As consumers embrace ecommerce shopping, supply chain and logistics leaders have a renewed focus on last-mile delivery strategies. Before the pandemic, Frost & Sullivan estimated that global logistics spending would grow beyond $10.6 trillion annually by 2020, with last-mile distribution accounting for an estimated $3 trillion of that spend.

The COVID-19 stay-at-home response created an unexpected surge in consumer demand and expectations. Retailers are scrambling to compete for a smoother delivery experience including faster fulfillment, transparency and cost reduction.

When deliveries fail to reach the intended recipient on the first attempt, there are increased costs and decreased customer satisfaction. Stepping up to meet these challenges, parcel delivery startups, commercial fleets and ride-share companies are turning to technology partners to help build in visibility and efficiency. For many retailers, this means managing a complex mix of 3PLs, fleets, crowd-sourced and other delivery models to serve their customers.

With Uber Freight’s acquisition of ScanData and integration of their Parcel Transportation Management Solution (PTMS) with Uber Freight’s industry leading TMS, shippers and logistics leaders can reduce the complexity and disruptions of last-mile delivery.

Last-Mile Delivery Challenges

When a consumer order is placed, the parcel might go through many stages of production and warehousing before being distributed and delivered to hundreds or thousands of individual addresses, each with its own route.

While the last mile continues to evolve to meet industry trends and consumer demands, it is the most inefficient stage in the supply chain. Next-day and same-day delivery, at a reasonable cost, expectations by customers is on the rise.  In response, logistics leaders are getting creative to deliver transparently, quickly, and, with continued concerns for safety, touchless.

The COVID-19 shutdown strained supply chains as shippers attempted to forecast demand, meet demand despite manufacturing delays, manage inventory levels and make the switch to no-contact deliveries. Even prior to the pandemic, delivery drivers faced traffic and often struggled to locate, gain access to or park near delivery addresses. A study in the Seattle area, for example, found that looking for tenant locations accounted for 61% of overall delivery time.

The inability to deliver a single parcel the first time can offset the gains of many efficiently planned deliveries. Reducing failed delivery attempts and creating a more efficient last-mile delivery strategy can cut logistics costs, improve customer satisfaction and increase brand loyalty.

Last-Mile Delivery Strategies with Uber Freight and ScanData

A technology-driven last-mile delivery solution for shippers will be flexible, data-driven and focused on the customer experience. An effective last-mile delivery strategy includes the means to:

• Identify existing gaps and optimize the operational workflow
• Form strategic alliances with other shippers to expand the reach of networks and utilization of unused capacity
• Re-route shipments as needed, such as Alternate Delivery Locations, where customers can pick up their deliveries faster from other designated locations

Uber Freight and ScanData are implementing this strategy through the integration of Uber Freight’s industry-leading TMS and ScanData’s powerful PTMS. With this integration, the last mile is optimized, and operational efficiency is improved through:

Increased Supply Chain Visibility and Route Optimization

With Uber Freight’s real-time supply chain visibility and ScanData’s service disruption handling, shippers gain access to a comprehensive, graphical view of all shipments, dynamic dashboards of key performance indicators and predictive analysis. These include weather, traffic and other shipping restrictions such as COVID-19 location impact. Drive time and mileage can be reduced as artificial intelligence and machine learning further improve routes.

Carrier Flexibility and Expanded Supply Chain

To aid in managing complex multi-modal options, ScanData’s integration expands carrier relationships to include Uber Freight’s more than $11 billion in freight-under-management. Multi-carrier rate shopping and zone skipping allows shippers to have consolidation options to optimize fulfillment of customer orders.

Reporting and Analytics

Analytics drive down costs and isolate cost-impacting factors across shipments. With an actionable Business Intelligence dashboard, active performance monitoring, historical and custom reports, the total cost of last mile delivery logistics is reduced as waste is removed from the network.

Reduce Last-Mile Delivery Disruptions and Improve Customer Experience

The increased adoption of PTMS technology reduces last-mile delivery disruptions and improves customer experience. ScanData’s shipping status, alerts and tracking, as an example, meet customer demand for increased visibility of their orders. With supply chain transparency, shippers and retailers can more easily manage their expanding options for last-mile delivery and build trust and loyalty with customers through an enhanced delivery experience.

