Time-consuming process of picking can be improved with more robotics
Good morning! Some of our team is partying it up at the MANIFEST conference in Las Vegas for the next few days… but the person writing your email today is sitting at home celebrating National Hot Chocolate Day. Makes sense - the supply chain is a real ‘stir’. ☕️
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Robotics and automation can optimize picking operations in a warehouse by implementing automated guided vehicles, robotic picking arms, automated storage and retrieval systems, and voice-activated picking systems. These technologies can help improve the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of the picking process, leading to increased productivity and reduced operational costs. But the real question on everyone’s mind… what will these adoptions do for the human labor already in place?
Check out today’s featured article from DC Velocity to read about the growing trend of robotics and automation being implemented in the warehouse to help streamline operations. Should human workers be concerned? Or should these AI be considered their new, friendly co-worker?
Featured Article:
Picking gets smart | DC Velocity
“Robotics and automation are helping optimize picking operations in the warehouse—and project installations have been on the rise around the world.”
Safety & Driver Issues 🚛
US DOT refocuses on combating human trafficking in transportation industry
Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg highlighted the opportunity to recognize and prevent the crime of human trafficking in the transportation industry. Human trafficking in the transportation sector in the United States involves the exploitation of individuals for labor or commercial sex acts through various modes of transportation such as buses, trains, and airplanes. This includes but is not limited to:
Forced labor in the transportation industry, such as trucking and shipping.
Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation through transportation to different locations for the purpose of prostitution.
Smuggling of people across international borders for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.
Domestic trafficking of individuals for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation through the use of buses, trains, and airplanes to transport victims within the country.
The transportation sector can facilitate human trafficking by providing a means for traffickers to transport victims to different locations and by creating opportunities for exploitation in the industry itself. The U.S. government, in collaboration with private organizations, is working to raise awareness about human trafficking in the transportation sector and implement measures to prevent it, such as training transportation employees to identify and report suspected cases of trafficking.
Company Culture & Labor Issues 📦
The packaging industry is struggling with personnel challenges
Why is the packaging industry specifically affected by labor constraints and a high turnover rate? High turnover leads to frequent hiring and training costs, reducing the efficiency and profitability of the company. The loss of experienced workers can also result in a decrease in overall productivity and a reduction in the quality of the products. Alongside these issues, frequent changes in the workforce can lead to inconsistencies in the quality of products and services, negatively impacting customer satisfaction.
The packaging industry often requires specialized skills and knowledge, and a high turnover rate can result in a shortage of skilled workers, making it difficult for the company to meet customer demands. High turnover can lead to disruptions in the production process, making it difficult for the company to meet production schedules and delivery deadlines. These factors can affect the competitiveness and profitability of the packaging industry and make it difficult for companies to attract and retain customers in a highly competitive market.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Stephen Colbert GIF By The Late Show With Stephen Colbert via GIPHY
⛽️ Are global fuel prices about to hit new highs? The European Union’s embargo on coal and most oil originating in Russia is set to take effect on February 5th. Diesel prices have been rising consistently since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, but they are likely to continue on that trajectory if the course doesn’t change. Diesel is sold globally, so the European Union may be turning to the Middle East or India to fill the void that Russia will leave. The EU has been so historically dependent on Russian diesel fuel due to its limited domestic refining capacity and neighboring Russia is a major producer of diesel fuel.
🇳🇴 Norway just hit the seabed jackpot. While Norway is already a major oil and gas exporter on the global stage, a Norwegian team of researchers from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) just discovered a new wealth of resources off the coast. Described as a “substantial” amount of metals and minerals, this discovery good signal good news on the horizon - not just for the Swedish people, but for the Earth and the climate.
🍏 Apple is trying to break up with China. Heavily reliant on the country, Apple’s business has suffered after several years of strict Covid lockdowns in China. Additionally, political disputes and geopolitical concerns have the company nail-biting over whether its relationship with the company will begin to do more harm than good. Additionally, growing outrage over the Chinese government’s treatment of labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is starting to draw more attention and increase pressure on companies to draw a line in the sand.
🦭 Commercial ships receive modified underwater noise guidelines from UN agency. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships. Underwater noise can interfere with the ability of marine animals to communicate with each other using vocalizations, leading to confusion and stress. Loud underwater noises can cause marine animals to alter their behavior, such as changing migration patterns or avoiding certain habitats. These effects can have a cascading impact on marine ecosystems, affecting the health and abundance of species and potentially altering food webs.
iLevel With You 🏡
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🚆 Baltimore’s rail tunnel gets a presidential visit. President Joe Biden was a regular on the Amtrak train from Delaware to Washington D.C. when he served as a U.S. senator. Visiting last week, the president voiced his concerns about a potential collapse in the tunnel and praised the massive federal investment for tunnel repairs. Through the recent $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation passed by the Biden Administration, the tunnel can be expecting approximately $6 billion in bridge modification and equipment modernization along the new tunnel.
🔋 EV boasts many benefits, but there are negatives for consumers to consider. The jeopardy to the consumer choosing an electric car over a gas-powered car includes the limited range of electric vehicles, higher upfront costs, and a lack of charging infrastructure in some areas. Additionally, charging an electric vehicle may take longer than refueling a gas-powered car, and there may be concerns about the availability of charging during long-distance trips. Policymakers should consider these points when passing legislation forcing the market’s hand.
💰 Better for the environment, maybe… but not better for the pocketbook. At the close of 2022, consulting firm Anderson Economic Group (AEG) concluded that internal combustion fuel-powered vehicles were the cheaper option for consumers - as opposed to electric vehicles. The point of contention lay with the increasing costs of energy in the form of gas, diesel, and electricity. By Q4, the average cost for a gas-powered car to drive 100 miles was $11.29. That is approximately $3 less than the cost of charging a vehicle at a charging station and 31 cents less expensive than charging a vehicle at home.
⚙️ CARB is looking to ban the chrome plating process. Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is frowned upon by environmentalists because it is a toxic and potentially hazardous form of chromium that can harm both human health and the environment. Some reasons for the concern include health risks due to being a carcinogenic substance, environmental contamination, bioaccumulation, and its difficulty to remove from contaminated sites.
Get Smart 🧠
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🛒 Sam’s Club introducing automated fulfillment to its supply chain. With plans to introduce thirty new stores across the United States over the next several years, Sam’s Club is investing heavily in automation and robotics to help streamline its operations. Approximately 160,000 square feet of fulfillment space is being added to the company’s portfolio, setting up specific zones for home deliveries and subside pickup at its newest locations.
🔥 The competition is heating up among smaller parcel delivery carriers. Shippers are diversifying their network beyond the usual FedEx and UPS services this year. This is likely due to the latest strategy of diversification in order to avoid being pigeonholed in a situation like Covid-19. While the two mega-carriers FedEx and UPS have stated the demand has begun to normalize, their small competitors are gaining more business from shippers who used to pay them no mind.
💻 Transportation management is evolving in a post-Covid world. The pandemic upended the freight and logistics markets, and those at the top do not want it to happen again. Going great lengths to modernize the systems in place, everyone from shippers to brokers are looking to improve their transportation management systems. The TMS landscape was long overdue for a facelift, anyway.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 28, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.