SUPPLY CHAIN
Blume Global | October 19, 2021
Blume Global, the leading provider of supply chain execution and visibility solutions, is proud to be the first to deliver logistics execution and supply chain visibility solutions completely native to Google Cloud Platform. Customers that use Blume's digital operating platform with Blume Maps can access these solutions from a cloud-native platform.
Blume's digital supply chain operating platform with Blume Maps, a digital twin of the supply chain, was born on GCP in 2018. Blume's digital operating platform and solutions are used by some of the largest freight railroads, container steam-ship lines, logistics service providers and shippers in the world to manage and track the movement of freight and transportation assets in more than 130 countries. Blume leverages GCP's services to collect, clean and provide access to high quality and accurate logistics data, enabling Blume's high-value solutions including Blume Maps; international, intermodal and domestic transportation management; transportation asset management; supply chain visibility; order orchestration; and control tower, which were also born on GCP.
"Organizations today require solutions that help them manage and optimize their logistics strategies with data. We're pleased that Blume has chosen to run its platform on Google Cloud and provide customers with the solutions they need to succeed."
Hans Thalbauer, managing director, Google Cloud Supply Chain.
Blume's digital operating platform goes beyond the TMS status quo. Its supply chain digital twin, Blume Maps, is modeled after Google Maps. Consumers use Google's map tool to find locations, generate directions and provide feedback on each journey. With Blume Maps, planning a freight shipment's route, tracking the shipment's progress and ETA, and changing course during the journey if problems arise, is as natural as using Google's navigation app during a family road trip. The solution allows customers to generate accurate lead times, real-time shipment location, and ETAs for road, ocean, air, and railroad. Blume Maps can also provide alternative modes, carriers and routes when shipments are behind schedule, enabling unrivaled supply chain agility.
"When considering where we wanted to build Blume Maps, we made a very conscious decision to go with GCP instead of other cloud providers because of their commitment to making a difference in the supply chain space," said Blume Global CEO Pervinder Johar. "At Blume, we're building the digital supply chain operating platform for the next 50 years, and our partnership with Google Cloud Platform has enabled that mission."
About Blume Global
The supply chain technology provider Blume Global aims to remove $1 trillion of waste from the global supply chain, making logistics processes more agile, dependable and sustainable with innovative logistics execution and visibility solutions. Blume's digital platform goes beyond the transportation management status quo, empowering users to quickly predict the impact of disruptions and react in real time before minor issues become major problems. With one of the most extensive networks among logistics technology providers, Blume Global's direct connectivity to the ocean, air, rail, parcel, LTL and truckload carriers combines with Blume Global's solutions and 27 years of industry data to give customers the intelligence needed to maximize transportation spend, improve customer service and reduce carbon emission.
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LOGISTICS
Passport Shipping | August 10, 2021
Passport, an international shipping carrier built for cross-border e-commerce, has acquired Access Worldwide Inc. - an Atlanta-based international shipping consolidator with more than two decades of parcel supply chain industry experience. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"This is great news for the customers of both companies as it provides value-added capabilities and services to each," said Alex Yancher, founder and CEO of Passport. "By combining our capabilities, we'll be able to elevate the quality of our products, gain access to better shipping rates and expedite transit times."
With the acquisition, Passport is also better positioned to work on bespoke solutions for large consumer brands and marketplace business models that require deep expertise to execute complicated configurations.
By the end of this year, Statista expects the number of online shoppers around the world to reach 2.14 billion, representing an opportunity for direct-to-consumer brands to grow revenues by expanding their market footprint internationally.
With the acquisition, Passport gains access to an expert team with decades of hands-on, asset-based operational experience in the international parcel logistics space including Access Worldwide CEO Adam Langston who becomes Passport's new Chief Commercial Officer.
"Since its inception, I've been really impressed with Passport's business and, candidly, have always viewed them as a company that would be a great-fit partner," said Langston. "This acquisition enables us to bring key pockets of expertise and industry relationships to a business that's poised for long-term category leadership."
