Chain Links: What we’re reading this week
A booming global 3PL market, Amazon seems ready to rock with global fulfillment, and Bitcoin for logistics
Retailers boost capacity for online sales fulfillment with giant DCs
In a rush to keep up with the pressures of e-commerce, retailers have doubled the size of new distribution centers built in recent years, a report from commercial real estate broker and consultant Colliers International Group Inc. shows. Expert says e-commerce warehouses demand more workers and greater automation than traditional DCs.
Source: Colliers International Group Inc.
3PL market will be worth $925 billion by 2020: report
The 3PL industry is on track for big growth over the next five years, driven by the trend of international companies outsourcing their logistics services in an effort to concentrate on core competencies, according to a forecast from San Francisco consulting firm Grand View Research, Inc. Large companies are struggling to manage geographically dispersed supply chain operations in the global economy, and industry-tailored 3PL firms are there to pick up the business.
Source: Grand View Research, Inc.
Uber’s latest logistics play: UberRush in SF delivers packages
Uber took another step into logistics last week, launching UberRush in San Francisco to deliver packages door to door.
Source: SFGate.com
Logistics and Bitcoin: A match made for global trade?
Last month, Rimas Kapeskas, managing director of the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fundpublished a blog post on “Longitudes,” the official UPS blog, asking, “Does Global Trade Need A Global Currency?” It discussed the potential for bitcoin and blockchain technology to ease friction for logistics and payments that make cross-border trade possible.
Source: Pyments.com
Amazon ready to roll into global fulfillment field, analyst says
With its scale and technology, Amazon is poised to capitalize on a potential $450 billion opportunity in global logistics and fulfillment services, writes Baird Internet Analyst Colin Sebastian.
Source: Robert W. Baird & Co.
Three Ways Automated Pallet Storage Solves Throughput Issues in Frozen Product Storage Areas
With the global frozen food market predicted to grow to $307 billion by 2020, warehouses currently using manual processes in their frozen product storage areas might consider material handling automation. That’s because automated pallet storage and retrieval systems can improve throughput of slow- to medium-moving frozen products by enhancing handling practices in three ways.
Source: viastore
Ebook: Using Inventory Modeling to Develop a Holistic Inventory Strategy
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