Procurement was a 'pain in the neck.' Now CPOs help alleviate the pressure point

Procurement is in a strategic role to find the best price while identifying vendors and suppliers — often with an assist from AI and ML. 

By Jen A. Miller • Sept. 12, 2019

How cobots are changing the nature of fulfillment

Collaborative robots promise greater efficiency and safety, although their functions still have limits — at least for now.

By Jen A. Miller • Sept. 10, 2019

Explore the Trendline➔

AI in Supply Chain Management

Warehouse automation, logistics management and procurement processes are just a few of the ways companies are using AI to streamline their supply chains.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

Shopify will acquire robotics startup 6 River Systems for $450M

The announcement comes as e-commerce platforms expand their offerings to include supply chain services and the business case for cobots becomes increasingly clear. 

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 10, 2019

Maersk, Ports America invest $19M in Loadsmart Smart Drayage initiative

The Smart Drayage program, which matches containers with trucks based on ease of access, load times and haul distances, promises to reduce truck time spent at a port by 25% and container shuffles by 50%. 

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 6, 2019

McDonald's expands delivery with Grubhub partnership

The fast food chain continues to diversify after ending its exclusivity with Uber Eats. The new partnership also offers tech to improve order fulfillment.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 6, 2019

How Cimpress leveraged analytics to cut procurement costs by 11%

The Vistaprint parent company deployed a digital platform across its subsidiaries to centralize bulk contracts while giving brands room to manage specialized orders independently.

By Morgan Forde • Sept. 5, 2019

Maersk creates platform to manage US, Canada customs using 1 broker

The tool, known as Maersk Customs Navigator, follows the Danish carrier's acquisition of customs broker Vandegrift in February. 

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 5, 2019

Robots as a Service: A low-risk path to warehouse automation?

RaaS revenues and deployments are rapidly eclipsing those from robot purchases, as end users discover more value in securing robotic solutions rather than just equipment.

By Craig Guillot • Sept. 3, 2019

Warehouse robotics companies raise hundreds of millions in VC funding

When Amazon acquired Kiva in 2012 it opened up the robotics market to new competitors. Those new firms have since raised millions as e-commerce companies recognize the value of robotics for operations.

By Matt Leonard • Sept. 3, 2019

Kuehne + Nagel, Air France-KLM team up on direct online bookings

The partnership, following a proof of concept, allows K+N to book directly on Air France-KLM based on real-time capacity data and dynamic pricing.

By Shefali Kapadia • Aug. 30, 2019

Kroger heads to Texas for 5th Ocado automated warehouse

The Dallas city council approved $5.7 million in incentives for the Cincinnati-based grocer to build its next AI-powered fulfillment center. 

By Krishna Thakker • Aug. 29, 2019

Is it prime time for predictive technology in MRO?

The past few years have seen growing adoption of predictive analytics within the supply chain, but maintenance, repair and operations may not be the right place just yet.

By Amanda Loudin • Aug. 27, 2019

With predictive maintenance, operators seek improved uptime

An additional benefit of predictive maintenance is the ability to lower spare parts inventory and rely more on vendors for inventory management.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 26, 2019

In trucking, is it sunrise for solar?

Solar panels on trucks can supplement battery and power lift gates, though the technology today isn't enough to power a truck down the road. 

By Barry Hochfelder • Aug. 26, 2019

China's 3rd largest e-comm player to launch logistics data platform

Pinduoduo's plans closely resemble Alibaba's asset-light logistics strategy rather than JD.com's investment in warehouses and vehicles. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Aug. 26, 2019

Maersk, BlackBuck launch digital trucking platform in India

The goal is to use the digital platform to reduce the number of touch points in the supply chain, a continuation of Maersk's strategy to expand its end-to-end containerized freight services.

By Morgan Forde • Aug. 23, 2019

Long Beach City Council votes to study port automation

Councilmember Rex Richardson said the transition to automation at the nation's ports "has a lot of people on edge" and a study could help the city to better understand the impact on local jobs.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 22, 2019

KeepTruckin adds feature to minimize trucking delays

Fleet management and freight booking platforms are beginning to incorporate facility-rating features into their products in an effort to cut down on dwell time. 

By Morgan Forde • Aug. 21, 2019

Robotic kiosk opens door to automated online grocery fulfillment

Cleveron, the company behind Walmart's pickup towers, has developed a robotic pickup kiosk that features two temperature zones and can retrieve an order within 20 seconds.

By Lauren Manning • Aug. 21, 2019

Amazon Robotics funds app measuring warehouse worker health risks

The app uses an AI algorithm to generate a "risk score" to help workers and warehouse managers better allocate activities to the growing ranks of robots joining the workforce.

By Morgan Forde • Aug. 20, 2019

From kicks to cars: 3D printing is upending supply chains

As additive manufacturing goes mainstream, supply chains are presented with tough decisions. Are the speed and flexibility worth the cost? 

By Gary Wollenhaupt • Aug. 20, 2019

Uber Freight's new web portal moves management from app to desktop

After spending time with fleet managers and dispatchers, Uber realized much of its users work from a desktop computer and not a mobile phone. 

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 20, 2019

3D printing can reduce lead times and inventory, but it's not for everything

More than 40% of 1,300 3D printing users cited lower lead times as a benefit of 3D printing in a recent survey.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 19, 2019

UPS expands pilot with autonomous trucking company TuSimple after seeing 10% fuel savings

UPS has been working with the company since May 2019 and has used TuSimple's autonomous trucks to haul loads overnight between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

By Morgan Forde • Updated March 6, 2020

Macy's draws on Google Cloud data management, analytics for warehouse optimization

Developed in-house, Macy's warehouse management software will initially roll out to distribution centers supporting its off-price Backstage stores.

By Naomi Eide • Aug. 15, 2019