In the face of spiraling unemployment claims triggered by coronavirus shutdowns, grocery chain The Kroger Family of Companies has hired more than 100,000 workers in the past eight weeks, including those from sectors hardest hit by the economic shock of the pandemic, like restaurants, hotels, and food service distributors.
Supply chain snarls and work-from-home policies have caused spikes for essential goods like food and medical gear, while nearly idling other sectors of the economy. As a supermarket retailer, Kroger has seen a jump in demand for its products, helping drive the hiring increase.
Kroger's workforce topped 460,000 associates prior to the crisis, so its recent hiring efforts have helped provide continuous access to food and essential products during the pandemic. To handle the increase workforce, Kroger initiated an expedited hiring process in early March to shorten the time between application and employment, onboarding new hires in an average of 72 hours. Kroger also adjusted its new hire approach to focus on tasks as opposed to role-based development, allowing new hires to more quickly acclimate to their roles and expectations, the company said.
"Throughout the pandemic, Kroger's top priority has been to provide and maintain a safe environment for our associates and customers with open stores, comprehensive e-commerce solutions, and an efficiently operating supply chain," Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO, said in a release. "Since March, we have invested to reward our associates and safeguard our associates, customers and communities."
And in other examples of the logistics industry dedicating its assets to the coronavirus fight:
Liquid and powder coatings supplier Axalta has shifted the manufacturing capabilities of its facility in Tlalnepantla, Mexico, to produce more than 1,000 liters of hand sanitizer, which is being donated to local healthcare facilities, first responders, and other essential businesses. These efforts complement Axalta's global support of coronavirus relief efforts which include sending personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals in the U.S., France, Belgium, and Germany, and providing more than 5,000 seat covers to medical professionals who can use the seat covers in their own cars to reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus when they are visiting those diagnosed with the virus. "Several Axalta plants in Latin America, Europe, and the United States have shifted production from paint to hand sanitizer to help meet the growing need of this product in countries around the globe," Daniel Salcido, Axalta's president of Latin America North, said in a release. "Axalta has already donated thousands of liters of hand sanitizer to support the local communities where our employees live, work and raise their families. We will continue to do our part for our customers, employees and all those on the front lines of this pandemic that are helping to keep us safe."
Aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. has donated cargo capacity on its corporate aircraft as an in-kind donation to support the federal government's Covid-19 response for medical transplants, helping ensure that that life-saving products from European donors would reach American patients on time. The flights help ensure the timely delivery of bone marrow and blood stem cells for transplant, a need that arose when the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match ran out of available European Union couriers to deliver life-saving cells to U.S. patients, since tens of thousands of commercial flights had been canceled during the pandemic. Lockheed Martin will be providing weekly air transport based on government medical need – flying government medical teams to the most critical, high-priority locations around the country and/or flying to support bone marrow transport to help with the government's coronavirus response.
E-commerce micro-warehousing platform provider Ohi is helping to keep restaurants in business despite social distancing policies during the pandemic. Ohi has helped the San Fransisco-based wine bar Noeteca pivot from food service into another industry, transforming their brick-and-mortar restaurant into a micro warehouse that supports delivery throughout California for e-commerce brands such as HAUS, Juneshine, and Taika Coffee. Coronavirus has significantly accelerated consumers’ desire for instantaneous commerce across all categories, and Ohi is also working with a variety of brands across the beverage, beauty, health/ wellness, and apparel/footwear spaces, enabling them to reach customers with same-day service during today's new, remote landscape, the firm said.
Less than truckload (LTL) freight management software provider Carrier Logistics Inc. (CLI) has introduced a free, artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool for determining the exact location type for a pick-up or delivery during the Covid-19 crisis. The “LOCI” tool helps clients to plan and dispatch the right driver with the right equipment by interfacing with the firm’s transportation management software (TMS). For example, the tool offers over 115 categories of locations—covering everything from “airport” to “zoo”—to provide much more detail than the classic binary choice between residential and commercial. “Right now, many carriers are servicing different customers and locations than they have in the past,” CLI President Ben Wiesen said in a release. “And we know that staff at the carriers is in a state of flux, with people covering dispatch who might not have the tribal knowledge about the customer base. And of course, we know how confusing that can be. In order to assist our clients during these turbulent times, (and even as the economy starts to open up) we are offering this emerging technology for free through June 30, 2020.”
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
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.
National nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) kicked off its 2024 season this week with a call for volunteers. The group, which honors U.S. military veterans through a range of civic outreach programs, is seeking trucking companies and professional drivers to help deliver wreaths to cemeteries across the country for its annual wreath-laying ceremony, December 14.
“Wreaths Across America relies on the transportation industry to move the mission. The Honor Fleet, composed of dedicated carriers, professional drivers, and other transportation partners, guarantees the delivery of millions of sponsored veterans’ wreaths to their destination each year,” Courtney George, WAA’s director of trucking and industry relations, said in a statement Tuesday. “Transportation partners benefit from driver retention and recruitment, employee engagement, positive brand exposure, and the opportunity to give back to their community’s veterans and military families.”
