Parvez Musani

We share our thoughts on how to approach an enterprise level integration between ERPs and Transportation Management Systems.

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Years ago I expressed an opinion that Uber Freight will have more margin and growth potential for Uber than their passenger car hailing business. Primarily, I based my thought on the fact that they already had a strong technology team skilled in optimization which would benefit their decision making among hundreds of constraints on the driver and the car, as well as, the passenger hailing it. I also imagined they would burn less money in promotion and incentives to the drivers and shippers to get the Freight going. $$$-wise, the things have not exactly worked out, as lack of unified approach to commercial strategy and the technology strategy contributed to slower growth devoid of distinction from systems built by incumbents and by cashed up startups, but there is no indication that Uber Freight will follow Convoy any time soon. Quite the opposite, it seems. The company has again hired someone to bring the slightly independent pieces together and to form both end-to-end processes that create value for the shippers (other than the basic matching board of old capability or TMS of old), yet at the same time leverage some more formidable end-to-end decision making technology heavily utilizing advanced mathematical optimization and deep learning AI. The scheduling API doesn't illustrate this point well, but possibilities are definitely within the organization. From the Convoy saga we know that throwing money at buying the market doesn't work. From stories of some ambitious startups burning through VC money, throwing AI dream money at decision making can generate but feeble results in the freight moving industry. And from classic TMS providers we know the market has no extravagant potential in new revenue, as cost of sales against established incumbents are high. #digital #technology #freight #transport #optimization #bigdata

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If you are at Gartner for Supply Chain symposium, join our session at 2:30pm today so you hear about the latest in #forecasting best practices and how to work together across #supplychain teams. I forecast fun times. 🔮

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This is super interesting article. Walmart delivered 4.4 billion items with either same-day or next-day shipping in the US over the past 12 months. Online channel will be the flagbearer of RETAIL in future. #Retail #supplyChain

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Read my latest on Forbes Technology Council on what your AI strategy should be and if you are asking the right questions. Spoiler alert - don't let the talking heads and CEOs of tech companies force you to blindly jump into AI. There are great benefits of AI as a powerful tool. But it remains a tool to be properly used, not a panacea. #AI #supplychain #Forbes Tecsys Inc.

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To pick up an import container at the terminal, the party (normally a driver) needs to provide a unique PIN generated by the terminal, then provided to the carrier, and eventually provided to the driver. This method is not only time consuming, but it is also vulnerable to misuse, and, in the worst case, prone to tampering through unauthorized access via the gate-out PIN generating system. The key disconnect is that usage of the PIN is completely anonymous and impossible to tie in to any physical identity of the PIN's enterer. The "container PIN fraud" has been discovered many years back, but it took some time for the safer, tamper-proof alternative to arrive at the scene. Now, it is time to start deploying the new container release in importing gateway ports, not just the major ones known to be nodes of the smuggling rings, but also in the smaller ports normally considered "less valuable" to the smugglers. In their basic formats, the new fully-digitalized "direct release" platforms receive and process container information to generate an encrypted digital key with which the eventual carrier can pick up the container. This by itself increases tracability of the actions on the specific container and its handler. In its advanced form, the digital key is completely eliminated and replaced by the release process relying on the biometrics of the person entering the terminal to pick up each container. Suspect container-related action/situations can be flagged in real time to police/regulators' surveillance systems including full sharing of the relevant images. The new process and the platforms still need to assure full cybersecurity, not a trivial task either, but at least more possible than protecting the PIN generating system running out of some anonymous closet in the terminal's office. #cargo #container #security #cybersecurity #port #terminal #digital #digitalization

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Major container ports in Europe are on the course to digitalize the import container retrieval process. The days of exchanging PIN codes via email are positively over. After ports in the Netherlands and Belgium, German ports are now instituting switch away from PIN codes to fully digital identity tying the information on the container, the logistics company retriving the container from the terminal, and the identity of the driver (if retrieval is done by truck) in a far more secure platform than system based on PIN usage. Expect other E.U. nations to follow up with their own directives to their port auhorities to implement the same approach to import container releasing. Companies involved in moving containerized cargo on behalf of the beneficial cargo owners will now be able to address most of their pain points: eliminate unsafe and anonymous ways of sharing the PIN, enhance customer data security, reduce administrative costs, and eliminate risk of becoming unwilling participant in illicit cargo transits through European ports. #security #cybersecurity #integration #freight #cargo #container

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My latest Freightvine podcast came out last week and featured Mike Bassani from Microsoft. Mike has an extensive background in logistics and is leading Microsoft's efforts at integrating AI into the supply chain platform and applications. Its a great conversation - and I include a TL market update. Take a listen! #AI #transportation #AISupplychain

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Had the chance to testify recently before #USTR on the issue of #SupplyChainResilience. Here are my additional thoughts. #retail #supplychain

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Interesting article on supply chain disruptions. These challenges offer valuable lessons for building resilience and agility. Embracing advanced visibility by focusing on inventory-in-motion allows to assess the overall health of the supply chain in real time, enabling proactive decision-making and efficient rerouting to reduce costs and delays. Acting swiftly during crises is crucial, as the first day is critical; real-time data and stakeholder integration can help respond effectively, mitigating the impact and preventing further complications. Investing in the right tools and technologies enhances visibility and equips teams to operate at high velocity during crises, ultimately driving innovation and adaptability in an increasingly volatile environment. #SupplyChain #Logistics #SupplyChainManagement #SupplyChainResilience

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I haven’t posted much on LinkedIn in a bit, but June marks a big milestone for me and my Omnichannel Fulfillment team that I want to celebrate – it’s the one-year anniversary of Flexport's acquisition of Shopify Logistics/Deliverr Inc. As I reflect on this past year, I am overcome with deep gratitude and pride for all the team has built, transformed, and accomplished for merchants in such a short period of time. Integrating two robust businesses and navigating through complexity and ambiguity was no easy feat. On June 6, we closed the acquisition, and a mere 90 days later we launched the first-ever #supplychain product that married international freight services, domestic omnichannel and #ecommerce fulfillment, and trade and financial services. This rapidly evolved the legacy Deliverr Seller Portal into the first platform to connect a customer’s supply chain from factory floor to customer door – now known as Flexport’s Omnichannel Seller Portal. This consumer-grade product lowers the barriers for merchants of all sizes to not only manage their end-to-end logistics in one spot, but make #omnichannel growth achievable by all. We knew from the beginning that our operations, customer service, and execution had to be world-class. We acquired a fragmented network of 50+ warehouses operated by a myriad of 3Ps. This model was a drain on our profitability, and prevented us from consistently driving the quality our customers expect. We designed a new operating model and invested in consolidating our network to five strategically placed hubs that Flexport will own and operate. This rapidly improved our unit economics, but also allowed us to take the reins on performance. We improved our Dock-to-Stock speed, making customer inventory available twice as fast. Our On-Time-Shipping is 99%, and our On-Time-Delivery is 97%+. With this consolidated network, our five hubs now represent more cumulative square footage than we had before, allowing us to co-locate multiple services under one roof for faster processing and scale 5X during Peak, all while maintaining (and in some cases increasing) the speed of delivery. To help merchants grow, Flexport now integrates with more than 30+ eCommerce platforms and #B2B retailers including Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, Costco Wholesale, Target, Nordstrom, and our newest addition SHEIN. Ultimately, this gives merchants flexibility/optionality in how they serve customers with the simplicity of one inventory pool. Since we launched in September, we received substantial interest from merchants, with over 25K sign-ups to the Portal. Thousands of merchants have entrusted us with their goods, booking tens of thousands of shipments, and moving tens of millions of units through our network this past year. We’re on track to crush prior records this Peak, growing alongside our diverse merchants, making fulfillment a long-term profitable growth engine for Flexport. In just 1 year, we learned a ton, built a lot, and delivered even more.

