IN BRIEF: New Services and Solutions
TRANSPORTATION: Maersk, an entity under A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Hapag-Lloyd launched an operational collaboration Gemini Cooperation. Around 340 vessels will be phased in as part of the shared ocean network with the first sailings in February with more vessels to gradually sail on the new schedules. The goal is a flexible and interconnected ocean network with schedule reliability above 90%, once fully implemented
Products
• The BG Pouch System from BEUMER Group now offers an AutoDrop feature to automatically unload pouches. Using a shape memory actuator that activates when the pouch reaches the intended unloading position, the new feature can cut order lead times. The pouch system with AutoDrop can process approximately 10,000 pieces per line per hour.
• Providing a solution for narrow warehouse aisles, DIMOS offers the Hawk flexible multidirectional reach truck for pallets and long goods. The Hawk electric truck provides 360° continuous steering to enable smooth changes in direction without stopping. Low-noise, energy-efficient, and emission-free, the fully electric drive contains no hydraulic components, making it low-maintenance.
• Designed for intermodal transport, the Horizon Echassis is a mobile power unit that provides electric power to refrigerated shipping containers. One Echassis can power a 40-foot refrigerated container for 67 hours, saving 55 gallons of diesel.
Technology
↑ EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group) introduced a unique capability in its routing SaaS offering Greenplan. The Fair Cost Allocation algorithm, co-developed with the University of Bonn, calculates the financial and environmental costs of delivering individual shipments in a network. Applying discrete mathematics, it distributes costs and CO2 emissions across customers to enable smarter shipment assignments.
• Robotics and automation company Lab0 launched RoboGlide, an automated system that integrates multiple stages of warehouse logistics—from container unloading to product identification, damage detection, weighing, sorting, palletizing, and wrapping—into a scalable and modular system.
• Supply chain solutions provider Nextuple introduced OnePint.ai, a new software company that offers brands, mid-size retailers, and grocers an inventory management platform that is powered by artificial intelligence. OnePint.ai integrates inventory planning, execution, and exception management.
• Pando, a logistics AI company, launched AI Teams for Logistics, its suite of AI Agents designed to automate freight procurement, dispatch planning, and freight audit and payment processes for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
• Deposco, a provider of AI-powered supply chain software solutions, introduced Supply Chain Intelligence, an application suite that optimizes spend. For example, its Shipping Intelligence app can help businesses save around 5% on shipping costs through AI-driven optimization.
• Dexory, a provider of robotics and data intelligence for warehousing, enhanced its flagship product, DexoryView. The first module in the upgraded software, DexoryView Integrity, uses autonomous robots and helps businesses automate their inventory checks and establish a single source of truth for warehouse efficiency.
Services
↑ ORBIS, a reusable packaging solutions provider, opened a new manufacturing plant in Greenville, Texas. Producing reusable packaging such as totes and pallets, the plant features 420,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 240,000 square feet of warehouse space.
• Altman is constructing an approximately 200,000-square-foot, Class A logistics building—the first phase of Apex Logistics Park, in Delray Beach, Florida. Anticipated to reach substantial completion in the second quarter of 2025, the first phase will be followed by plans to build up to an additional 472,000 square feet for a total of three industrial buildings. The development is spearheaded by a joint venture between Altman Logistics Properties and PCCP, a real estate finance and investment management firm.
• RJW Logistics Group, a provider of retail logistics solutions for CPG companies, acquired a new 1-million-square-foot building, the company’s largest facility to date and its second warehouse in Joliet, Illinois.
• A. Duie Pyle opened a new warehouse and distribution center located just outside the Charlotte metropolitan area in North Carolina. Situated near I-85, the 186,000-square-foot facility offers a range of services, including warehousing, pick and pack, consolidation, deconsolidation, hazmat storage, and bulk storage.