We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Supply chain challenges demand digital solutions, HighJump says
Forward Thinking

Supply chain challenges demand digital solutions, HighJump says

March 6, 2019
Ben Ames
No Comments

The pressures of providing logistics services in 2019 is driving increased investment in the digitization of the supply chain as tech vendors and customers alike seek answers to challenges in workforce, transportation, and data, according to supply chain technology vendor HighJump Software Inc.

Even as companies struggle to hire, train, and retain enough workers, consumers are pushing them for improvements in flexibility, transparency, and data privacy, HighJump CTO Sean Elliott said in remarks at the firm's Elevate user conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The combination is forcing retailers to look for new logistics and fulfillment approaches before disappointed consumers take their business to competing e-commerce sites. "And we're not yet prepared for that," Collins said. "[The industry] may have some good starting points, but the supply chain of the future is not the supply chain of today. We need a digital transformation."

According to Minneapolis-based HighJump, that transformation could take the shape of software tools that allow companies to run simulations on their DCs and supply chain networks to model "what-if" scenarios and experiment with new approaches, an approach often referred to as building a "digital twin."

In recent weeks, the firm introduced a product called HighJump CLASS, a simulation tool that allows retailers to test warehouse layouts in a virtual world, running 2D and 3D visualizations based on real-world supply chain data. In a demonstration of the product at the user conference, HighJump said customers could use a "what-if wizard" in CLASS to emulate the sudden surge of volume that typically happens on Black Friday, and trace the impact of that event on their own virtual DC by using heat maps to detect potential backups.

In another application of the tool, users could feed the platform with their own DC data from the day before or even the shift before, then run a replay of the events to detect tripping points, almost like hitting the DVR button on a cable TV remote, Elliott said.

Other advances may come from HighJump's collaboration with its new Germany parent company, Korber AG. Since being acquired in 2017, HighJump has been able to tap into the resources of Korber Digital, a research lab that combines the efforts of HighJump and its sibling tech firms. Based in Berlin, the lab works on research projects in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), and big data.

Three specific projects under development in that lab now include a wearable computing device enabling vision-assisted workflows for product returns, a "digital echo" platform that uses real time location systems (RTLS) to trace forklifts and other assets in the warehouse, and an AI platform for helping third party logistics providers (3PLs) onboard new customers and their master data.

Based on research in projects like these, HighJump traced its plan for technology developments in 2019 and beyond. In a statement to attendees at the user conference, the firm said its priorities include: artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous robots such as products from Locus Robotics or Magazino, the internet of things (IoT) and predictive analytics, and workforce productivity tools like voice and vision.

  • Related Articles

    JDA says Luminate platform adds visibility to supply chain planning through digital edge technologies

    Digital megashifts could give supply chain managers "superhuman" productivity, futurist says

    Analyst: shippers are leading carriers in progress toward digital supply chain practices

Ben Ames is Editor at Large and a Senior Editor at Supply Chain Quarterly?s sister publication, DC Velocity.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

U.S. regulators approve merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern

Port of Savannah gains national market share

Norfolk Southern releases two safety plans to prevent future derailments

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

  • Postal Service plans to seize items mailed with fake stamps

  • Best practices in logistics sustainability

  • Supply chain executives not yet seeing expected results from technology investments

  • Inflation drops again as interest rate hikes hit home, NRF says

Featured Video

20221107korber large vs

Enhancing Customer Experience with Your Supply Chain Strategy

Viewer Contributed
With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses have had to transform their warehouses to handle online orders in addition to regularly scheduled inventory shipments. This means warehouses need more information than ever before to ensure they can meet customers' needs. As a result, companies need to select warehouse...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • A shipper's guide to navigating post-pandemic holiday freight

  • THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing