distribution – OM in the News

Making Short-Haul Rail Transport Economically Feasible

Parallel Systems is building autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles to solve carbon emission and supply chain constraint problems.

The autonomous rail vehicles are used for intermodal transportation, moving steel containers between rail and boats/trucks. The small size of the Parallel Systems’ rail vehicles can do high-volume turnovers economically and efficiently, offering access to urban communities or ports that do not have large terminals.

According to the company, its vehicles could make rail transport economically feasible for distances of less than 500 miles.

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By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2022-02-23T22:04:51+00:00February 24, 2022|Tags: autonomous vehicles, distribution, location, sustainability, transportation|

Nike and Direct-to-Consumer: Just Doing It

Nike continues its march towards more direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, notifying seven more distributors that they will no longer be selling its products.

The last shipments to DSW, Macy’s, Urban Outfitters, Big Five, and several others are likely to go out in October 2021. The move follows Nike’s cut of nine wholesalers last fall, and continues a push towards more digital sales.

Its DTC model that began about a decade ago has been accelerated and positively affected by the pandemic.

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By Lisa M. Spencer|2021-05-06T03:28:57+00:00May 5, 2021|Tags: channels, distribution, external environment, logistics, strategy|

UPS and FedEx Manage Capacity for Peak Vaccine Shipping

UPS and FedEx are planning to increase vaccine delivery capacity threefold by May.

As of February 2021, the two companies were delivering about 14 million doses per week. UPS in particular believes it can still prioritize timely vaccine delivery when increased production by multiple manufacturers allows triple the volume in May 2021.

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FedEx, UPS teaming up to deliver COVID-19 [Vaccine] (Dec 11, 2020, ABC News)

This post is based on the Bloomberg article,

By Lisa M. Spencer|2021-03-31T22:22:57+00:00April 4, 2021|Tags: bottlenecks, capacity planning, distribution, logistics, supply chain management|

Home Depot’s Dallas DC: Running on Hydrogen

Home Depot is partnering with Plug Power to build a 1.5 million square foot distribution center in Dallas, Texas. The new distribution center will use Plug Power’s zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell systems to power material handling equipment such as forklifts.

The fuel cell systems also become the infrastructure for storing, compressing, and dispensing hydrogen fuel. The partnership is heralded as a fulfillment of Home Depot’s sustainability commitment to its supply chain and operations.

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By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-03-31T20:04:27+00:00April 1, 2021|Tags: distribution, social and environmental responsibility, supply chain strategy, sustainability|