Following its adoption of electronic logging devices (ELDs) and creation of a “Drive Werner” app, the Omaha. Nebraska-based company has now launched a division called Werner Edge. The initiative is designed to deliver improved performance, increased safety, and enhanced communication, according to a statement by Danny Lilley, Wener’s vice president of fleet systems and technology.
Innovations from the Werner Edge unit include:
a telematics solution that run on an untethered tablet, supporting a safer and more efficient experience, providing professional drivers with a smart workflow, best-in-class navigation, improved safety features, and reduced manual data entry.
a “Critical Event Management” platform powered by machine learning, that identifies and responds to safety events more effectively, providing drivers with coaching and accolades in real-time.
a “Breakdown Management” system that uses a cloud-based solution to simplify the repair order process during a road breakdown, getting drivers back on the road safely and without delay.
“Our drivers’ and customers’ challenges require best-in-class technology, innovation and talent. Anything we can do to make their experiences more productive and rewarding while simplifying their lives deserves our focus and attention,” Werner President and CEO Derek Leathers said in a release. “Werner EDGE combines our asset-backed history with our forward-looking logistics strategy to deliver innovative solutions that support our company and the industry-at-large, now and for the road ahead.”
Platform Science will now be Daimler’s primary on-vehicle fleet management software development and distribution partner, enabling customers to purchase and utilize third party telematics solutions and connectivity services directly from their trucks without aftermarket hardware installation, the firms said.
More specifically, built-in telematics hardware from DTNA will be available from the factory with Platform Science’s software, eliminating the delays, costs, and inconveniences of installing after-market devices, cabling, and antennas, according to Daimler. Drivers will simply need to bring an authorized mobile device and log into their new vehicles’ DTNA onboard telematics system.
“The inclusion of Platform Science in our connected telematics platform represents a leap forward for the industry, and more importantly, our customers,” Roger Nielsen, president and CEO of DTNA, said in a release. “The demand and the need for efficiency, safety and uptime has never been greater than it is today. With Platform Science, we will help customers avoid pre-installations delays, improve the fleet manager and driver experience once their assets are on the road, and help keep them moving forward as they keep the world moving.”
Concurrent with the partnership, Daimler Truck AG said it had made an investment in Platform Science via the company’s Series B funding round. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The investment by Daimler Truck AG in our Series B funding round is a great indication of our common belief that we have reached an inflection point for transportation technology,” Jack Kennedy, founder & CEO of Platform Science, said in a release. “The in-cab experience will now have the opportunity to keep pace with the ‘in-pocket’ experience that smartphones have taught us to expect.”
Editor's note: This story was revised on May 6 to include more information about Daimler and Platform Science.
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.