Logistics IT – Page 57
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FeatureEmbracing change to drive velocity in North American ports
This year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics Import Export summit in Baltimore revealed an industry embracing the latest digital technology to deal with some familiar challenges around port capacity, infrastructure and security, but facing changing dynamics in the movement of vehicles around North America, not least the renegotiation of the Nafta trade ...
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FeatureFoxconn confirms it is considering Michigan investment
Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue, has confirmed it is considering Michigan in the US as another investment location – just weeks after announcing a major project in the state of Wisconsin.The South China Morning Post recently reported that the Taiwan-based company was considering growing ...
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FeatureDHL says smart glasses for picking now ‘business as usual’
Following a successful international trial period, DHL Supply Chain says its augmented reality smart glasses are now “business as usual” in its warehouses around the world.Last August the company, along with partners Google, Vuzix and Ubimax, said it would be expanding a ‘Vision Picking’ trial based on smart glasses, from ...
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FeatureOnline vehicle sales: ACES high as dealers face a new game
Once upon a time, interaction between carmakers and their customers happened in one place: the dealership. Dealer showrooms were where customers learned about products, chose a car and parted with their cash. Once a customer took possession of the vehicle, he was likely to return to the dealer for service ...
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FeatureMichael Silvio moves to head Logistics Innovation unit at Surgere
Michael Silvio has moved from his role as senior director of supply chain management at tier one supplier, Cooper Standard Automotive, to take up a newly created position as vice-president of logistics innovation at packaging management and supply chain intelligence provider, Surgere. Cooper Standard has yet to announce a replacement ...
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FeatureZebra survey shows manufacturers moving to greater use of technology
Manufacturers are making ever greater use of industry 4.0 technology in their supply chains and moving ever closer to smart factories, a survey by technology provider Zebra Technologies has suggested.Zebra’s 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study, based on 1,100 respondents from the automotive, high-tech, food, beverage, tobacco and pharmaceutical sectors in Europe, ...
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FeatureMercedes-Benz Trucks uses 3D printing for metal service parts
The Mercedes-Benz Trucks division of Daimler has printed its first spare part made of metal. The thermostat cover, which is produced in small numbers for older trucks and Unimog models, was 3D-printed from a die-cast aluminium alloy and has passed testing for original part quality, according to the truckmaker.The company ...
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FeatureOutbound deliveries: Blocking in the truth
Will bitcoin prove to be one of the most valuable innovations in changing the finished vehicle supply chain? If so, it is not because carmakers and logistics providers are moving their contracts from dollars, euros or yuan to the virtual currency (although given its recent escalation in value, some may ...
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FeatureFraunhofer IIS to test new multi-directional RFID antenna
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) has invited applications from companies interested in helping it test a new, multi-directional RFID reader antenna that it believes will provider higher read range and accuracy than current antennas in difficult environments.The Multibeam Antenna, which features nine directional beams, can be used to ...
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FeatureDigitalisation: for better or for worse, you can't just ignore it
Disruption or continuous improvement? That is the question over what digitalisation, autonomy and electrification will do to automotive logistics. Will new players swipe away older ones as though deleting undesirables on an app, or will technology improve efficiency and customer reach?The stock market drives the bleaker outlook for some. With ...
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FeatureFedEx admits TNT hasn’t fully recovered from June’s cyber-attack
Global courier company FedEx has admitted that its subsidiary TNT Express is continuing to suffer from the effects of last month’s cyber-attack. The firm is still processing some transactions manually, it said, and some data may never be fully recovered.“All TNT depots, hubs and facilities are operational and most TNT ...
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FeatureDifferent digital paces
The headline above might well have read ‘industry and logistics 4.0’, ‘the industrial internet of things’, ‘factories of the future’, ‘smart supply chains’ or ‘manufacturing 2025’.Or we might have turned to one of a growing number of acronyms used to outline the car industry’s future, like Mercedes-Benz Car’s CASE or ...
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FeatureSmart packaging: The quest for greater precision
Packaging is one area in the automotive supply chain in which greater connectivity and ‘internet of things’ (IoT) devices have the potential to make significant improvements. Many of the chronic issues that accompany the management and flow of equipment, including missing or incorrect containers, damage to parts, as well as ...
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FeatureSuzuki gets its delivery priorities in order
A prolonged period of strong sales growth in the UK means Suzuki now imports more than double the number of vehicles it did five years ago into the country. This expansion has put pressure on the company’s finished vehicle supply chain. It has also come at a time when customer ...
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FeatureVW launches virtual reality hub for production and logistics applications
The Volkswagen Group says it has bundled all of its virtual reality (VR) applications for production and logistics into a ‘Digital Reality Hub’.The OEM claims to be the first car manufacturer to roll out VR technology with the HTC VIVE-VR system.The move, which bundles all of VW’s existing VR applications, ...
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FeatureNissan using Kinaxis software to improve supply chain planning
Nissan has begun using a software system from Kinaxis to improve the accuracy and speed of planning in its supply chain.Kinaxis said the RapidResponse supply chain management (SCM) application would enable Nissan to concurrently plan across different parts of its global supply chain and give it end-to-end visibility.Given that Nissan ...
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FeatureMercedes-Benz S-Class drives itself from assembly line to loading area
The potential for self-driving cars in finished vehicle logistics has been highlighted by the recent start of Mercedes-Benz S-Class production in Sendelfingen, Germany, where a newly built car drove itself off the assembly line to a loading area about 1.5km away.Cameras, together with radar and ultrasonic sensors, worked in conjunction ...
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FeatureHirotec introduces self-driving robot for parts dipping
Hirotec America, a supplier of weld assembly equipment to major OEMs, has introduced an automated machine in its production operation in Michigan.A Yaskawa Motoman dual-arm manipulator has been integrated into an OTTO 1500 self-driving vehicle from OTTO Motors to pick up and dip parts in black oxide for corrosion protection.The ...
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FeatureDaimler tests blockchain technology in loan issue
Daimler and German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) have teamed up on a project using blockchain technology for a €100m loan transaction.The entire deal for the one-year corporate Schuldschein (a loan agreement unique to the German market) was digitally carried out using the distributed digital ledger technology. This includes the origination, ...
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FeatureBMW Group: Thinking big about outbound
Alongside pictures of her family, Anita Pieper’s office is full of visual charts and signposts: value-stream maps, PDA circles for scheduling and a 3PS board outlining various projects and targets her teams are working on, from quality statistics to network studies or a plant launch years ahead.In the middle of ...