Has your last-mile delivery strategy been affected by COVID-19?

The post How Uber Freight’s Acquisition of ScanData Relieves Last-Mile Delivery Disruptions appeared first on Uber Freight.

By: Frank McGuigan, Chief Executive Officer, Transplace

Yesterday, Transplace was thrilled to announce that it acquired Yusen Logistics Americas’ intermodal marketing company/over-the-road freight brokerage group. A subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Yusen Logistics is a global logistics and transportation provider that established a strong, successful North American intermodal business. This acquisition expands Transplace’s intermodal and freight brokerage capabilities and better positions us to meet the supply chain needs of our customers.

Expanding Our Intermodal Footprint & Capabilities

In today’s challenging marketplace, with fluctuating capacity and rising freight costs, more and more shippers are making intermodal a key component of their transportation operations. Transplace is committed to best positioning itself to provide our customers with flexible, reliable and secure intermodal solutions. And acquiring Yusen’s North American intermodal operations will allow our customers to better take advantages of this highly effective and efficient mode of transportation.

Yusen strengthens our current position in the intermodal market, drives more effective equipment utilization and increases our already deep pool of dray providers. The overall Transplace shipping community will benefit from network synergy with our current intermodal and over-the-road footprint, resulting in better opportunities for more effective execution of their intermodal shipments and mode conversion.

Another significant benefit of the acquisition is the group of experienced, talented logistics professionals that have joined the Transplace family. Yusen’s intermodal team will operate as part of our intermodal business unit – Celtic Intermodal – which is led by President Doug Punzel.

Transplace’s Strategic Approach to Acquisitions

The acquisition supports Transplace’s strategy of complementing strong organic growth with selective, strategic acquisitions. As with all of our acquisitions, it’s important to Transplace to find companies that are a great fit – both in their capabilities, geography and culture. Yusen established a strong presence in the industry along with a superb customer base, and brings a customer-centric culture that complements Transplace’s business and mission.

The addition of Yusen’s intermodal business enables us to better serve our existing customers as well as serve a new set of customers. Transplace is committed to providing exceptional transportation management services and technology, exceeding expectations and building long-term, strategic relationships with these new customers.

Do you have questions about the acquisition?

The post Letter from the CEO: Transplace’s Acquisition of Yusen Logistics’ Intermodal Operations appeared first on Uber Freight.

Today kicks off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (September 9-15), a celebration of the 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States. Because of the hard work and dedication of these men and women, goods are delivered securely and our highways are kept safe – and we’re truly grateful for all that they do!

The American Trucking Association recently released some data that highlights why truck drivers are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Here are some of the latest stats:

• In 2018, trucks moved 10.77 billion tons of freight
• This makes up 70.2% of all domestic freight tonnage
• The industry generated $700.1 billion in annual revenue in 2017
• Truck drivers moved 69.1% of all trade between the U.S. and Mexico and 57.7% of Canadian-U.S. trade
• Roughly 7.7 million people are employed in jobs related to trucking activity (including 3.5 million drivers)
• Of those 3.5 million drivers, there are 1.7 million heavy and tractor-trailer drivers[1] 

 Stay tuned here on Logistically Speaking and on our social media channels this week (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) – we’ll be hosting our 2018 Carrier Symposium, and will share photos and updates on how we’re honoring our highway heroes throughout the week.

We thank you, American truckers, for your hard work, dedication and long hours on the roads!

How are you showing truck drivers your appreciation this week?

[1] American Trucking Association, New Report Finds Trucking Industry Revenues Topped $700 Billion

The post We Appreciate Our Highway Heroes – Thank You, Truck Drivers! appeared first on Uber Freight.

The “3-legged stool” of transportation network optimization considers all three core elements of a successful transportation network: price, capacity and service. Pulling out one or more legs of the stool makes the network unstable. During this year’s Shipper Symposium, our Transportation Network Optimization session showcased how Transplace’s Supply Chain Consulting Practice (TSCC) helped a global producer of wood products strategically overhaul and optimize its North American network of transportation capacity, service and spend. Below is a look at that case study and the great results that the process yielded.

