Big changes for UPS
On Monday, UPS announced it is expanding its Saturday ground pickups and deliveries program. The company hopes to extend the program from its original 3 cities to 4,700 before this year’s holiday season begins. This is, in fact, one of the largest changes to UPS’s operations in the company’s history. Customers will be able to receive deliveries one business day earlier than before. The new delivery day is expected to create an additional 6,000 jobs by 2018.
Due to rising demand from online shoppers, UPS had no other option than to add an extra day to its working week. The program will increase UPS’s e-commerce delivery speed and help reduce the amount of customers that search for alternatives due to long delivery waiting periods. Its operating capacity will increase without the need for additional investment in buildings or vehicles. The company will not only satisfy more customers, but also enable shippers to utilize space more efficiently and increase their productivity.
Find more information on the introduction here.
Let’s train the supply chain
‘Brilliant Learning’ is the new training program from General Electric. The company announced its plan earlier this week to introduce the program to over 150,000 of its employees. It is designed to improve and update the skills of current and future employees within its global supply chain, teaching them about new technology and processes expected to arise in the next couple of years. The aim of General Electric’s program is to help secure jobs for workers in this rapidly changing technological environment. It will help to address the current skills shortage being felt in particular parts of the industry by offering highly focused training.
The program will focus on lean manufacturing practices, advanced manufacturing, additive and other similar digital technologies that have had a big influence on the supply chain industry. It will include seminars, workshops, online courses and boot camps in order to fully immerse employees in the learning environment. General Electric is known for its training and development culture. It is no surprise such a program has been developed as the company invests more than $1 billion into employee development each year.
Read more about the program here.
Picking it up with Locus
Over the next two months, DHL will test collaborative and autonomous robots at its fulfillment facility in Tennessee. LocusBot, a robot developed by Locus Robotics, will serve as a ‘picker companion’, aiding employees in their tasks throughout the warehouse. It will help to quickly locate and transport items, while working in collaboration with DHL’s current warehouse management system. The robots have been described as a highly scalable solution that work seamlessly in order to improve practices in supply chains. The design also allows improved movement and coordination in the warehouse due to its elimination of push carts or carry bins previously used by employees.
The initial implementation will help DHL to analyze whether the LocusBot has the potential to be deployed across other parts of its business. In the testing stage, DHL will assess its communication capabilities and its accuracy as it moves around the warehouse. As for Locus Robotics, it is currently improving its navigation software to allow multiple robots to operate in a coordinated manner in the warehouse. This enhancement was demonstrated this week at the ProMat event in Chicago.
More information can be found here.
Have a great weekend!
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