<$MTBlogName$

Archives for June 2014

Sourcemap: End-to-end supply chain visibility

By Kate Lee | 06/17/2014 | 1:00 AM

Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line.  The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.”  The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business. 

This is the third in a series of articles that provides examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.

In the wake of events such as hurricane Sandy, the Fukushima nuclear, the Bangladesh factory collapse, and the horsemeat scandal, businesses and consumers are increasingly demanding supply chain transparency.

Sourcemap is a social network which provides end-to-end visibility within a supply chain.  Sourcemap offers supply chain mapping, crowdsourced RFIs, risks and alerts, and KPI dashboards.  Launched by researchers at MITs Media Lab, Sourcemap was recently named one of Spend Matters Top 50 companies to watch.

Figure 1: What Sourcemap Offers

  Sourcemap

Sourcemap connects producers, manufacturers, and consumers for end-to-end visibility. Manufacturers can use Sourcemap to trace products down to raw materials, to manage risk, to and plan more resilient, efficient supply chains. 

Consumers can use Sourcemap to learn where things come from and what they're made of, including their social and environmental impact.

Stonyfield used Sourcemap to create an interactive sourcing map for its yogurt – to show consumers where the ingredients that go into their yogurt comes from. 

Consumers simply click on an ingredient shown on the map (Figure 2) and then are shown information about the specific ingredient (Figure 3).

 Figure 2

Stoneyfield sourcemap

 Figure 3

Blueberries

In the process of creating the map, Stonyfield engaged suppliers and fostered increased communication and stronger relationships.  These relationships, this communication, and the ability for companies (and consumers) to know their supply chain from end-to-end is what Sourcemap wants to provide.

Sourcemap takes social media and makes it a vital supply chain tool.

How Twitter changes the game of trucking

By Kate Lee | 06/10/2014 | 1:33 AM

Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line.  The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.”  The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business. 

This is the second in a series of articles that provides examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.

Long-haul truck drivers are more likely to be overweight or obese than the general public (86% v. 65%). Additionally, truck drivers are more likely to smoke, have high blood pressure, and suffer from sleep apnea than the general public.  The poor health of long-haul truckers is largely due to their lifestyle.  Long-haul trucking is a sedentary lifestyle.  It is also a lifestyle which makes it challenging to access gyms and healthy foods. 

The cost of poor health is enormous – for truckers and for their employers.  The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illness are $190.2 billion, or nearly 21 percent of annual medical spending in the United States.  Looking specifically at the trucking industry - a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that obese truckers had an annual average total health care cost of $1,944, compared with $1,755 for overweight truckers and $1,131 for normal-weight drivers.  A sleep apnea screening and treatment program conducted by Schneider National identified 350 drivers who required treatment.  Treating these drivers not only improved their health, but it also improved the company’s bottom line – over a one year period, Schneider National saved $530 per month per driver in insurance costs and saw a 71 percent reduction in accidents involving those drivers during the same period.

An article in Today’s Trucking shares the story of Jason Janneta a 42 year old trucker who had been driving for 20 years and was a poster boy for the statistics - overweight and unhealthy.  Fed up, he decided to make a lifestyle change.  Within six months of embracing a healthier lifestyle he had lost 80 pounds.  During this period he had also taken to Twitter to share his experience and to motivate other truckers to adopt a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and improve their health. 

Tweeting as @urbanhauler with #fittrucker, Jannetta captured the attention of other truckers (he quickly grew his followers to more than 1,500) and the attention of Jared Martin, the President of Speedy Transport.

Martin recognized the value of Jannetta’s efforts and of #fittrucker – healthier individuals, a healthier bottom line, and opportunity to attract new drivers.

According to Martin:

“I really enjoyed a lot of his posts and what he was trying to do for the industry, so we brought him in for a meeting.”

The two discussed the role of health and fitness on the future of the transportation industry. The next day, Martin offered Jannetta a job at Speedy Transport – Driver Trainer and Wellness Advisor.  Martin accepted the position and now tweets for @speedywellness where he brings “#trucking and #fitness/#wellness together.”

Speedy Transport is one company which has recognized social media as a business tool and has moved far beyond the social media starting line.  The Twitter profile of @speedywellness rightly points out “we #ChangeTheGame of #Trucking.”

Using social media to move freight

By Kate Lee | 06/03/2014 | 9:28 AM

Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line.  The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.”  The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business. 

Over the next four weeks I will be providing examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.

Using social media to move freight

Transportation logistics is vital to the supply chain and logistics industries.  For companies within these industries; however, transportation logistics can prove to be challenging to navigate and can prove challenging to the bottom line.

MercuryGate International Inc. and Con-way Inc. are two companies that have used social media to turn transportation logistics on its head – they use social media to move freight.

TweetLoad

Con-way Multimodel, a division of Con-way Inc., launched TweetLoad™ in 2010.  TweetLoad enables carriers to access available loads from Con-Way Multimodel via Twitter.  Carriers who follow @ConwayTweetLoad on Twitter are able to see the latest available shipments as well as links to additional information on the company’s link board.  Load information is updated on Twitter every 15 minutes, meaning that carriers who follow @ConwayTweetLoad have real-time information on available loads.

Figure 1: Conway TweetLoad

Conway TweetLoad

 

Bill Graves, president, American Trucking Associations (ATA): “With this novel use of Twitter, Con-way Multimodal is leading the industry in maximizing the best features of new technology to improve their processes. This is a great example of how innovative transportation companies can make it easier for carriers to do business with them, which will be a benefit to our industry overall.”

View a YouTube demonstration of TweetLoad at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zL7h7kTU1M.

Freight Friend

In 2011 MercuryGate International Inc. launched Freight Friend.  Freight Friend is a free relationship-based full-featured load and truck internet posting service for shippers, brokers and carriers.  Freight Friend creates a private network between transportation partners, and utilizes technology to automatically identify appropriate matches.  The combination of the technology utilized and the relationship-based nature of Freight Friend allows companies to have real-time visibility to book trucks and find freight with companies they trust.

The Freight Friend concept is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Freight Friend

Freight Friend

“FreightFriend is perfect for carriers, shippers, brokers, 3PLs and freight management firms who only want to share information with companies they trust. They can keep their current information in one place, knowing that friends – and only friends – will have constant access. While public load boards fill a real need, they come at a cost – a lot of unknown companies bidding to carry the freight. Private boards are often useful too, but they’re inconvenient to carriers with multiple clients asking them to check their bid portals.  FreightFriend solves the dilemma with a single service where carriers can easily communicate with all of their clients and brokers can find available capacity from carriers they trust.”

Freight Friend is fully integrated into MercuryGate’s TMS and Carrier Management System (Carma). Freight Friend is also available to integrate with other TMS providers.

The opinions expressed herein are those solely of the participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of Agile Business Media, LLC., its properties or its employees.

About Elizabeth Hines

Elizabeth Hines

Elizabeth is a content strategist with 12+ years of experience in content development, branding, marketing, and communications. As the creative/editorial director at Fronetics, she oversees all efforts related to content and creative assets, including strategy design and brand development.

She has written extensively about supply chain and logistics, and has developed content strategies across a number of verticals, including the B2B space. Prior to joining Fronetics, Elizabeth worked at Boston University, Prospectiv, and Cengage Learning.



Categories

Popular Tags

Subscribe to DC Velocity

Subscribe to DC Velocity Start your FREE subscription to DC Velocity!

Subscribe to DC Velocity
Renew
Go digital
International