Author: Zuum Transportation

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Blog Shipper News

ZUUM Transportation Launches ZUUM BEYOND TMS for Shippers

ZUUM BEYOND TMS for Business and Enterprise shippers can extend and enhance existing transportation management systems – or work as a complete standalone system. With real-time visibility, workflow automation, and connected data flow, ZUUM BEYOND TMS delivers capacity access, actionable intelligence and freight network control beyond traditional TMS capabilities. Shippers can digitally aggregate capacity, reduce freight spend and improve service levels. Operations are managed more efficiently. Actionable intelligence and automated digital notifications provide better control of freight networks through universal API and EDI integration and a user-friendly interface – all currently without upfront cost.

Irvine, California (BUSINESS WIRE) – Today, logistics technology innovator, ZUUM Transportation, launched ZUUM BEYOND TMS with ZUUM Business and ZUUM Enterprise, expanding the modular product line of their Logistics Super Platform. ZUUM Business and ZUUM Enterprise combine a freight marketplace and load management system with mobile functionality, providing real-time actionable intelligence, real-time visibility, and digital freight network control. They are connected to ZUUM’s Logistics Super Platform, which integrates all products for shippers, brokers, and carriers. It will join ZUUM Capacity Pro in ZUUM’s product line for shippers. 

Following the disruption in 2020, companies faced immense pressure from customers, partners, and shareholders to digitize their supply chains. A Logistics Tech Trends Report noted that “the TMS market [is] flooded with options — thousands at the last count,” but many systems either fail to deliver robust solutions that can manage complex supply chains or offer complicated tools that ignore the shipper’s core pain points. FreightWaves recognizes the untapped value ZUUM’s technology is bringing to the logistics industry and dubbed ZUUM as part of “the next class” of innovative solutions for the logistics industry.  ZUUM was also recently named one of Food Logistics’ 2020 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers.

Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA acknowledges ZUUM’s efforts in pursuing their mission “ZUUM is a phenomenal partner. From our perspective, in addition to quality capacity, ZUUM has the best logistics and transportation management software available, and the organization has a customer and partner first approach” says Larian.

“The journey to scaling an organization can be ambiguous. Minimizing friction, bridging gaps and implementing quickly are at the core of hyper growth” says Matt Tabatabai, COO and Co-Founder of ZUUM Transportation. “Launching ZUUM Business and Enterprise has been a huge milestone for us in creating solutions that deliver true value for our customers. Along with providing access to additional capacity and lowering freight costs, we canvassed the market to provide a comprehensive solution that is both user-friendly and easy to deploy with its design, architecture, and available integrations.” 

In his latest interview with FreightWaves, Matt Tababatabai “emphasized the need for systems to include value-adding tools in order to help shippers manage their current and future supply chain needs.”

Since its founding in 2016, ZUUM has grown to become a validated top-tier service provider that delivers thousands of freight-loads per month for more than 250 enterprise shippers, including several Fortune 500 companies. ZUUM provides critically needed efficiency, real-time visibility, and higher productivity during each stage of freight management.

ZUUM Business was created to meet the needs of SMB and Mid-size shippers. It offers access to reliable capacity instantly, whenever and wherever you need it. It provides an alternative to resource-intensive manual processes through automation and provides insights that help them scale their businesses. ZUUM Enterprise was designed for organizations that may be locked into contracts with existing systems but are looking for better solutions with a relevant feature set and easy usability, that can be used in tandem with those systems. ZUUM Enterprise manages and optimizes your freight network on one platform through advanced intelligence and automation. ZUUM delivers value of data analysis in decision making. The features exclusively offered in ZUUM Enterprise are tailored for companies that want to identify new areas of opportunity for efficiency, productivity, and cost-savings. 

The release of ZUUM Business and ZUUM Enterprise will include the following capabilities. 

