At Deutsche Post-DHL’s 2017 "Innovation Day" at its Bonn, Germany, Innovation Center, the winners of a series of technology "challenges" introduced new products, including autonomous warehouse robots, an online platform for package drop-offs and an internet of things (IoT) approach to online shopping, among other new logistics offerings.
I’ve been driving big trucks since shortly after my 21st birthday in 1980 and I always figured I’d be able to stay on the road until retirement. Now I’m not so sure. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Daimler, Tesla, Uber, Ford and Toyota are all investing billions of dollars in driverless vehicles.
A few years ago, Amazon.com Inc. triggered a robot arms race when it purchased a company called Kiva Systems, maker of automated warehouse robots. Now its would-be rivals are landing bigger and bigger cash injections to try to compete with the e-commerce giant.
The singularly defining moment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) — even bigger than when IBM's Deep Blue beat chess master Garry Kasparov — happened back in in 2011 when the unbeatable Jeopardy! Champion Ken Jennings was finally taken down by IBM's new supercomputer, Watson.
Every retail company has to cope with the changes mandated by operating in an omnichannel world, and seasonality confronts every one of them with pressures they don't see the rest of the year. But for companies in the retail hardware space, e-commerce and seasonal business peaks carry their own special challenges.
The new purported norm created by Amazon's two-day shipping hits two key groups of stakeholders — consumers and supply chain service and equipment providers — differently. How the latter respond is critically important to business success.
A robotic material handling unit zips through a global toy manufacturer's six-story distribution center. As the unit retrieves an open-top plastic container filled with freshly molded toy planes from an automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS), sparks from a frayed electrical cable on the robot fly everywhere, igniting both the toy planes and the plastic container in which they are stored.
Aging logistics managers have voiced concerns for some time that the next generation of logistics leaders are slipping away to sexier industries like - well, is there really anything hotter than full end-to-end supply chain visibility?
The latest news, analysis, services and solutions regarding warehousing and distribution systems and their impact on global supply chains. Today’s companies are moving goods across more suppliers, vendors and customers than ever before, and warehouses are critical points in the overall supply chain. New technologies in warehouse management systems (WMS), automation, robotics, RFID and order fulfillment are transforming the way companies do business — and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As these solutions continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies around the world are improving supply-chain operations through their strategic use of warehousing and distribution services.
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