Additionally, Passport can now leverage Access Worldwide's logistics relationships, including critical first mile trucking providers and customs brokers to build-out and optimize a global supply chain that helps drive a better customer experience and cost structure.
About Access Worldwide
Access Worldwide was founded in 1999 to provide global mailers and shippers with a more reliable and cost-effective way to reach international customers. The company's employees serve over 150 countries each day via its global network of more than 60 postal and private delivery systems that help to eliminate overhead and hidden costs. Customers typically save up to 50 percent on shipping costs with full global tracking and visibility to all destinations. The company is also one of a limited number of Postal Qualified Wholesalers, a vetted designation with access to service levels and mailing products not available to the general public.
About Passport Shipping
Founded in 2017, San Francisco-based Passport Shipping is an international shipping carrier built for e-commerce companies and their 3PLsincluding Kylie Cosmetics, Native Deodorants, Bombas, Raycon and LMNT. The company manages all the complexities associated with international shipping so their consumer brand customers can stay focused on their core business. At the same time, Passport offers end consumers door-to-door tracking and high-touch customer support on all packages being sent to more than 150 countries around the world.
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LOGISTICS
RPA Labs | June 11, 2021
Today RPA Labs reported the arrival of RPA Engage, the premier logistics conversation AI (man-made reasoning) that improves client encounters via automating interactions with clients, merchants, and inward groups. An exclusive mix of conversational AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and an implicit language library of logistics wording permits RPA Engage to answer any logistics requests including:
Spot Quotes
Track & Trace
Sailing Schedules
Customer Service Inquiries
And More
RPA Engage is a no-code arrangement that is prepared to quickly send, effectively coordinating with any framework, and configurable to fit an assortment of organization explicit necessities.
RPA Engage offers two options to enhance your customer experience:
1. The world's first commercially available AI-Powered Logistics ChatBot
RPA Engage fully integrates with existing systems to provide instant, accurate responses to customer inquiries throughout all your chat channels. Freight forwarders, 3PLs, and supply chain companies who quickly respond to inquiries improve customer experience. RPA Engage's AI-Powered Logistics ChatBot offers an immediate response to general inquiries such as "where's my shipment" or "how much is it for an ocean container from Shanghai to Chicago?"
Companies implement RPA Engage to provide instant chat responses on company websites, social media channels, text/SMS, third party applications, and more.
2. Email Response Bot
Offer nonstop support for customer and vendor inquiries on the most widely used method of communication in the world: email. RPA Engage directly integrates through email to answer customer inquiries, eliminating email inboxes up to 80%.
"No one can refute that the way shippers consider and consume logistics services is steadily changing. In a time of generational change and unprecedented global events, we want to engage our clients at the time, place, and platform best suited to their needs. RPA Labs ChatBot is a piece of that strategy. Rating new shipments, regardless of communication method, is historically and reliably deficient in obtaining all the data needed for a quality response. The RPA Engage AI-Powered Logistics ChatBot addresses that within a simple user interface and attention span; in other words, without a long and unfriendly checklist for the user," said Jay Devers, CEO and Co-Founder of Bestway Freight Solutions. "Our expectations are high: we want to see new users to the system and we want to see user satisfaction rise among long-standing customers. We chose RPA Labs because they are a leader in this space with a proven executive team known to be on the front end of new technology."
Fast and quality responses like those mentioned by Devers are crucial during a time that has been so heavily influenced by the "Amazon effect" and the idea that customers expect to receive information the moment they submit an inquiry. This applies more and more to the logistics industry every day – if it takes hours or days to hear back on a quote inquiry, customers will submit requests to competitors not necessarily looking for the best price, but for whoever can respond the fastest.
About RPA Labs
RPA Labs provides a full-service solution in robotic process automation for companies in logistics/supply chain that are buried in emails, documents, and inefficient processes. Their software bots help companies scale without more people by eliminating manual, repetitive tasks, so they can offer a better experience to their customers and workforce.
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