  • ZUUM Capacity Pro: Users gain immediate access to ZUUM’s 11,800 vetted carriers nationwide
  • Internal Shipper Marketplace: Users can leverage insights and an easy-to-understand user interface to optimize collaboration with their existing logistics partners.
  • Carrier & Broker Onboarding: Easily onboard carriers and brokers so that tendering freight becomes a two-click process that only takes seconds, instead of hours.
  • Carrier & Broker Management: ZUUM Enterprise simplifies administrative tasks, enabling users to better manage their internal freight networks.
  • Instant Smart Pricing: ZUUM’s proprietary algorithm provides recommendations for freight rates for a given date and lane.
  • Lane Management: Multiple lanes can be uploaded with an excel document to expedite manual entry. This tool is best utilized when a customer needs to cover shipments for repeated lanes.
  • Reports and Analytics: Basic and advanced reports on shipment activity, freight spend, load details, carrier spend, and carbon footprint. ZUUM Enterprise provides an even more comprehensive analysis of these metrics for larger companies.
  • Smart Dashboards: Customizations to Shipments Dashboards to monitor key metrics more easily.
  • Digital Load Tendering: Users can post their shipment details once, and get carrier bids from ZUUM’s Capacity Pro and their internal freight network simultaneously.
  • Financial Management: A database and payment module that includes Accounts Payable and Bills.
  • Smart Map: A live map view of all active/booked shipments and each of their transit milestones.
  • Full Shipment Management: The ability to edit shipment details at any time, manage the assigned carrier, view a detailed tracking page and more.
  • Integrations: ZUUM partners with external enterprise-class TMS systems through an open API to offer modular technology.
  • Deployment: The cloud-based technology allows the fastest deployment in the industry – with no upfront cost so shippers can begin shipping faster than with any other TMS on the market today.
  • Dynamic RFP: Shippers can create and run multiple RFP events to reduce their tender rejection rate and secure dependable carriers for dedicated lanes. ZUUM Enterprise and Business support dynamic RFPs so businesses can remain flexible in volatile markets.

CEO of ZUUM Transportation, Mustafa Azizi highlights ZUUM’s efforts to enable opportunities for growth and promote healthy competition among shippers. “This year has brought new challenges and magnified long-standing inefficiencies throughout the industry. But where adversity appears, innovation follows. I’m proud of how fast my team has managed to produce these new tools that allow companies to take their destiny into their own hands.” says Azizi.

ZUUM expects tens of thousands of shippers to take advantage of these cloud-based transportation management technologies, building a massive global community where ZUUM can efficiently match capacity to demand across supply chains on one Logistics Super Platform. 

The unexpected events in 2020 launched a race towards digital transformation throughout the logistics and transportation industry. Existing protocols and legacy systems were stretched to  their limits, exposing the difficulty of oversight and management of unforeseen circumstances.

The last round of funding of $8.58 million completed early 2020, for a total raise of $12.58 million, accelerated the company’s technology and product development. The release of ZUUM Business and ZUUM Enterprise initiates the expansion of the logistics super platform that is continuing throughout 2021. 

About ZUUM Transportation

ZUUM Transportation, Inc. is a rapidly growing tech startup transforming the logistics industry. Their vision is to optimize logistics and streamline supply chains globally with one efficient, automated, and easy-to-use super platform. Centralized information flow provides actionable intelligence, capacity aggregation provides instant access to vetted carriers, and back office automation reduces errors and maximizes productivity. ZUUM combines a digital freight marketplace with a shipper TMS, broker SaaS, carrier TMS, and mobile driver app.

ZUUM – AUTOMATE YOUR FREIGHT™

Categories
Blog Supply Chain Expertise

Valentine’s Day by the Numbers

Like every holiday during the past year, Valentine’s Day will look a little different this year. Based on the National Retail Federation and Insights & Analytics’ annual Valentine’s Day survey, “consumers plan to spend an average $165 on Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations.” While this figure has actually decreased from last year’s average Valentine’s Day spend of $196 per person, this year’s celebration follows “a record-setting winter holiday season.”

On top of that, the NRF also highlighted that 46% of respondents are “actively avoiding in-person gatherings” leading to a $1.5 billion drop in Valentine’s Day spending this year. Some ways Americans are celebrating valentines days during this age of lockdown gifting boxed Chocolates, preparing at home meal Kits, and sending floral arrangements.

Having roses delivered to your special someone is a highly coordinated logistics effort as the average lifespan of a rose once it has been cut is 19 days. The restricted delivery window is the very reason why “Valentine’s Day — not Christmas — is when UPS moves the most freight out of Colombia,” one of the U.S.’ largest importer of roses.

Due to rising demand for inexpensive roses and the expansion of U.S. trade agreements, “US-produced roses sank by 7.5% while imports from Colombia jumped by 33.4%.” American growers are simply unable to compete with Columbia’s blooming flower industry.

The director of packaging at Elite, a leading grower in Columbia highlighted that a majority of the roses that are grown at his facility are consumed internationally, with  “80% [going] to North America and the rest to Europe.”

Americans are expected to spend “an estimated $2 billion” roses and $21.8 billion on Valentine’s day altogether. The NRF anticipates spending for next year’s activities to return to expected levels when businesses reopen.

Sources:

https://nrf.com/blog/3-ways-covid-19-changing-valentines-day-plans-year

https://www.supplychain247.com/article/the_logistics_of_valentines_day_during_covid19

https://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/news-valentines-day-logistics/

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-valentines-day-roses-travel-from-colombia-your-doorstep-2019-2

Categories
Blog Broker News

5 Benefits of Being a Freight Agent

Indispensable to our way of life, the logistics and supply chain industry are a source of vast  employment opportunities. Interconnected with a variety of industries, always on the edge of innovation, the possibilities are endless.

