Victoria Kickham started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for DC Velocity.
It’s June, spring is in full swing, and as businesses emerge from the pandemic’s grip, professionals across the logistics industry are preparing for the return of an age-old custom: business travel. As I write, business groups and trade associations that were forced to move their annual meetings and conferences online this past year are gearing up for in-person events around the country, protocols in place and up-to-the-minute guidance in hand.
Although the return to business travel is likely a welcome event for many, it will be accompanied by a fair bit of anxiety about just what to expect after more than a year of virtual meetings, prerecorded presentations, and livestreamed panel discussions. Concerns will linger over health and safety. Frustrations may run high regarding rules and regulations. And there is likely to be legitimate confusion over shifting guidance and advice, especially if your travel schedule takes you to multiple meetings in myriad states. No doubt that trade show in Florida will have different protocols in place than the regional meeting you’re scheduled to attend in Chicago.
If you find yourself conflicted over whether or not to get back on the road again, rest assured you’re not alone. A mid-March study by technology firm Envoy found that 66% of employees don’t want to return to a post-Covid workplace, citing health and safety concerns. But even more than that, the simple truth seems to be that the work-from-home lifestyle has become comfortable for many people. They don’t miss their long commute or their hectic travel schedule, and they don’t mind virtual meetings and online presentations. They’ve mastered Zoom. Only time will tell how that will work out, as more companies ease their employees back to a somewhat “normal” schedule. But the steadily improving outlook should provide some comfort. As I write, Covid-19 cases are slowing nationwide, and hospitalizations and deaths are down considerably. The economy continues to improve. Companies are desperately seeking workers.
And as time moves on, optimism is taking over. A Gartner study from March revealed that there is far less uncertainty and more optimism among business leaders when it comes to travel and in-person events as 2021 unfolds. Gartner polled human resources (HR) leaders about the issue and found that nearly 40% said they expected their companies to restart normal business travel over the next three to nine months, compared with just 23% who felt that way in December. What’s more, only 35% of HR leaders said they didn’t know when their companies would resume business travel, down from more than 60% who said so in December. When asked about resuming other in-person activities, including client meetings and conferences, the results were similar: In March, 43% of HR leaders said their firms would be resuming those activities over the next three to nine months, compared with just 19% who said so in December. Uncertainty waned as well: 31% maintained in March that they didn’t know when their companies would resume in-person activities, down from 48% in December.
No matter where you fall on the pandemic spectrum—regarding the science, economics, and politics of it all—one thing seems clear: We know a lot more now than we did a year ago. Schools and businesses have been up and running in many places, successfully. Vaccination levels are rising. The logistics industry has been on the front lines since the beginning, and many readers may not have had the luxury of staying home and still collecting a paycheck. For the rest of us, it’s time to think about getting back out there.
Consulting firm Accenture has taken another step to bulk up its supply chain advisory capabilities, announcing Monday that it has acquired Allitix, a California-based consulting and technology company specializing in Anaplan solutions with capabilities across financial planning and analysis, sales performance management, and supply chain.
Anaplan is a Florida provider of corporate performance management (CPM) systems, which it defines as enterprise cloud software that empowers organizations to see, plan, and lead better business outcomes by aligning their strategic objectives and resources.
Allitix provides tailored Anaplan-based solutions across finance, sales, supply chain, and human resources functions, with specific competencies in the manufacturing, consumer, technology, media and telecom, and financial services industries.
“Demand for connected enterprise planning is on the rise, given its ability to unlock business value and spur total enterprise reinvention,” David Leckstein, senior managing director and lead, Americas Technology at Accenture, said in a release. “Allitix’s highly skilled talent, deep domain expertise, and agile approach to implementation complements our broader digital capabilities and further expands our ability to deliver integrated enterprise planning transformations for our clients that drive better, faster insights and bottom-line value.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Accenture said that the acquisition adds 73 employees, including over 60 Anaplan functional and technical professionals to Accenture Technology in North America, with expertise across solution architecture, model building, integration, and data management.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.
Chalfont, Pennsylvania-based Jillamy calls itself a 3PL provider with expertise in international freight, intermodal, less than truckload (LTL), consolidation, over the road truckload, partials, expedited, and air freight.
"We are excited to welcome the Jillamy freight team into the Mode Global family," Lance Malesh, Mode’s president and CEO, said in a release. "This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy and aligns perfectly with Mode's strategic vision to expand our footprint, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the logistics industry. Joining forces with Jillamy enhances our service portfolio and provides our clients with more comprehensive and efficient logistics solutions."
In addition to its flagship Clorox bleach product, Oakland, California-based Clorox manages a diverse catalog of brands including Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad, Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Kingsford, Scoop Away, Fresh Step, 409, Brita, Liquid Plumr, and Tilex.
British carbon emissions reduction platform provider M2030 is designed to help suppliers measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions. The new partnership aims to advance decarbonization throughout Clorox's value chain through the collection of emissions data, jointly identified and defined actions for reduction and continuous upskilling.
The program, which will record key figures on energy, will be gradually rolled out to several suppliers of the company's strategic raw materials and packaging, which collectively represents more than half of Clorox's scope 3 emissions.
M2030 enables suppliers to regularly track and share their progress with other customers using the M2030 platform. Suppliers will also be able to export relevant compatible data for submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global disclosure system to manage environmental data.
"As part of Clorox's efforts to foster a cleaner world, we have a responsibility to ensure our suppliers are equipped with the capabilities necessary for forging their own sustainability journeys," said Niki King, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Clorox Company. "Climate action is a complex endeavor that requires companies to engage all parts of their supply chain in order to meaningfully reduce their environmental impact."
Supply chain risk analytics company Everstream Analytics has launched a product that can quantify the impact of leading climate indicators and project how identified risk will impact customer supply chains.
Expanding upon the weather and climate intelligence Everstream already provides, the new “Climate Risk Scores” tool enables clients to apply eight climate indicator risk projection scores to their facilities and supplier locations to forecast future climate risk and support business continuity.
The tool leverages data from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to project scores to varying locations using those eight category indicators: tropical cyclone, river flood, sea level rise, heat, fire weather, cold, drought and precipitation.
The Climate Risk Scores capability provides indicator risk projections for key natural disaster and weather risks into 2040, 2050 and 2100, offering several forecast scenarios at each juncture. The proactive planning tool can apply these insights to an organization’s systems via APIs, to directly incorporate climate projections and risk severity levels into your action systems for smarter decisions. Climate Risk scores offer insights into how these new operations may be affected, allowing organizations to make informed decisions and mitigate risks proactively.
“As temperatures and extreme weather events around the world continue to rise, businesses can no longer ignore the impact of climate change on their operations and suppliers,” Jon Davis, Chief Meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, said in a release. “We’ve consulted with the world’s largest brands on the top risk indicators impacting their operations, and we’re thrilled to bring this industry-first capability into Explore to automate access for all our clients. With pathways ranging from low to high impact, this capability further enables organizations to grasp the full spectrum of potential outcomes in real-time, make informed decisions and proactively mitigate risks.”
According to New Orleans-based LongueVue, the “strategic rebranding” brings together the complementary capabilities of these three companies to form a vertically integrated flexible packaging leader with expertise in blown film production, flexographic printing, adhesive laminations, and converting.
“This unified platform enables us to provide our customers with greater flexibility and innovation across all aspects of packaging," Joe Piccione, CEO of Innotex, said in a release. "As we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of the industry, we look forward to delivering exceptional solutions and service."