Noted: The Supply Chain in Brief-July 2019

New and noteworthy in the supply chain

Shovel Ready

  • Conn’s HomePlus, a furniture, mattress, home appliance, and electronics retailer, will open a new distribution center in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 250,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to create 70 jobs, will support the retailer’s eight stores in Louisiana.
  • Allison Transmission, a maker of automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, is building an innovation center in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 95,000-square-foot facility will feature virtual and physical system simulation and will handle development and validation capabilities to support customers, partners, and suppliers.
  • Frontier Logistics is expanding its local operations with the groundbreaking of an approximately 550,000-square-foot synthetic resin transload facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. The expansion supports the handling of plastic and resin exports from the Port of Charleston. Frontier’s new facility will be located on 26 acres at a former Navy base.


Recognition

  • Barnes & Noble presented Dayton Freight Lines with the 2019 Best LTL Service Award, which honors on-time service, claims ratio, and sales support.
  • Military Times recognized Werner Enterprises as a Best for Vets Employer. The publication cites companies based on corporate culture, hiring efforts, employment benefits, and policies related to veterans. This is the fifth consecutive year Werner has earned this award.
  • The Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce honored MatchBack Systems with the 2019 Entrepreneurial Award. The Chamber gives the distinction to companies that take creative approaches to reducing costs and emissions in the supply chain.
  • General Motors selected LLamasoft as a Supplier of the Year for 2018. The auto maker selected winners based on performance criteria in product purchasing, global purchasing and manufacturing services, customer care and aftersales, and logistics. This is the second consecutive year LLamasoft nabbed the award.
  • The True Value Company presented Holland with the 2018 LTL Carrier of the Year Award. The company was selected based on on-time pickup percentages, on-time delivery percentages, claims ratio, account management and engagement, and overall added value.

Green Seeds

  • HP Inc. aims to increase recycled-content plastics across its printer and personal systems portfolio to 30% by 2025. To date, HP sourced approximately 700,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastic materials—or more than 25 million bottles—upcycling this material into HP cartridges and hardware, according to its 2018 Sustainable Impact Report.
  • UPS signed an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. RNG is a key part of UPS’ strategy to increase its alternative fuel consumption to 40% of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the company’s efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its ground fleet 12% by 2025.

M&A

  • C.H. Robinson, a multimodal transportation services and third-party logistics provider, acquired Dema Service, an Italian transportation company.
  • Estes, a freight transportation provider, purchased Eastern Freightways and Carrier Industries, both affiliates of trucking company New England Motor Freight.
  • FIDELITONE, a national supply chain management firm, acquired Remar, a provider of order fulfillment and value-added warehousing services.
  • Lineage Logistics, a temperature-controlled logistics solutions provider, acquired Preferred Freezer Services, a full-service warehousing company.
  • Jardine Transport Group, a transportation services provider, purchased Gil Trucking, a carrier that provides open-deck transportation on long-haul routes.
  • Descartes Systems Group, a multinational technology company, acquired STEPcom, a business-to-business supply chain integration network.
  • MNX Global Logistics, a global provider of specialized, expedited transportation and logistics services, purchased Global First, a provider of high-touch logistics services.
  • Panalpina, a forwarding and logistics services provider, acquired CargoMaster S.A., a company that specializes in the airfreight export of perishables.
  • Redwood Logistics, a logistics company, purchased Eminent Global Logistics, a transportation management systems implementation and service company.

In Memoriam

  • Richard T. Murphy, Jr., president and CEO of Murphy Logistics Solutions, passed away on July 4, 2019. Murphy was a landscape architect before he took the helm of what was then known as Murphy Warehouse Company. An environmental advocate as well as a logistics leader, he turned around the family business, delivering years of profitable growth.

Sealed Deals

  • Lush, a cosmetics retailer, signed a three-year deal with CEVA Logistics to manage and deliver its products to stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The 3PL will utilize value-added solutions and its shared user network to distribute the retailer’s product line.
  • Medi-Market Group, a drugstore retailer, inked a deal with Manhattan Associates designed to improve warehouse productivity and decrease labor costs. Medi-Market will utilize Manhattan Associates’ cloud-based solution, Manhattan Active SCALE, to run its distribution operations.

Up the Chain

  • VF Corp., a global supplier of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories, appointed Cameron Bailey as the executive vice president of global supply chain. In this role, Bailey will manage global supply chain operations and lead the 23,000 employees working across the company’s supply chain worldwide.
  • Sabih Khan was named by Apple as senior vice president of operations. Khan oversees Apple’s global supply chain, which gathers and processes materials to build the company’s computers and smartphones.
  • Protective case manufacturer Pelican Products promoted Michael Bubica to director of supply chain and inventory performance. Bubica will work with sales, product management, and customer service teams to understand demand and align supply and distribution planning to meet customer needs and business objectives.

Good Works

  • Americold partnered with Feed the Children to fight childhood hunger and provide toys to children in need across the United States. The partnership kicked off with an employee campaign and corporate donation of $140,000 that helped provide meals for thousands of children.
  • Toyota-Lift of Los Angeles donated $5,000 to the American Red Cross, which funded life-saving services. The company’s associates also installed alarms to help the American Red Cross “Sound the Alarm” campaign reach its goal to install 100,000 free smoke alarms.