According to Harvard Business Review, “the U.S. supply chain contains 37% of all jobs, employing 44 million people. These jobs have significantly higher than average wages, and account for much of the innovative activity in the economy. The intensity of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) jobs, a proxy for innovation potential, is almost 5 times higher in the supply chain economy than in the B2C economy.”

One role in particular offers several benefits that can be hard to pass up for those looking to join the industry: freight agents. But what exactly does a freight agent do? They act as the middlemen between companies looking to ship their products and carriers searching for freight to move. Seems simple enough, right? Actually, these middlemen play a vital role in managing communications between these two parties, making sure the freight has been both retrieved and transported properly, and even helping companies optimize their incurred costs. How do they accomplish this? By understanding the industry, relaying updates,and paying close attention on how they can improve their services. Below are some of the top reasons to consider becoming a freight agent. 

1. Anyone Can Do It

By this, we mean that formal education or training is required to become a freight agent. This is increasingly rare in a job market that demands four-year degrees at minimum to be considered for entry-level positions. In supply chain management, career advancement is a very real possibility and allows you to make the best use of your talents. Start learning the ins and outs of the industry, research the needs of the different professionals you will be interacting with, and work hard to create relationships and build your freight network. Delivering reliable shipments and consistent communication will speak for itself. 

2. Work Your Own Hours

Another rare benefit of working as an agent is the flexibility you have with your schedule as you can set your own hours. Rather than being paid on an hourly basis, you are paid according to the number of loads you cover. Whether this takes you one or ten hours, that is up to you and the state of the market. 

3. Work From Home

Freight agents enjoy the luxury of working virtually anywhere with an internet connection,  whether it be from the comfort of their own home or a dedicated office space. This is especially beneficial in the age of COVID-19. This means the cost of commuting can be eliminated. Due to the nature of this work, connecting with customers across the globe will be constant and working in a remote setting is very much the norm.

4. Minimal Cost to Get Started

As straightforward as it sounds, the only expenses that are absolutely necessary, are a phone, internet, and a laptop or desktop. You won’t have to worry about licenses, insurance, or many of the other details that run up the cost of working independently. Another tool to consider investing in is a transportation management system (TMS), which helps to streamline communications and delivery between you, your carriers and your clients. 

5. Maximize Profits

Income is arguably, one of the most important considerations in deciding to pursue a new role–whether you’re just getting started or choosing to switch industries. Freight brokers embody the entrepreneurial spirit. If you are motivated and confident, you can earn good money in this position. The best part is there is no limit on how much you can earn as an agent. The more you freight you move, the more money you take home. Indeed.com currently lists the average base salary for a freight agent at over $60,000 a year. 

To learn more about ZUUM’s Independent Freight Agent Program click here. To see other exciting opportunities with ZUUM, head over to our Careers page.

Sources:

https://hbr.org/2018/03/the-supply-chain-economy-and-the-future-of-good-jobs-in-america

https://www.armstrongtransport.com/blog/should-i-become-a-freight-agent

Categories
Blog Logistics News

CES 2021 Goes Virtual

Now that 2020 is behind us and we are at the start of the new year, we are all excited to embrace the rising waves of innovation that are sure to come from this year’s CES event. With the first convention taking place all the way back in 1967, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is an annual technology fair hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to showcase companies and products that feature groundbreaking innovation. There is a diverse selection of transformative products that made their debut at CES in the past, including the VCR, HDTV, satellite radio, the Microsoft Xbox, and 3D printers. This year, organizers announced their first completely digital CES event, held from Jan. 11 – Jan. 14, 2021. The convention is typically held in Las Vegas but made adjustments adapt to the new reality spurred by the Coronavirus pandemic.

This is what the CTA had to say in a press release announcing their switch to a virtual event: 

“The new format will allow participants to hear from technology innovators, see cutting-edge technologies and the latest product launches, and engage with global brands and startups from around the world. […] CES 2021 will be a new immersive experience, where attendees will have a front row seat to discover and see the latest technology. This highly personalized experience will bring a global event to the comfort and safety of your home or office. […] We plan to return to Las Vegas for CES 2022, combining the best elements of a physical and digital show.”

Rather than physical meetings and in-person displays, CES 2021 has totally reconstructed their platform to offer the best of the tech industry in a way that remains safe and convenient for all of those involved. As the active workforce has predictably shrunk in response to COVID-19, new technologies are bound to focus on the limitations that have subsequently made themselves known. The influence of the pandemic can be seen clearly in some of the technologies that were showcased this year. 

