said Monday.
Instacart announced the deals with DUMAC Business Systems, a POS solutions provider for independent grocery and convenience stores, and TRUNO Retail Technology Solutions, a provider that powers over 13,000 retail locations.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to Instacart, its Caper Carts transform the in-store shopping experience by letting customers automatically scan items as they shop, track spending for budget management, and access discounts directly on the cart. DUMAC and TRUNO will now provide a turnkey service, including Caper Cart referrals, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing technical support – creating a streamlined path for grocers to bring smart carts to their stores.
That rollout follows other recent expansions of Caper Cart rollouts, including a pilot now underway by Coles Supermarkets, a food and beverage retailer with more than 1,800 grocery and liquor stores throughout Australia.
Instacart’s core business is its e-commerce grocery platform, which is linked with more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. To enable that service, the company employs approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers who earn money by picking, packing, and delivering orders on their own flexible schedules.
The new partnerships now make it easier for grocers of all sizes to partner with Instacart, unlocking a modern shopping experience for their customers, according to a statement from Nick Nickitas, General Manager of Local Independent Grocery at Instacart.
In addition, the move also opens up opportunities to bring additional Instacart Connected Stores technologies to independent retailers – including FoodStorm and Carrot Tags – continuing to power innovation and growth opportunities for retailers across the grocery ecosystem, he said.
The autonomous forklift vendor Cyngn has raised $33 million in funding to accelerate its growth and proliferate sales of its industrial autonomous vehicles, the Menlo Park, California-based firm said today.
As a publicly traded company, Cyngn raised the money by selling company shares through the financial firm Aegis Capital in three rounds occurring in December. According to forms filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the move also required moves to reduce corporate spending for three months, including layoffs that reduced staff from approximately 80 people to approximately 60 people, temporarily suspended certain non-essential operations, and reduced or eliminated all discretionary expenses.
In the company’s view, autonomous vehicles are playing a critical role in transforming industrial operations by enhancing productivity and safety.
“This capital infusion strengthens our ability to fund operations, drive commercialization, and continue investing in groundbreaking autonomous vehicle technologies,” Lior Tal, chairman and CEO of Cyngn, said in a release. “With increasing demand for automation solutions, especially in the automotive, heavy machinery and logistics industries, this funding allows us to build on recent momentum, including our upcoming autonomous forklift launch and other strategic advancements.”
Editor's note:This article was revised on January 14 to include information from Cyngn on its finances.
Inclusive procurement practices can fuel economic growth and create jobs worldwide through increased partnerships with small and diverse suppliers, according to a study from the Illinois firm Supplier.io.
The firm’s “2024 Supplier Diversity Economic Impact Report” found that $168 billion spent directly with those suppliers generated a total economic impact of $303 billion. That analysis can help supplier diversity managers and chief procurement officers implement programs that grow diversity spend, improve supply chain competitiveness, and increase brand value, the firm said.
The companies featured in Supplier.io’s report collectively supported more than 710,000 direct jobs and contributed $60 billion in direct wages through their investments in small and diverse suppliers. According to the analysis, those purchases created a ripple effect, supporting over 1.4 million jobs and driving $105 billion in total income when factoring in direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts.
“At Supplier.io, we believe that empowering businesses with advanced supplier intelligence not only enhances their operational resilience but also significantly mitigates risks,” Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, said in a release. “Our platform provides critical insights that drive efficiency and innovation, enabling companies to find and invest in small and diverse suppliers. This approach helps build stronger, more reliable supply chains.”