Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

inbound

They're just mad about saffron ...

FedEx awards $25,000 small business grant to purveyor of the mellow yellow spice.

A tin of Rumi Spice saffron
A tin of Rumi Spice saffron


Rumi Spice received a grant from FedEx to help it sell Afghan spices in the U.S. Growing saffron gives Afghan farmers a viable alternative to opium cultivation, Rumi says.

Fans of savory dishes like risotto Milanese, Spanish paella, or Indian biryani are familiar with saffron, the Middle Eastern spice that lends a golden yellow color and distinctive flavor to food. Transport and logistics giant FedEx Corp. may have gained some foodie cred when it awarded a $25,000 grant and $7,500 in business services to Rumi Spice, a Chicago-based business that markets saffron from Afghanistan to restaurants and consumers throughout the U.S., offering Afghan farmers a sustainable alternative to opium farming.


The prize was part of FedEx's sixth annual Small Business Grant Contest, which is aimed at helping small concerns grow their business both in the U.S. and internationally. Judges selected 10 winners from a field of 7,800 entries from across the country.

In addition to the grand prize, FedEx awarded $15,000 and $5,000 in FedEx Office services to the second-place winner, eco-friendly bottling company Drop Water of Menlo Park, Calif. Eight other businesses each received a $7,500 grant and $1,000 in office services. The recipients included Back of the Yards Coffee (Chicago), Blended Designs (Jacksonville, Fla.), Booze Dogs (Greenville, N.C.), Buckle Me Baby Coats (Londonderry, N.H.), Dauntless Wine Co. (Gaston, Ore.), Fiddlershop.com (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Locker Lifestyle (Grand Rapids, Mich.), and ZZZ Bears (Winston-Salem, N.C.).

Watch a video about Rumi Spice and its efforts to help Afghan farmers below.

The Latest

More Stories

chart of GenAI effect on workforce

Gartner: GenAI tools create anxiety among employees

Generative AI (GenAI) is being deployed by 72% of supply chain organizations, but most are experiencing just middling results for productivity and ROI, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc.

That’s because productivity gains from the use of GenAI for individual, desk-based workers are not translating to greater team-level productivity. Additionally, the deployment of GenAI tools is increasing anxiety among many employees, providing a dampening effect on their productivity, Gartner found.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

warehouse worker driving forklift between racks

German 3PL Arvato acquires two U.S. logistics firms

The German third party logistics provider (3PL) Arvato this week acquired the U.S.-headquartered companies Carbel LLC and United Customs Services, saying the move would grow its client base, particularly in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle segments.

According to Arvato, it made the move in order to better serve the U.S. e-commerce sector, which has experienced high growth rates in recent years and is expected to grow year-on-year by 5% within the next five years.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo collage of warehouse tech

Supply chain pros are wary of inflation and labor woes

The top worries that supply chain leaders hope to address with new innovations this year include inflationary concerns (68%) and labor shortages (50%), according to a survey on innovation from the third-party logistics provider (3PL) Kenco.

And many of them will have a budget to do it, since 51% of supply chain professionals with existing innovation budgets saw an increase earmarked for 2025, suggesting an even greater emphasis on investing in new technologies to meet rising demand, Kenco said in its “2025 Supply Chain Innovation” survey.

Keep ReadingShow less
volvo and waabi self driving truck

Volvo deepens partnership with Waabi for self-driving truck tech

Volvo Autonomous Solutions will form a strategic partnership with autonomous driving technology and generative AI provider Waabi to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, with testing scheduled to begin later this year.

The two companies said they will integrate Waabi's virtual driver system, the Waabi Driver, into the Volvo VNL Autonomous, Volvo’s autonomous truck with redundant systems for enabling safe autonomous operations. The Volvo VNL Autonomous will be produced at Volvo’s New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia, and be designed to support diverse operational needs, use cases, and Volvo Group truck brands.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of women's portion of transport and storage jobs

Women hold only 12% of transportation and storage jobs worldwide

Women are significantly underrepresented in the global transport sector workforce, comprising only 12% of transportation and storage workers worldwide as they face hurdles such as unfavorable workplace policies and significant gender gaps in operational, technical and leadership roles, a study from the World Bank Group shows.

This underrepresentation limits diverse perspectives in service design and decision-making, negatively affects businesses and undermines economic growth, according to the report, “Addressing Barriers to Women’s Participation in Transport.” The paper—which covers global trends and provides in-depth analysis of the women’s role in the transport sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).

Keep ReadingShow less