From gaming company Razer comes Project Hazel, an auto-sterilizing N95 face mask that impressively features wireless charging and voice-amp technology. Alongside were new and improved robotic models of existing products that could take on risky tasks.  Cleaning, for instance, could expose a person to the virus. Specifically, LG introduced their UV-C robot, an autonomous technology that disinfects surfaces and has been confirmed to be rolled out in schools, healthcare facilities, and workplaces later this year. Both of these products highlight a focus on reducing the risk of droplet transmission. 

Another trend that is more unique to this year’s event is the merging of the home and work life. Social-distancing measures have created an influx of technologies that enhance a stay-at-home work environment. X-Chair’s X-HMT is described by the company as “an Ergonomic Massage Chair for Home and Work.” Meanwhile, Dell unveiled their Latitude laptops with an automated physical shutter for the webcam, an innovation likely stemming from occurrences where people forget to check that their camera function is off when it is not being used..

News website ZDNet identifies health, wellness, and workplace safety as the number one trend for players in the tech industry to pay close attention to. They predict the workforce will return to “a new normal marked by more hybrid working environments, increased reliance on e-commerce and delivery-based services, growth in the use of physical and mental health monitoring devices, and lots of new tech to help people safely come together in person.”

Although this year’s convention has come to a close, it has ushered in technologies that would have been strange to consider as essential a year prior. Touchless tech, ultraviolet disinfectors, and air purifiers may have jumped to the forefront, but gaming tables, sunglasses that stream your favorite shows, and many more fun, new innovations have come out this year that keep us inspired. 

Sources:

https://www.cnet.com/news/ces-2021-showed-us-how-robots-can-ease-our-pandemic-woes/

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2021-lenovo-says-tech-transportability-is-key-for-hybrid-work-environments/

https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/15/the-pandemic-was-top-of-mind-in-the-tech-of-ces-2021/

https://www.ces.tech/News/Press-Releases/CES-Press-Release.aspx?NodeID=321a27ba-86f2-4c8d-92d2-fb0f4580ed1

Categories
Blog Logistics News

ZUUM Transportation Named Food Logistics’ 2020 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Provider

ZUUM Transportation, a leading logistics technology company for manufacturers, freight brokers, and carriers, has been named 2020 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Provider by Food Logistics. Food Logistics magazine is covering software & technology, warehousing, transportation, safety & security, sustainability, and risk & compliance for global food supply chains. The FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list honors leading software and technology providers that ensure a safe, efficient and reliable global food and beverage supply chain.

Advanced Logistics Technology for Food Producers & Manufacturers

ZUUM Transportation provides critically needed transportation capacity as well as advanced transportation management software for efficiency, real-time visibility, and higher productivity. This helps companies better manage transportation during a pandemic and cope with volatile freight rates. ZUUM Capacity Pro provides supply chain leaders with dynamic smart pricing, instant capacity, excellent service levels, real-time track & trace, back-office automation, and secure universal integration.

Better Service Levels AND Lower Freight Cost

Since 2016, ZUUM Transportation has grown to deliver thousands of loads per month for more than 235 shippers, including several Fortune 500 companies. Freight is booked online, matching shippers with pre-vetted carriers. ZUUM provides shippers with better service levels (96.3-98.7% SOTC), reduced transportation costs (12-15% per load) and faster load matching (35-45% faster).

Enhanced Operations to Mitigate Supply Chain Volatility & Risk

“We are honored to be recognized as one of Food Logistics’ 2020 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers” said Chris Lee, Vice President of Business Development of ZUUM Transportation. “We designed our ZUUM Capacity Pro to enhance our customers’ operations and mitigate vulnerabilities within their supply chains. Our technology was made to help companies overcome unexpected challenges like the ones the food and beverage industry has recently undergone.”

“From fleet management to warehouse management to simply just track and trace along the cold food chain, these software and technology providers have definitely stepped it up to ensure cold food and beverage products continue moving along the line without incident,” says Maina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “This pandemic has thrown the food industry a curveball, but many of these providers fast-tracked the development and deployment of their solutions to ensure food safety, traceability, visibility and quality assurance. So, to these winners and others working to make a difference, thank you!”

Companies on this year’s 2020 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list are profiled in the November/December 2020 issue of Food Logistics, and online at www.foodlogistics.com.

About ZUUM Transportation INC

ZUUM Transportation, Inc. is a rapidly growing tech startup transforming the logistics industry globally with one efficient, automated, and easy-to-use super platform. ZUUM combines digital freight marketplace with shipper TMS, broker SaaS, carrier TMS, and mobile driver app.

