Transportation TIP List: Week of April 17th, 2016

Transportation TIP List: Week of April 17th, 2016

Last week marked the end of an NBA era, with the legendary Kobe Bryant’s last game and the Golden State Warriors eclipsing the Chicago Bulls’ long-standing record for regular season wins. This just proves once again that change is constant, which is no surprise to anyone in the supply chain world! This week’s TIP List takes a look at some evolving trends that are taking us into the future, from omni-channel and packaging automation to new sensors and retail apps.

• Smart Shippers Are Taking the Long View in Transportation: Various data points related to the trucking industry suggest we’re in a shipper’s market — that is, there is excess trucking capacity relative to demand, which is putting downward pressure on rates. So how are shippers responding to this market environment?

• Omni-channel Logistics: How Far are We to Making it a Reality?: In today’s ‘always-on’, ‘always-connected’ world where consumers are interacting with companies through various channels of their preference, expectations to deliver the same experience across all channels have never been greater.

• FDA Classifies Brokers as Shippers in Final Rules on Food Transport Safety: In publishing its long-awaited final rules last Tuesday on the sanitary transportation of human and animal food, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did what the brokers asked it not to do: Classify them as shippers.

• Top 5 Packaging Automation Developments in Q1 2016: Articles on in-line digital printing, laser-coded graphics on label-less PET bottles, supply chain intelligence, machinery purchasing trends and the digital revolution have all made this hotlist. What other packaging machinery buying trends will emerge in 2016?

• New Sensors Help Reduce Supply Chain Risks: Better sensors help companies reduce shipping risks and react faster to disruptions, but costs and deployment challenges are still slowing adoption. According to a survey, only 15 percent of companies said that the majority of data from the extended supply chain is accessible to their organization.

• Shoppers Flock to Apps, Shaking Up Retail: Shopping on a small screen used to be a pain. But as consumers spend more of their days glued to smartphones, retailers are getting savvier with apps that ease browsing, offer rewards, suggest the right products and simplify the purchase to one click.

• Diesel Prices March Upward — Except for Truckers in New England: Diesel prices rose an average 0.13 cents per gallon in all but one region of the country last week, with prices in New England states falling 0.06 cents, which barely registers on the pump.

What futuristic transportation trends are you keeping track of this week?