Overhaul Launches Ecosystem to Combat Cargo Theft Globally
The Overhaul Partner Ecosystem aims to secure supply chains by uniting industry leaders to address cargo theft. It features advanced connectivity solutions and strategic partnerships.
Overhaul Unites Supply Chain Leaders with New Partner Ecosystem Program to Combat Global Cargo Theft
AUSTIN, Texas — Apr. 24, 2024 — Overhaul, a global leader in active supply chain risk management and intelligence, safeguarding shippers and 3PLs against theft, delays, damage, and spoilage during transit, unveiled its Partner Ecosystem today. This innovative program is a strategic initiative aimed at unifying the efforts of the supply chain industry to combat and mitigate in-transit risk, such as cargo theft, on a global scale. Aligned with Overhaul's comprehensive suite of connectivity solutions, Overhaul’s Partner Ecosystem is dedicated to nurturing impactful partnerships that drive significant change across the industry.
In the Overhaul Partner Ecosystem, collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation. With every new partner that joins, the entire network experiences a surge of benefits stemming from the collective strength of its collaborative efforts. Overhaul’s Partner Ecosystem assembles a formidable consortium of stakeholders across the supply chain spectrum, including cutting-edge logistics and supply chain technologies, Insurtech innovators, device manufacturers, dynamic marketplaces, systems integrators, and logistics service providers (LSPs). This collaborative effort seeks to harness Overhaul's pioneering technology and deep domain expertise in tackling the intricate challenges of cargo theft with like-minded partners to enhance supply chain resilience globally. By prioritizing impactful solutions over conformity, the Ecosystem will address complex supply chain challenges and drive change across major risk areas including pharmaceuticals, electronics and other high-value loads.
“Building strong partnerships is not just a strategic choice; it’s the heartbeat of innovation and collaboration,” said Barry Conlon, CEO of Overhaul. “At Overhaul, these elements lie at the very essence of who we are. Our collaboration with our partners will create a symphony of success that resonates far beyond the boundaries of individual accomplishments.”
The Ecosystem offers participants comprehensive support and resources, including privileged access to Overhaul's extensive marketing hub, streamlined deal registration processes, and in-depth training sessions. These resources will enable partners to expand their business footprints and contribute substantially towards bolstering supply chain security and integrity.
The program proudly counts among its members distinguished industry leaders such as Keelvar, Loadsure, System Loco, and TruckStop. Each member brings unique expertise and capabilities to the table, collectively strengthening the global supply chain against the evolving threats of cargo theft.
What Overhaul’s partners are saying:
“Loadsure and Overhaul share a common purpose - utilize data to fortify supply chain resilience; to serve the freight community. Our partnership enables Overhaul users to secure data-priced insurance in seconds, ensuring peace of mind with holistic freight protection.” - Johnny McCord CEO & Founder, Loadsure
"At System Loco, we're constantly seeking innovative solutions to enhance our logistics operations. Partnering with Overhaul has been a game-changer for us,” said Ted Wlazlowski, CROE, System Loco. “Their platform provides unparalleled visibility, control, and security, allowing us to optimize our mutual customers’ supply chain and deliver exceptional service. Overhaul isn't just a vendor; they're a strategic partner committed to our success."
“As a leader in technology and innovation, Truckstop has expanded our partner community to include integration and affiliate partnerships,” said Alan Alberto, Director of Partnerships & Alliance, Truckstop. “Overhaul and Truckstop enable customers to make better business decisions, reduce risk, and save time. Our goal is to make our customers more successful and together with Overhaul, we’re mutually taking steps forward at doing so.”
"Through our Partner Ecosystem, we equip our partners with the necessary tools and platforms for expanding their reach and refining their offerings, contributing to a safer, more efficient global supply chain," added Marc Schrader, Overhaul's Senior Director of Partnerships, who spearheads the initiative. "Our work with partners like Keelvar, Loadsure and System Loco exemplifies the real-world advantages of our united efforts. Whether fighting freight fraud or boosting carrier identity and vetting processes, Overhaul’s Partner Ecosystem is poised to revolutionize our approach to supply chain challenges."
Organizations are invited to join the Overhaul Partner Ecosystem and contribute to a unified approach to mitigating risks across the supply chain. For more information on how to become a partner and the benefits of joining, please visit over-haul.com/partnerships.
The Overhaul Partner Ecosystem, where collaboration drives innovation!
The practice consists of 5,000 professionals from Accenture and from Avanade—the consulting firm’s joint venture with Microsoft. They will be supported by Microsoft product specialists who will work closely with the Accenture Center for Advanced AI. Together, that group will collaborate on AI and Copilot agent templates, extensions, plugins, and connectors to help organizations leverage their data and gen AI to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and drive growth, they said on Thursday.
Accenture and Avanade say they have already developed some AI tools for these applications. For example, a supplier discovery and risk agent can deliver real-time market insights, agile supply chain responses, and better vendor selection, which could result in up to 15% cost savings. And a procure-to-pay agent could improve efficiency by up to 40% and enhance vendor relations and satisfaction by addressing urgent payment requirements and avoiding disruptions of key services
Likewise, they have also built solutions for clients using Microsoft 365 Copilot technology. For example, they have created Copilots for a variety of industries and functions including finance, manufacturing, supply chain, retail, and consumer goods and healthcare.
