Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Watching one of UPS Inc.'s big brown vans (or "package cars" in company parlance) on its daily rounds, a casual observer is struck by the driver's relaxed demeanor. The cab doors are wide open, and the driver greets customers with a wave of the hand after navigating narrow driveways with the confidence that comes with doing this thousands of times before.
Behind the seemingly casual habits, however, is a long list of rules that dictate nearly every movement a driver makes, from morning calisthenics (stretch those legs) to the proper height for carrying a box (well above the belt) and the correct way to exit the truck (always put down that package before stepping down).
Newcomers may chafe at these restrictions, but leaders at the company's Atlanta headquarters hold every employee to the strict standard, from the youngest conveyor belt operator to the 30-year veteran driver.
In June, the delivery and logistics giant invited a DC Velocity editor to ride along with a UPS driver on his morning route in one of Boston's Southwest suburbs. We witnessed the nitty-gritty of a driver's day, the challenges he faces, and how technology has influenced every step of the process.
MORNING HAS BROKEN
Enter UPS's Norwood, Mass., distribution center at 8 a.m. and you quickly realize that you missed a lot of activity while you were downing that first cup of coffee.
The day's first tractor-trailers arrived around 2 a.m. and disgorged their stacks of packages onto webs of high-speed conveyors that crisscross the cavernous facility. The boxes fly past labeling stations, where adhesive stickers are applied to each one with a puff of pressurized air.
The pre-load function begins at 4 a.m., as workers prepare to begin loading the trucks. The company's proprietary load-planning software generates a three-dimensional floor plan for every truck, showing workers where to stack each parcel. Done correctly, the boxes will be positioned in the exact sequence they'll be delivered in, so the proper item is waiting at arm's length as the driver pulls up to the next stop.
About 42,000 parcels move through the Norwood center during this overnight shift on a slow Wednesday in June. But volume can easily reach double that during peak periods, such as the winter holiday season. This particular DC also sees spikes in the summer when suburban homeowners order barbeque grills and patio furniture, and in the fall when students take up residence at the Boston area's many colleges and universities.
UNLEASH THE ALGORITHMS
Even in the off-peak seasons, each driver delivers between 125 and 175 packages on his daily route, so experienced drivers will tell you that pre-load is critical. That's where logistics technology makes its biggest impact on the process.
An overnight supervisor uses proprietary software to calculate how many truck routes will be needed to accommodate the day's package count, to balance driver workloads, and to arrange for enough drivers. Big Brown keeps such a close eye on the bottom line that managers see a column on their computer screens that calculates the dollar impact every time they change a route or reassign a package to a different truck.
Once the loads are assigned, managers apply the routing software known as ORION. The acronym stands for "On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation," but Mark Wallace, UPS's senior vice president for global engineering and sustainability, calls it "MapQuest on steroids." This proprietary application shaves precious minutes off every driver's trip by calculating the shortest possible delivery route, even allowing for changes on the fly. The software is also what enables the carrier to offer enhanced services like flexible delivery times and, for those customers enrolled in its MyChoice program, the option to reroute their packages to a different delivery address or a "smart locker" location.
UPS' ORION software calculates the shortest route for each drive and can make changes on the fly.
UPS launched ORION in 2013 and plans to deploy it to all 55,000 of its North American routes by the end of 2016. Ideally, the result will be a reduction in driving time, mileage, gas, and emissions. As UPS brass is fond of saying, "The greenest mile is the one you never drive." In practice, some drivers complain that ORION fails to reflect real-time traffic and road conditions, with the result that they sometimes get stuck behind a school bus or funeral procession. UPS technology executives say the next release will address this by allowing real-time updates.
MAKE THE 10: 30 DEADLINE
Competing parcel carriers may designate different trucks for express service versus two-day delivery, but each UPS truck must accommodate parcels with an array of overlapping delivery deadlines. A single UPS truck might leave its DC at 8: 30 a.m., deliver all of its Next Day Air packages by 10: 30 a.m., make a second loop of its neighborhood to deliver UPS Ground parcels to businesses by 3 p.m., then make a third loop to deliver residential packages and make pickups.
To help sort out those overlapping deadlines, the driver's constant companion is the handheld computer he uses to display a list of addresses, scan every parcel to record the time it's delivered, exchange text messages with a manager, or make arrangements to meet another UPS driver to exchange a mislabeled box.
The next iteration of UPS' DIAD handheld will add smartphone-style features such as a color navigation screen and dynamic optimization, UPS says.
UPS calls the handheld computer DIAD, for "Delivery Information Acquisition Device." The mobile unit, which is now in its fifth version, was launched in 1990 to help drivers cope with the accelerated pace and complexity of modern-day parcel delivery. The sixth iteration DIAD will add familiar smartphone features like a color navigation screen and dynamic optimization, UPS CIO Juan Perez said at a recent company media day event.
REMEMBER THE HUMAN FACTOR
Equipped with the latest ORION and DIAD technology and trained in UPS techniques for everything from exiting the truck to deploying the two-wheeled dolly, a driver might seem like just a small cog in a big brown machine. But many UPS drivers stick with the same delivery route for decades, memorizing every street on their route and getting to know their clients by name.
In the space of a few hours along Norwood's bustling Route 1, we visited multiple car dealerships, a sporting goods store, a gym, a plumbing supply store, an electronics supplier, a law office, a computer programming school, a pharmaceutical firm, an automotive body shop, and a garage occupied by an elderly man running a mail-order business. A 15-year veteran of the route, the driver greeted most of his customers by their first names and a corny joke, or with some good-natured ribbing about their golf handicap.
Our day trip affirmed what many, especially those at UPS, already know: Its drivers are the face of the company. They do more than pick up and deliver packages. They interact, answer questions, and field complaints. They project the brand's image to the outside world. That is why for all of the company's whiz-bang technology and all the talk about autonomous vehicles, UPS will continue to rely on human drivers to manage its routes, and its customers, for years to come.
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.