ZUUM – AUTOMATE YOUR FREIGHT™

Categories
Blog Supply Chain Expertise

4 Supply Chain Technology Trends to Watch for 2021

Analysts are encouraging manufacturers to prepare for the economy to rebound as we head into the new year. Deutsche Bank analyst, Amit Mehrotra shared his “long-held bullish stance on transportation equities” and identifies the “lift in the industrial economy, strong housing demand, continued inventory restocking and a release of pent-up consumer demand.” While protecting operations from disruptions will continue to be a primary concern in 2021, companies will explore new ways to optimize their supply chains to meet modern demand. We rounded up 4 supply chain technology trends to watch for 2021.

Predictive Analytics

Enterprise manufacturers will continue to look for solutions that provide greater visibility well into 2021. The visibility technology available allows managers to access updates on their shipments and identify any issues that may arise in real time, but “what good is seeing a problem if you can’t resolve it.” With the help of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics is  primarily used to guide decisions regarding “intelligent transportation and route planning, demand planning and others.” This past year, supply chain leaders needed to adapt their process quickly due to drastic peaks in demand and uncertain supplies. To minimize the negative impact of unanticipated circumstances,“organizations must enable better access to information, augment that information with better insight and have the ability to respond quickly to the implications of that insight.”

Automation

Manual processes for paperwork, communication, and reporting have remained a widespread problem for the logistics industry. A study by  the Tungsten Network reported that U.S. businesses lost an average of $171,340 per year “chasing purchase order numbers, processing paper invoices and responding to supplier inquiries.” By automating these processes, companies become “more efficient, reliable, and profitable” by minimizing the time spent on essential tasks, reducing errors, lowering costs, and promoting information sharing across the organization. Gartner’s Research Vice President, Brian Burke provides keen insight and predicts that “hyperautomation is irreversible and inevitable. Everything that can and should be automated will be automated.”

Integrated Systems & Layered Technologies

Legacy software have been central to enterprise supply chain operations. However, evolving buying patterns and business practices bring a new set of challenges that these systems may not be able to keep up with. While  replacing legacy software with emerging technology may sound like a simple solution, the undertaking will turn out to be quite costly. Newcomers in the logistics technology space recognize this barrier, understand many shippers use a combination of tools and therefore have the capability to “integrate multiple management systems via API and the cloud.” It is important to note that increasing the number of technologies will not not necessarily lead to an increase in efficiency and optimization. Each piece of technology must work together and streamline your workflow, rather than creating additional steps. If implemented properly, manufacturers, or shippers, can overcome the limitations of their existing systems. 

Omnichannel Operations

Many companies that provide consumer products and commodities were one of the first to feel the pressures of rising demand and tight supplies during the early days of lockdown. When companies choose to diversify their resources and sales channels, they are better equipped to maintain business continuity and position themselves for resilience. A UPS driver recently interviewed by NPR described the record number home deliveries when the U.S. economy first came to halt as “Christmas time in March.” Meeting customer expectations regardless of circumstances became a top priority for shippers that will likely persist throughout 2021.

Sources:

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/2021-trucking-outlook-comes-into-focus-1029909508

https://www.supplychain247.com/article/top_trends_accelerating_the_supply_chain_in_2021

https://www.supplychaindigital.com/logistics/role-ai-and-big-data-modern-day-logistics

https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-strategic-technology-trends-for-2021/

https://www.mhlnews.com/global-supply-chain/article/22054569/supply-chain-losing-hours-money-to-poor-financial-systems

https://financesonline.com/supply-chain-trends/

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/18/947837763/dear-present-procrastinators-ship-that-holiday-gift-now

Categories
Blog Logistics News

How the Biggest Players in Transportation Join Forces to Distribute Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine and Deliver Hope

After months of reconfiguring our daily lives, we as Americans can breathe a small sigh of relief. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19. Now that there is the first real answer to the virus that has affected all of us, how can it be made available to people that need it most?

Healthcare workers and the elderly across our country are of course most at risk. So the announcement has initiated the highly coordinated endeavour between public entities and corporations to deliver vaccines to hospitals and health clinics around the country. To coordinate the transportation to critical locations, this venture is led by the Department of Defense under Operation Warp Speed. 

The deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Health and Human Services, Paul Mango, clarifies the government’s role in sourcing and distributing all necessary supplies – such as “needles, syringes, swabs, adhesive bandages, dry ice and trucks” needed for inoculation sites and managing re-routing of vaccines in transit if they are “at risk of expiring.”

A Challenging Supply Chain

The scale of organizing a logistics and transportation network of this size is not the only challenge. Additional focus is placed on the speed of delivery – as the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech “must be stored and shipped at temperatures of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 Celsius), otherwise it will go bad.” 