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Edition #233 of Supply Chain in Numbers is out: US shoppers buy groceries from 20+ retailers, Data challenges in planning, Deltia.ai raised €4.5 million, 42% of e-com orders involved stores, Farmers have the lowest number of calves since 1948 To subscribe: https://lnkd.in/e-ZY6VH4

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🚀 Thriving, Not Just Surviving, in Today’s Volatile Landscape! 🚀 "Over the last few years, we’ve faced a pandemic, a war, inflation, higher labor costs, growing energy expenses, and a shift to e-commerce. Our legacy warehouse management systems were simply not flexible enough to respond to these challenges. We needed a world-class solution that could optimize our warehouse performance in a dynamic environment, enabling us to meet customers’ ever-increasing demands for reliable service and fast delivery. Blue Yonder warehouse management system is that solution.” — Chief Innovation and Digitization Officer By implementing Blue Yonder WMS, Rhenus has streamlined operations, reduced costs, and significantly boosted responsiveness to customer demands. True supply chain partner. 🌟 Key Benefits: Consolidation and Optimization Increased Automation Enhanced Responsiveness Scalability Rhenus' success story showcases the power of modern WMS in overcoming complex challenges and achieving #operational excellence. #SupplyChain #Logistics #Innovation #WarehouseManagement #BlueYonder #RhenusGroup #DigitalTransformation #CustomerSatisfaction #Efficiency #ajonkmandynamicleader #onprem #cloud #integrated Rhenus Logistics Blue Yonder

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Great blog from Maneet Singh on how we at Odyssey Logistics are integrating AI. We’re focusing on risk reduction, improving team productivity, streamlining customer experiences and unified data governance. Maneet offers a deep dive into our strategy. It’s worth a read. #AI #Leadership #LogisticsInsights https://lnkd.in/eCgU89AX

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Interesting news today on CNBC regarding Walmart's move to electronic shelf tags capable of changing prices every 10 seconds. While the stated intention is not to go to dynamic pricing, this technology sets them up well for that option in the future. Several benefits: > Lower labor costs to update shelf tags > Faster picking for online orders (Tags equipped with flashing lights) > Faster replenishment when items get low - flashing alerts to store labor > More information available on the product for the consumer > Dynamic pricing could reduce obsolescence associated with expiry > Enable faster reaction to competitive pricing in the market What are your thoughts? Consumers see dynamic pricing today for hotels, gas, airfares, Uber and other online purchases. Will this be the ultimate place where we land at the store shelf?

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Choosing any system is complex. Deploying any system is complex. When combined with opaque models that are appearing in the market at an increasing rate, it has some significant financial risk as well. You need to be cautious that many models are truly too good to be true. Read on and learn what that looks like, ask questions, and make sure you aren't selecting a short term cost win and a long term operational and financial millstone. #wms #wmssoftware #warehousemanagement

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The logistics industry has undergone a remarkable transformation leveraging new tools to analyze data, automate processes, and more. I recently spoke with Bala Subramanian, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of UPS, about the digital transformation happening at his company and how he is leveraging these tools to reimagine the network of the future. Tune in as we discuss topics including the development of UPS DeliveryDefense and other innovations at the company, the culture of digital and data fluency that he has helped foster, and what it means for UPS to become a ‘logistics orchestrator’. Listen to the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e6W5ERZg #UPS #logistics #innovation #digital #data #digitaltwin #digitaltransformation #podcast #podcastinterview #Technovation #TechnovationPodcast #CTO #CDO #CIO

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The consumer is the ultimate change agent. This was a great line from Eddie Capel at Manhattan Associates #momentum24. Change is constant and it's no secret that change has been rapid within our industry over the last few years. What drives that change the most though? Our actions and desires as consumers. Companies listen to the voice of the customer and adapt to what their customer is telling them. We've seen changes in delivery from expectations of faster delivery speeds and now to the desire for more transparency and predictability around delivery. These changes drive the innovation that we see in the warehousing industry around hardware, software and how we utilize labor to be able to match the desires of the consumer. No matter the innovation or the tech advancement there is some human element that is driving the reasoning for that. How do you make sure you are adapting to what your customer is telling you?

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