Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1004801
44 commercial carrier journal | july 2018 could a ect the choice of carrier and circumvent delays during track and trace. "Carriers use our Drive XPO mobile app to bid on loads ltered by geography, dates, equipment and special handling," Cooper said. "XPO Connect facilitates the whole process." Getting closer, faster As consumer expectations shi toward next-day and even same-day delivery of orders, the ability for companies to meet those demands is challenged. "Brick-and-mortar retailers that shi into omnichannel or pure e-commerce can be blindsided by consumer expecta- tions," Cooper said. "It boils down to re- tailers and e-tailers looking for new ways to position goods more e ciently — to shorten delivery transit times without adding overhead. is can be particularly challenging with the purchase of heavy goods such as furniture or appliances." With more than 100 warehouses and last-mile hubs in its network, XPO Lo- gistics can stage goods within two days of 95 percent of the U.S. population. To help existing online customers as well as brick-and-mortar retailers break- ing into the omnichannel and e-com- merce markets, the company launched XPO Direct, a nationwide shared-space distribution model that provides exible stockholding sites and cross-docks used by multiple customers simultaneously. "In essence, we're renting out our scale and disrupting traditional thinking about the capital-intensive regional distribution model," Jacobs said. XPO Direct also uses algorithms to identify seasonal and consumer behavior patterns and predict where to position customer stock within its warehouse network. XPO Direct uses proprietary technology to link multiple sites with cross-network visibility, moving goods as needed between locations with brokered, contracted and owned capacity. "We can speed up deployment and re ow goods to sites as demand patterns change," Cooper said. "Hey Google …" In 2017, XPO Logistics' last-mile net- work handled 13 million deliveries, the majority of which were heavy goods such as appliances, exercise equipment, elec- tronics and furniture. With 66 last-mile hubs and plans to expand to 85 before yearend 2018, XPO expects to make its last-mile solution available to 95 percent of the U.S. population. As consumer buying habits con- tinue to migrate online, XPO recently launched another new gadget in its technology toolbelt that connects the consumer to their order status in real time without them ever having to leave the couch. In April, XPO launched a voice- enabled tracking feature that integrates directly with Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa to integrate consumers into the supply chain. "It's all driven by consumerization," Cooper said. "Today's consumers expect to have control over their personal experience within the supply chain. ey care about mobility and convenience. ey want interactive access to informa- tion and on-the- y exibility that adapts to their lifestyle. So we gave them 'Alexa, launch XPO.' " A er opting in to mobile alerts at the time of purchase, consumers with Google or Amazon personal assistants with the XPO skill enabled can use the tracking platform to track their order and, if necessary, make delivery date and time window changes with a simple voice command: "Alexa, track my order." Based on consumer responses to voice prompts, XPO's so ware relays changes in delivery preferences to the delivery driver's mobile app. e shipment status also can be tracked in real time on the Ship XPO web-based tool that displays deliv- ery vehicle location, as well as tra c and weather alerts that may impact the package delivery schedule. e consumer also receives a post-delivery survey to provide XPO with actionable data on its service performance. "Tech-enabled customer services are critically important in an increasingly competitive marketplace," said Harik when the feature was introduced. "We're helping our customers build loyalty and protect their brands, many of which are household names in e- commerce and retail." CC J I N N O VATO R S pro les carriers and eets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Je Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953. With more than 100 warehouses and last-mile hubs in its network, XPO Logistics can stage goods within two days of 95 percent of the U.S. population.