As we approach the Thanksgiving season, we wish all of you joy and peace as you spend time with loved ones and family. In our industry, there are many who will be working extra hours or overtime. It warms our hearts to know this long-standing tradition at an independent truck stop in Idaho continues. The Boise Stage Shop, located off Interstate 84, has been serving free meals to truck drivers on Thanksgiving and Christmas for the last 10 years, in order to show their appreciation.

I. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has awarded a grant to five area community colleges and Drexel University to train new and existing port workers in transportation, logistics, and warehousing skills. The $385,314 grant will help establish an 18-month training program and local maritime owners, operators, trade associations, and labor unions will serve as subject matter experts.

II. Supply Chain Digital has news about the Global Trade Management Agenda 2017: a study just released by AEB that features industry insights from experts in the fields of logistics, global trade and supply chain management.

One of the most immediate stats from this study concerns the importance of business apps. “Nine out of ten participants in the survey consider business apps as a critical, competitive factor in global trade and logistics.” On the flip side of that is this startling revelation: “only 18 percent of respondents are currently using apps to support supply chain management, logistics and customs processes.”

III. Ken Lee, Asia Pacific CEO of DHL Express, has been inducted into Supply Chain Asia’s Hall of Fame. We were especially drawn to Lee’s remarks about his 15-year career and think many of you may relate.

“When I started working in logistics, it was a rather new and emerging industry that I assumed was simply about moving goods from one place to another. But in the past 20 years, I have witnessed first-hand how e-commerce, automation, and the huge demand from markets across Asia have transformed logistics and supply chains into far more precise and responsive operations than we would’ve ever imagined they would be…Success in this industry now demands higher levels of innovation, optimization, and customer service than ever before.”

IV. Infor software has been in the headlines this week for $2.5 billion reasons. The software company that many rely on to manage inventory, accounting processes, and logistics, has received a massive investment from Koch Industries.

Chad Eschinger, analyst at research firm Gartner Inc., spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the importance of this deal. “Cloud-based providers of supply-chain management systems are growing faster than their more established counterparts in an expanding market. Sales of supply-chain management software overall grew 11% to $11.1 billion in 2015, on a constant-currency basis, and is forecast to grow to $17.6 billion by 2020.”

Image Credit: Boise Stage Shop Facebook page

As of September 8, 2020, Crimson & Co (formerly The Progress Group/TPG) has rebranded as Argon & Co following the successful merger with Argon Consulting in April 2018. 

Bruce Strahan

[email protected]

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