Pfizer’s U.S. manufacturing plants located in Saint Louis, Missouri, Andover, Massachusetts, and Kalamazoo, Michigan are responsible for providing a majority of the nation’s only currently available vaccine – and properly packaging the shipments with dry ice. To supplement available supply, United Airlines was the “the first commercial airline to fly the vaccine to the U.S. from Belgium, where Pfizer has a plant.”

Shipping by Air

Prior to Pfizer’s announcement of the success of their clinical trials, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines worked diligently with government agencies and pharmaceutical companies to evaluate the potential movements of the vaccine once it would become available. They conducted simulations over the summer to ensure the temperature of the transported dry ice would remain low enough, while not posing a danger to pilots, since the evaporation of dry ice “can cause aircrew incapacitation.” As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration “is now allowing United and other airlines to carry up to 15,000 lbs. of dry ice, five times more than the previous maximum amount allowed.”

Transportation by Road

Other federal transportation agencies have also mirrored these efforts to help accelerate delivery. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made the decision to suspend “hours-of-service rules that regulate how long truckers may drive.” Carriers specialized in the transportation of pharmaceuticals will deliver the shipments to FedEx and UPS distribution centers. The shipping companies have divided their last-mile delivery networks and are working “together to ensure speedy delivery of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide.” 

Coordinating Logistics – Working Together for All of Us

If this moment in time has taught us anything, it is that the transportation and logistics industry not only provides access to essential everyday supplies, but also has the capability to rise above and execute the largest vaccination campaign in the U.S. Competitors across segments, specifically in transportation, have come together to share the responsibility of delivering the vaccine across the country.

In just a few days, the industry has managed to reassemble operations, adapt to “a rapidly changing, ambiguous, turbulent environment,” and demonstrate a high level of agility and efficiency. Passenger aircrafts were repurposed to move cargo. Two of the largest shipping providers designated distribution territories. Coordination of this magnitude would not be possible without recognizing the extensive planning that commenced in the spring. A person familiar with the Pfizer development mentioned in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that the firm began “setting up the supply chain in March, while the vaccine was still being developed.”

Overcoming the Pandemic Together

Not all heroes wear capes. They are doctors, nurses, pilots, and truck drivers. Direction, planning, coordination, technology, machines and people – the transportation and logistics industry has played a vital role in igniting a sense of hope and taking the first step towards putting this pandemic behind us.

Sources:

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2393298/military-to-play-logistics-only-role-in-covid-19-vaccine-effort/

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/11/945670606/transporting-and-distributing-vaccines-will-be-unprecedented-logistical-operatio

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/business/vaccine-distribution-coronavirus/index.html

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-keys-to-organizational-agility

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-slashed-its-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-target-after-facing-supply-chain-obstacles-11607027787

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/airlines-logistics-companies-ramp-up-global-vaccine-deliveries


 

Categories
Blog Shipper News Supply Chain Expertise

How to Supplement Shipping Capacity with Digital Freight Marketplaces to Save Time and Money During Peak Season

Supply chains have transformed tremendously over time to meet growing consumer demand and fluctuating supply of goods and raw materials. Supply chain leaders are tasked with designing a freight network “that offers consistent and reliable delivery services” while remaining adaptive to “customer requirements” and continues to improve “operating efficiency.”

Harvard Business Review highlights the lasting effects Coronavirus has had on supply chain networks in their analysis stating that “many things are not going to change. Consumers will continue to want low prices (especially in a recession), and firms won’t be able to charge more just because they manufacture in higher-cost home markets.”

Once businesses began to reopen in the summer, manufacturers needed to produce more quickly. The Wall Street Journal noted that these conditions “could set off what is known as the “bullwhip effect,” in which efforts to restock while meeting increased demand travel through supply chains, affecting finished-goods manufacturers, makers of parts and components and raw-materials suppliers.”  With companies seeking to meet the recovering demand, they need to bolster their operations and quickly address any vulnerabilities in their supply chain that the pandemic exposed.

Digital Freight Marketplaces – Fast & Convenient Access to Capacity When Needed

With an increased need to move goods and materials, would the typical workflow supply chain leaders share to procure transportation keep up with these extreme circumstances? First, they look to their internal carrier network. Then, they  enlist the support of freight brokers. After exhausting these options, digital freight marketplaces become “a great way for shippers and carriers to quickly expand their operating networks.” Journal of Commerce explains the digital freight marketplace’s key function: “at its core, digital freight matching is about more efficiently connecting sources of freight with sources of capacity that would otherwise have no way to find one another.”