Manufacturer Takes Transportation Management to the Next Level

The wood product manufacturer recently partnered with Transplace, with the objective of building a more strategic approach to sourcing transportation capacity and managing their core carrier base. The joint project team executed a Strategic Transportation Optimization (STO) project, which included:

• Creating a freight spend baseline
• Developing a comprehensive capacity sourcing RFP
• Executing a multi-round sourcing event
• Building a set of business rules and constraints
• Designing and producing a comprehensive set of alternative scenarios to test for optimal outcome
• Producing an optimized routing strategy that could be operationalized
• Generating more than $5M in annual savings

With a more centralized methodology for its transportation management as the desired outcome, the manufacturer wanted to take a more strategic approach to centralized and standardized sourcing.

Executing a Network-Wide RFP and Building a Baseline

Prior to this project, the manufacturer’s operations had been localized, using minimally structured routing guides or auto-tendering. Restructuring and optimizing its operations required planning and executing the company’s first-ever network-wide RFP – with a carrier base made up largely of regional owner-operators having little experience with technology-enabled sourcing systems.

It was also critical to build a strategic plan and establish the first company-wide freight spend baseline, which would allow for the optimization of the manufacturer’s routing strategy to achieve its internal goal of $5M in freight cost reduction. And because shipment transaction data was stored across three legacy systems, more than 75,000 shipment records needed to be consolidated, cleansed and validated to ensure the data was accurate and usable.

In addition to establishing this freight spend baseline, TSCC needed to understand how the manufacturer operated. This was achieved by conducting on-site discovery with the company’s regional transportation managers and dispatching staff to get a firsthand look at its transportation operations.

Because most of the manufacturer’s carrier base had limited experience with technology-enabled sourcing or RFPs, this process was extended to the incumbent carrier base as well. Several extensive, hands-on training and briefing sessions with carrier stakeholders helped communicate how this new approach would enable optimization of the manufacturer’s network as well as theirs – and guaranteed carrier compliance with RFP requirements. This not only helped carriers navigate the process, but ensured that the manufacturer would be partnered with the right carriers, the right service and the right capacity – all at the right price.

After evaluating RFP responses and conducting negotiations, Transplace worked with the manufacturer to create an optimized network strategy, covering high-level planning, as well as carrier routing at the lane-level. Transplace also managed the communications and implementation of the awarding strategy as well as the assembly of a routing guide.

The 3-Legged Stool Yields Impressive Results

Establishing a strategic, technology-based approach to sourcing has led to significant operational improvements, as well as cost savings for the manufacturer. As a result of this project, the manufacturer:

• Gained greater visibility into freight flows and spend – By consolidating and validating shipment level data from across its three ERP systems, the manufacturer – and its carrier partners – gained visibility into their transportation network by facility, lane, region and mode. This not only enabled the manufacturer to achieve centralization, it also provided the incumbent carriers with the ability to shift their capacities and offer improved service going forward.
• Developed an optimized routing strategy – Executing a technology-enabled, network-wide RFP and iterative scenario analysis, enabled the manufacturer to create a centralized optimal routing strategy.
• Reduced carrier base by 61% – By optimizing its carrier selection, the manufacturer reduced is carrier base from 270 to 105 carriers. The manufacturer benefitted from strengthening their incumbent carrier relationships by empowering the network sustainability of all parties involved.

Large-scale, complex, network-based projects, such as this case, will identify value in the network. They will present the opportunity to both save money and improve service to customers. But identifying value is only the first chapter of the story. The next chapter, implementation, is where the rubber meets the road and the value identified is turned into the value realized.

Far too often implementation is not well-planned or well-executed, with benefits and compliance not being tracked and performance KPIs and metrics not being monitored or measured. The inevitable result is a shortfall in benefits versus what could have been achieved with proper planning, tools and execution.

Through this project, the manufacturer also gained access to network data and a blueprint for the optimized sourcing process that will be the foundation for the next time a similar project is undertaken. This, then, becomes the launch-point for a continuous improvement process that will continue driving benefits well into the future.

How is the “3-legged stool” impacting your business operations?

The post Transportation Network Optimization: The 3-Legged Stool appeared first on Uber Freight.