As maritime container carriers cancel an increasing number of sailings due to the trade upheaval caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the Swiss freight forwarding and logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel has upgraded its online platform to offer data on reliable sailing schedules with full transparency in times of capacity constraints.

That improved transparency is crucial for companies requiring sea freight services, since schedule reliability is currently at 65%, the lowest level in the past ten years, the company said. With the enhanced version of its SeaExplorer online platform, Kuehne + Nagel says it now allows users to find the best option for container shipping needs, including information on alternative routings and sailings.

"Given the challenges of Covid-19, the enhanced SeaExplorer supports shippers not only with realistic lead times for routings, but also with service updates and up-to-date sailing schedules showing alternative departures for blanked sailings,” Otto Schacht, member of the management board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, responsible for sea freight, said in a release. “This allows customers to quickly and efficiently compare options across all liner services to easily adjust routings according to their requirements for speed and reliability.”

And in other examples of the logistics industry dedicating its assets to the coronavirus fight:

• Ware2Go, a division of UPS Inc. that provides on-demand warehousing and third-party logistics (3PL) services, is partnering with 1M Masks, a New York City grassroots initiative, to ship one million medical masks to healthcare workers, quickly and at no cost. Ware2Go is donating its logistics technology, network of warehouses, and fulfillment and shipping services to allow medical providers to order free personal protective equipment (PPE) from the 1M Masks website. Ware2Go connected the 1M Masks website to its platform so healthcare professionals can quickly and easily place orders and receive free PPE, reducing the friction of getting the gear they need
• Automative manufacturer Cummins has teamed with manufacturing giant 3M to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic by adapting Cummins’ labor and equipment typically used for producing diesel engine filters to manufacture high efficiency particulate filters for use in 3M’s Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs). The partnership has the potential to more than double the current production of filters for 3M’s PAPRs, which are used by front-line healthcare workers as a battery-powered blower that sends filtered air into a hood or head top that covers the wearer’s head or face. Beginning by the end of April, Cummins will use existing manpower and equipment at its Neillsville, Wisconsin, facility to pleat the media, assemble it into cartridge housings, and do final testing before shipping the filters to Valley, Nebraska, where 3M’s PAPRs are manufactured.
• Mining industry consulting, software, and manufacturing company Fortai is converting its “SmartCube” mining supply chain and logistics product into a tool for sanitizing personal protective equipment (PPE) or other devices used by front-line and essential workers in the fight against the spread of Covid-19. The Canadian company will bring its Sanitization SmartCube into production within 30 days, and says the device will also allow users to track and log their PPE as it is sanitized. The SmartCube was originally designed as a mobile inventory management solution providing safe containerization and transportation of materials including explosives.
• Brother International Corp. is donating up to 100 industrial sewing machines to support efforts to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and other essential laborers during the Covid-19 crisis. Companies using the machines will include a coalition of iconic American apparel brands and textile companies such as Los Angeles Apparel, Beverly Knits Inc., and SanMar. Brother will also be donating industrial sewing machines to Brooks Brothers to support similar manufacturing efforts. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) currently recommends all persons wear face masks in public to help slow the spread of the virus, and jurisdictions such as Los Angeles and New York have mandated them as mandatory for all public situations where people cannot maintain social distancing.

To see further coverage of the coronavirus crisis and how it's affecting the logistics industry, check out our Covid-19 landing page. And click here for our compilation of virus-focused websites and resource pages from around the supply chain sector.

Kuehne + Nagel launches new version of seaexplorer supporting shippers with realistic lead times, up-to-date sailing schedules and as a new feature with detailed visibility of CO2 emissions. #seaexplorer https://t.co/FhbgKQU6Qk

— Kuehne + Nagel (@Kuehne_Nagel) April 15, 2020