It may be difficult to discern how a digital freight marketplace differs from a freight broker — digital or not. However, FreightWaves makes a clear distinction between the two by noting “in terms of the value proposition to customers, every digital freight marketplace would also function as a digital freight brokerage but not every digital freight brokerage would be a true marketplace.” While they both match shippers to carriers, the vast network provided by digital freight marketplaces enables shippers to book trucks more quickly and at a lower price.

New Ways to Cope with the Capacity Crunch

Manufacturers have become accustomed to the capacity crunch due peak shipping season, however, this peak season shipping offers a new set of challenges. This may be the primary reason for the spot market reaching record highs. Rather than making additional investments, there are strategies to help managers better utilize digital freight marketplaces beyond expanding carrier networks.

Supply chain leaders should leverage digital marketplaces alongside their internal carrier networks. By managing RFPs for your existing carrier network and a digital freight marketplace simultaneously, companies will be able to increase their chances of finding a carrier faster and at a lower price.

In some cases, companies have minimal leniency, if any, with their transportation budgets. Automating bid acceptance when a carrier agrees to the set price accelerates the planning and allows employees to focus on other projects instead of manually checking for carriers bids.

Lastly, logistics executives should refrain from using the spot market “as a last resort and start viewing it as a strategic tool.” This minimizes any surprise blows to freight spend.

Technology can enhance operations, simplify decision-making, and provide valued insight. At the end of the day, every hypothetical situation cannot be planned and prepared for. Nonetheless, pursuing proactive risk mitigation creates more protection against cyclical events such as peak season shipping and black swan events.

Sources:

https://www.gartner.com/en/supply-chain/role/supply-chain-logistics-leaders

https://hbr.org/2020/09/global-supply-chains-in-a-post-pandemic-world

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bullwhip-effect-could-boost-u-s-economy-11600858980

https://www.joc.com/technology/freight-procurement-systems/freight-marketplaces-hinge-spot-rate-adoption_20190613.html

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/why-digital-freight-marketplaces-matter-now-more-ever#:~:text=Utilizing%20a%20DFM%20is%20a,move%20thus%20potentially%20reducing%20backhauls.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-digital-freight-brokers-might-fail-to-disrupt-the-freight-brokerage-industry

Categories
Blog Supply Chain Expertise

Coopetition Explained

In an effort to scale business, companies often pursue strategic alliances to expand their customer base, reach new markets, and provide added value to their current customers.

Contemporary enterprise companies have engaged in strategic alliances for decades, but as of recently the business community has seen an uptick in these partnerships. PricewaterhouseCoopers and alliance strategy expert, Benjamin Gomes-Casseres, highlighted the peak of existing global partnerships in their report, “Why Your Next Deal May Be a Partnership.” One of the primary takeaways demonstrated “the combined number of alliances and JVs (joint ventures) has increased in the past two years and is now at its highest level since the start of the century.”

Recent events such as the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession have made the notion of sharing risk with strategic partners to curtail potential losses an appealing strategy. While companies tend to look for potential partners outside of their industries “to cope with rising competition,” many global corporations are pursuing coopetition, or “the simultaneous existence of cooperation and competition between competitors” to get ahead. At first glance, the thought of collaborating with your competitors seems counterintuitive, but if executed properly, both companies will see the return on investment outweighs the potential drawbacks and reservations.

What is coopetition?

The basic understanding of coopetition stems from the concept of “cooperative games” in the 1944 book, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, in which “binding agreements among the players” are formed to “allocate cooperative gains.”

 The phrase was not formally coined until the publishing of Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff’s 1996 book, Co-opetition: A Revolution Mindset. The pair asks business leaders to consider this “high profit means of leveraging business relationships” and abandon their traditional views of competition

Benefits of Coopetiton

Aside from the benefits produced by strategic partnerships that were earlier mentioned, coopetiton provides the opportunity to expand capabilities by sharing resources. Harvard Business Review recognizes the difficulty in developing organizational processes and technology in their analysis noting, “it takes so much money to develop new products and to penetrate new markets that few companies can go it alone in every situation.”

Blockchain Strategist at Fedex, Dale Chrystie provided an area of opportunity where shipping companies could collaborate. He explains “virtually each of these companies has their own databases, but they don’t talk to each other well, if at all. This presents a great deal of friction in the global supply chain industry, with friction referring to the increased time, costs and resources required to move data between databases or across borders.”

However, it is important to note that engaging in collaborative competition needs to be met with the intention to learn as many western companies “are more interested in reducing the costs and risks of entering new businesses or markets than in acquiring new skills.”

Coopetition in Action

The 2014 announcement of the Apple and IBM partnership is a prime example of how two industry-leading companies combined their resources and expertise to capture larger shares of a market.