WAA delivers wreaths to more than 4,500 locations nationwide, and as of this week had added more than 20 loads to be delivered this season. The wreaths are donated by sponsors from across the country, delivered by truckers, and laid at the graves of veterans by WAA volunteers.
Wreaths Across America
Transportation companies interested in joining the Honor Fleet can visit the WAA website to find an open lane or contact the WAA transportation team at trucking@wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information.
Krish Nathan is the Americas CEO for SDI Element Logic, a provider of turnkey automation solutions and sortation systems. Nathan joined SDI Industries in 2000 and honed his project management and engineering expertise in developing and delivering complex material handling solutions. In 2014, he was appointed CEO, and in 2022, he led the search for a strategic partner that could expand SDI’s capabilities. This culminated in the acquisition of SDI by Element Logic, with SDI becoming the Americas branch of the company.
A native of the U.K., Nathan received his bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Coventry University and has studied executive leadership at Cranfield University.
Q: How would you describe the current state of the supply chain industry?
A: We see the supply chain industry as very dynamic and exciting, both from a growth perspective and from an innovation perspective. The pandemic hangover is still impacting decisions to nearshore, and that has resulted in a spike in business for us in both the USA and Mexico. Adding new technology to our portfolio has been a significant contributor to our continued expansion.
Q: Distributors were making huge tech investments during the pandemic simply to keep up with soaring consumer demand. How have things changed since then?
A: The consumer demand for e-commerce certainly appears to have cooled since the pandemic high, but our clients continue to see steady growth. Growth, combined with low unemployment and high labor costs, continues to make automation a good investment for many companies.
Q: Robotics are still in high demand for material handling applications. What are some of the benefits of these systems?
A: As an organization, we are investing heavily in software that will allow Element Logic to offer solutions for robotic picking that are hardware-agnostic. We have had success deploying unit picking for order fulfillment solutions and unit placing of items onto tray-based sorters.
From a benefit point of view, we’ve seen the consistency of a given operation improve. For example, the placement accuracy of a product onto a tray is far higher from a robotic arm than from a person. In order fulfillment applications, two of the biggest benefits are reliability and hours of operation. The robots don't call in sick, and they are happy to work 22 hours a day!
Q: SDI Element Logic offers a wide range of automated solutions, including automated storage and sortation equipment. What criteria should distributors use to determine what type of system is right for them?
A: There are a significant number of factors to consider when thinking about automation. In my experience, automation pays for itself in three key ways: It saves space, it increases the efficiency of labor, and it improves accuracy. So evaluating which of these will be [most] beneficial and quantifying the associated savings will lead to a “right sized” investment in technology.
Another important factor to consider is product mix. With a small SKU (stock-keeping unit) base, often automation doesn’t make sense. And with a huge SKU base, there will be products that don’t lend themselves to automation.
With any significant investment, you need to partner with an organization that has deep experience with the technologies that are being considered and … in-depth knowledge of the process that is being automated.
Q: How can a goods-to-person system reduce the amount of labor needed to fill orders?
A: In most order picking operations, there is a considerable amount of walking between pick faces to find the SKUs associated with a given order or set of orders. Goods-to-person eliminates the walking and allows the operator to just pick. I have seen studies that [show] that 75% of the time [required] to assemble an order in a manual picking environment is walking or “non-picking” time. So eliminating walking will reduce the amount of labor needed.
The goods-to-person approach also fits perfectly with robotic picking, so even the actual picking aspect of order assembly can be automated in some instances. For these reasons, [automation offers] a significant opportunity to reduce the labor needed to fulfill a customer order.
Q: If you could pick one thing a company should do to improve its distribution center operations, what would it be?
A: Evaluate. Evaluate the opportunities for improving by considering automation. In my experience, the challenge most companies have is recognizing that automation is an alternative. The barrier to entry is far lower than most people think!
Toyota Material Handling and its nationwide network of dealers showcased their commitment to improving their local communities during the company’s annual “Lift the Community Day.” Since 2021, Toyota associates have participated in an annual day-long philanthropic event held near Toyota’s Columbus, Indiana, headquarters. This year, the initiative expanded to include participation from Toyota’s dealers, increasing the impact on communities throughout the U.S. A total of 324 Toyota associates completed 2,300 hours of community service during this year’s event.
The PMMI Foundation, the charitable arm of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, awarded nearly $200,000 in scholarships to students pursuing careers in the packaging and processing industry. Each year, the PMMI Foundation provides academic scholarships to students studying packaging, food processing, and engineering to underscore its commitment to the future of the packaging and processing industry.
Truck leasing and fleet management services provider Fleet Advantage hosted its “Kids Around the Corner Foundation” back-to-school backpack drive in July. During the event, company associates assembled 200 backpacks filled with essential school supplies for high school-age students. The backpacks were then delivered to Henderson Behavioral Health’s Youth & Family Services location in Tamarac, Florida.
For the past seven years, third-party logistics service specialist ODW Logistics has provided logistics support for the Pelotonia Ride Weekend, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As in the past, ODW provided inventory management services and transportation for the riders’ bicycles at this year’s event. In all, some 7,000 riders and 3,000 volunteers participated in the ride weekend.