Last Thursday, UPS announced its plans to deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks supplied by the Workhorse Group. What increased UPS’s willingness to invest in these vans is innovative “smart charging” software that has implications for last mile routing. There are other interesting developments in last mile routing as well.
The Descartes Systems Group had their user conference – Descartes Evolution 2015 – this week in Miami. There were about 400 in attendance. The best presentation I saw at the event was given by two executives from Sears. Sears is…
I think it’s time we stopped using the word “optimization” in our transportation management conversations. I believe this because when we talk about optimization, we usually apply the term toward solving rating and routing problems. For example, “We have many…
Any time Walmart speaks about what it is doing in logistics, I’ll listen. In March, Steve Simpson, Senior Manager of Transportation Technology at Walmart, participated in a webinar on how Walmart is optimizing outbound loads through its implementation of ORTEC‘s…
Speed is the name of the game in today’s retail landscape. How quickly products are purchased from store shelves depends on various factors, including consumer preference, special promotions, and brand recognition, just to name a few. The trick to gaining…
In recent months I’ve talked to two natural resource companies that have implemented a transportation management system (TMS) and have achieved very different outcomes. Both companies had similar goals: reduce freight spend and improve service. But only one company achieved…