“By inviting rivals into its business model and thus creating a larger overall market, a firm can potentially capture a bigger share for itself down the road. “Take the so-called AIM alliance between Apple, IBM, and Motorola. Although Apple and IBM competed fiercely in the personal computer market, their collaboration on a new wave of microprocessors created new markets and opportunities for both firms.” 

President of BNSF, Dan Curtis also mentioned his company’s strategic intent to elevate the freight broker industry during a panel discussion at the Future of Trucking Virtual Event. “We’re currently in a data sharing collaboration with some of our competitive set…It’s part of an effort to really get a better price to shippers ultimately in real time that considers many of the aspects and factors that typically haven’t been aggregated in a meaningful manner” he said.

The need to collaborate is greater than ever, especially in an industry as vast as supply chain and logistics. ZUUM intends to empower the industry by breaking down siloed information through their technology and continues to be a proponent of coopetiton.

Sources:

https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Why-Your-Next-Deal-May-Be-a-Partnership

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2020/03/28/the-increasing-need-for-strategic-alliances/?sh=1505365f7941

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326758498_Benefits_and_Drawbacks_of_Coopetition_The_Roles_of_Scope_and_Durability_in_Coopetitive_Relationships

http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/540621468141268429/pdf/wps4072.pdf

https://hbr.org/1989/01/collaborate-with-your-competitors-and-win

https://blockchain.cioreview.com/cxoinsight/coopetition-the-secret-to-blockchains-success-nid-31023-cid-176.html

https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/The-Amazon-Model-If-You-Cant-Beat-Em-Work-with-Em?gko=af971

Categories
Blog Logistics News

Spot Rates Reach Record Highs Due to Stay-at-Home Orders and Peak Season Shipping

The logistics and transportation industry continues to be put to the test. Shippers, brokers, and carriers have become more willing to reassess their strategies and adopt new technologies in an effort to adjust to the new normal.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the United States GDP and consumer spending have begun to rebound much quicker than economists predicted. The Bureau of Economic Analysis highlighted the “real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020, as efforts continued to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19. In the second quarter of 2020, real GDP decreased 31.4 percent.”

As temperatures begin to drop, holiday gatherings in full swing, and talks of new lockdown restrictions have circulated, supply chain leaders must face peak season shipping in addition to existing demand volatility and fluctuating rates. “Both truckload tenders and tender rejections rose” during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving noted by FreightWaves as “drivers will be seeking freight that drives them toward home, which could push rejections and spot rates higher.”

While manufacturers typically secure carrier partners for their dedicated lanes with contracted rates, they will look to the spot market to address critical needs and transport time-sensitive  shipments. An imbalance between the number of contract rates and spot rates has always existed, with spot freight making “about 15 to 20 percent of total volume.” However, Food Logistics mentions how the spot rate market has reached record-breaking levels. “The average spot line-haul rate for vans set a record for the third straight month as the highest monthly national average ever, which exceeded the national monthly average contract rate for the third month in a row.”

The limited supply of trucks and increased demand for capacity fueled by ecommerce, holiday shopping, and stay-at-home orders are the main drivers for the recent expansion of the spot market. A survey Inbound Logistics reported on validates this growing trend and found that 64% of logistics professionals will “plan to make more use of the spot market to better manage surge capacity and secure more favorable rates.”

Meanwhile, retailers with global supply chains are racing to get their products into the hands of their consumers to compensate for lost profits. Economists are expecting this backlog of inventory to swell through 2020 and settle down in early 2021. “I do expect it to be a good peak season, and I think the restocking effort will go into 2021,”said American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello, “But I do expect freight to level off.”

Despite heightened pressure on capacity and supply chains as a whole, the mentioned survey also illustrates optimism in the unfolding digital transformation. 

  • 76% say the crisis has increased their demand for real-time visibility.
  • 25% will use more digital logistics offerings in the future, indicating that the need for greater visibility, reactivity, and flexibility is accelerating digitization. 
  • 80% will continue to integrate new technology into their supply chains in the future, and plan to use a mix of off-the-shelf and in-house solutions.

ZUUM Transportation provides the very tools needed to mitigate the effects caused by unexpected events and volatile market conditions for all freight participants. Learn how ZUUM’s technology is accelerating the digital transformation during a global pandemic here.

Sources:

https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/gdp3q20_adv_fax.pdf

https://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/freight-does-a-forward-march/

https://www.foodlogistics.com/transportation/trucking/press-release/21202957/dat-october-spot-market-rates-again-break-alltime-records

https://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/truckload-freight/imbalance-trucking-market-spurs-rate-hikes-caplice_20201112.html