この度ZMPは自動運転技術を応用したCarriRo Visual Tracking 方式によりCarriRoの自律走行を実現しました。CarriRoは走行しながら自己位置及び走行指示情報を画像認識により取得し、人手を介在することなく安定したルート走行を行います。また走行指示情報はタブレットを通じて変更することが可能で、あらかじめ走行ルートをパターンとして設定するだけで、随時走行ルートが変更できるので、フレキシブルな運用が可能です。

また従来より搭載されている追従機能があるので、搬送業務内容に応じて追従機能と自律移動機能を使い分けることによる更なる生産性の向上を図ることができます。例えば、先頭のCarriRoに自律移動機能を使い先導用車両とし、後続のCarriRoに追従機能を使うことにより、無人での隊列搬送も可能となります。

CarriRo「自律移動モデル」は2018年7月18日?20日に開催されるZMPフォーラム2018にて実機によるデモンストレーション及び関連するプログラムの発表いたします。

※現行のCarriRo「2018年モデル」（追従機能）は「自律移動モデル」の販売開始以降も並行して販売され、「2018年モデル」（追従機能）から「自律移動モデル」へのバージョンアップも可能です。

New Regional Distribution Centers (RDC) in Kleinaitingen (Germany) and Słubice (Poland), Dealer Distribution from Beijing and Shanghai (China)
Serving dealers in China, Germany and Austria as well as Poland
Kuehne + Nagel and BMW Group partner in 14 locations all over the world

Perfect aftersales services are crucial within the premium automotive market. In order to permanently fulfil increasing customer expectations and minimising waiting time, the aftersales supply chain must ensure best in class level. Kuehne + Nagel and the BMW Group expand their partnership with two new distribution centres in Germany and Poland and dealer distribution from the two main BMW RDCs in China, all of them focus markets for the German premium class car manufacturer.

The long lasting partnership between the BMW Group and Kuehne + Nagel can now count on 14 major locations around the globe with a consolidated presence in China.

Gianfranco Sgro, member of the Managing Board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, responsible for Contract Logistics: “Focusing on dynamic industries such as automotive is part of our 2022 roadmap. It is our clear goal to further increase our automotive footprint globally. Therefore, we continuously develop innovative solutions for the aftersales market. The extension of our global services for BMW Group is an important milestone. Partnering with BMW always means to push innovation to the next level in operations, data management, visibility and transparency and end customer centricity. We are delighted to provide our competence to our longstanding customer BMW Group at two more sites in Europe and to expand our services for BMW Brilliance Automotive in China.”

With a size of 70.000 sqm, the RDC in Kleinaitingen is one of the largest distribution centers Kuehne + Nagel manages for the BMW Group. It serves more than 300 dealers all over Southern Germany and Western Austria. Kuehne + Nagel is responsible for physically receiving and handling of incoming goods, storage, picking dealer’s orders, packaging, and shipping. An assortment of around 82.000 articles is stored, with around 23.000 daily outbound deliveries handled.

With initially 30.900 sqm and an expansion option of 10.700 sqm, the new warehouse in Slubice substitutes the existing RDC in Poland with a size of 15.000 sqm. Required due to the strong growth especially of the Polish market, it serves about 125 dealers in North-Eastern Germany and about 35 in Poland.

The RDC dealer distribution by road and air from Beijing and Shanghai will provide daily spare parts deliveries to 340 dealers in North,Central and Eastern China. Shipment data is guaranteed through Kuehne + Nagel’s Oracle transportation management system.

Launched in January 2018, the DHL Global Trade Barometer is a new and unique early indicator for the current state and future development of global trade.

Despite increasing trade tensions, global trade growth expected to accelerate slightly in the third quarter of 2018
Growth dynamics continue to primarily come from air trade
Strong development in South Korea; UK trade growth to further lose momentum
Bonn - The DHL Global Trade Barometer predicts that global trade growth will continue to accelerate over the next three months. Compared to the previous release in March, the overall GTB index rose by one point, now standing at 67 points. According to the GTB methodology, an index value above 50 signals a positive growth forecast. The increase is notable because the data on which the Global Trade Barometer is based show no impact of the current increase in international trade disputes. The rise in the overall index was primarily driven by a slight increase for containerized ocean freight, which has now reached an index value of 64 points. The index for global air trade remained unchanged at 70 points.

https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases/2018/dhl-global-trade-barometer-continues-to-rise.html

The international freight forwarding and logistics company Panalpina has launched the Panalpina Digital Hub to embrace new technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain that have the potential to disrupt the business in the coming years. The new business unit, which reports directly to CEO Stefan Karlen, is to explore innovative technologies, develop new digital solutions for customers, and engage with digital start-up companies.

Panalpina, a pioneer of international freight forwarding, is embracing modern information technology and the digitization of services to meet customer expectations and secure long-term growth. As part of its digital transformation process, the company has launched the Panalpina Digital Hub, which is tasked with exploring disruptive technologies and developing new digital solutions for customers as well as realizing business opportunities for Panalpina.

“We, like many of our competitors, are challenged by new market entrants with innovative business models and digital approaches that improve upon the old way of doing things. Additionally, our customers increasingly demand the digital experience they have become accustomed to as consumers: they now expect a similar experience in a business-to-business environment,” says Stefan Karlen, CEO of Panalpina. “It is therefore obvious that the frontier of freight forwarding and logistics does not lie in new modes of transport, but in digital transformation. Knowing that, we want to shape our industry’s future with innovative digital solutions that create new levels of value for our customers and accelerate growth for our company in the years to come.”

Disruptive technologies in focus

The Panalpina Digital Hub will be focusing on innovative technologies with a potentially high impact on the freight forwarding and logistics industry, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.

IoT is a technological development whereby all sorts of devices like smartphones, computers, etc. are connected to the internet. “In the short term, IoT can help us streamline our processes and create more efficient supply chains. The challenge will lie in deriving the relevant actions from the wealth of IoT data,” explains Dr Luca Graf, head of the Panalpina Digital Hub.

“Predictive analytics and artificial intelligence will optimize products and services and create new ones, as can currently be seen in Amazon’s recommendation engine,” Graf continues.

“Blockchain technology, which creates a digital record of every transaction made in a decentralized and secure way using cryptography, has the potential to disrupt the industry in the long term by impacting contracts, freight payments, chain of custody, and other issues facing the industry,” he states. While it is difficult to predict when blockchain will reach commercial break-through, Panalpina plans to start pilots with the new technology in Q3. Recently, Panalpina also joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

Potential partnerships with start-ups

The Panalpina Digital Hub additionally acts as a gateway to the bustling community of digital start-up companies, beginning with the European ecosystem. “For the moment, we are focusing on European start-ups of a certain maturity. Further down the road, we will expand our network to the USA, Israel and China,” says Graf. He sees three options to engage with start-ups: to partner with a start-up and act as a vendor for certain applications (SaaS, Software as a Service); to enter into a strategic partnership where the start-up develops customized solutions for Panalpina, allowing the company to enter new markets; or Panalpina could also buy a stake in a start-up.


Zurich and Berlin

The Panalpina Digital Hub is based in Zurich, Switzerland, reporting directly to the CEO. The experts working in the Digital Hub will also frequently be present in Berlin and Hamburg, two European hotspots with a very strong digital start-up scene. “We will engage with promising digital start-ups and work closely together with our colleagues in Air and Ocean Freight, Logistics, IT and finance, to bring viable and value-adding digital solutions into daily practice,” concludes Graf.