Another part of the new practice will be educating clients how to use the technology, using an “Azure Generative AI Engineer Nanodegree program” to teach users how to design, build, and operationalize AI-driven applications on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. The online classes will teach learners how to use AI models to solve real-world problems through automation, data insights, and generative AI solutions, the firms said.
“We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Accenture to help our mutual customers develop AI-first business processes responsibly and securely, while helping them drive market differentiation,” Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft, said in a release. “By bringing together Copilots and human ambition, paired with the autonomous capabilities of an agent, we can accelerate AI transformation for organizations across industries and help them realize successful business outcomes through pragmatic innovation.”
Census data showed that overall retail sales in October were up 0.4% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.8% unadjusted year over year. That compared with increases of 0.8% month over month and 2% year over year in September.
October’s core retail sales as defined by NRF — based on the Census data but excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants — were unchanged seasonally adjusted month over month but up 5.4% unadjusted year over year.
Core sales were up 3.5% year over year for the first 10 months of the year, in line with NRF’s forecast for 2024 retail sales to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023. NRF is forecasting that 2024 holiday sales during November and December will also increase between 2.5% and 3.5% over the same time last year.
“October’s pickup in retail sales shows a healthy pace of spending as many consumers got an early start on holiday shopping,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a release. “October sales were a good early step forward into the holiday shopping season, which is now fully underway. Falling energy prices have likely provided extra dollars for household spending on retail merchandise.”
Despite that positive trend, market watchers cautioned that retailers still need to offer competitive value propositions and customer experience in order to succeed in the holiday season. “The American consumer has been more resilient than anyone could have expected. But that isn’t a free pass for retailers to under invest in their stores,” Nikki Baird, VP of strategy & product at Aptos, a solutions provider of unified retail technology based out of Alpharetta, Georgia, said in a statement. “They need to make investments in labor, customer experience tech, and digital transformation. It has been too easy to kick the can down the road until you suddenly realize there’s no road left.”
A similar message came from Chip West, a retail and consumer behavior expert at the marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions provider RRD. “October’s increase proved to be slightly better than projections and was likely boosted by lower fuel prices. As inflation slowed for a number of months, prices in several categories have stabilized, with some even showing declines, offering further relief to consumers,” West said. “The data also looks to be a positive sign as we kick off the holiday shopping season. Promotions and discounts will play a prominent role in holiday shopping behavior as they are key influencers in consumer’s purchasing decisions.”
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ share of large real estate leases across the U.S. rose significantly through the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, as more retailers and wholesalers have been outsourcing their warehouse and distribution operations to 3PLs, according to a report from real estate firm CBRE.
Specifically, 3PLs’ share of bulk industrial leasing activity—covering leases of 100,000 square feet or more—rose to 34.1% through Q3 of this year from 30.6% through Q3 last year. By raw numbers, 3PLs have accounted for 498 bulk leases so far this year, up by 9% from the 457 at this time last year.
By category, 3PLs’ share of 34.1% ranked above other occupier types such as: general retail and wholesale (26.6), food and beverage (9.0), automobiles, tires, and parts (7.9), manufacturing (6.2), building materials and construction (5.6), e-commerce only (5.6), medical (2.7), and undisclosed (2.3).
On a quarterly basis, bulk leasing by 3PLs has steadily increased this year, reversing the steadily decreasing trend of 2023. CBRE pointed to three main reasons for that resurgence:
Import Flexibility. Labor disruptions, extreme weather patterns, and geopolitical uncertainty have led many companies to diversify their import locations. Using 3PLs allows for more inventory flexibility, a key component to retailer success in times of uncertainty.
Capital Allocation/Preservation. Warehousing and distribution of goods is expensive, draining capital resources for transportation costs, rent, or labor. But outsourcing to 3PLs provides companies with more flexibility to increase or decrease their inventories without any risk of signing their own lease commitments. And using a 3PL also allows companies to switch supply chain costs from capital to operational expenses.
Focus on Core Competency. Outsourcing their logistics operations to 3PLs allows companies to focus on core business competencies that drive revenue, such as product development, sales, and customer service.
Looking into the future, these same trends will continue to drive 3PL warehouse demand, CBRE said. Economic, geopolitical and supply chain uncertainty will remain prevalent in the coming quarters but will not diminish the need to effectively manage inventory levels.
That result came from the company’s “GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index,” an indicator tracking demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories, and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses. The October index number was -0.39, which was up only slightly from its level of -0.43 in September.
Researchers found a steep rise in slack across North American supply chains due to declining factory activity in the U.S. In fact, purchasing managers at U.S. manufacturers made their strongest cutbacks to buying volumes in nearly a year and a half, indicating that factories in the world's largest economy are preparing for lower production volumes, GEP said.
Elsewhere, suppliers feeding Asia also reported spare capacity in October, albeit to a lesser degree than seen in Western markets. Europe's industrial plight remained a key feature of the data in October, as vendor capacity was significantly underutilized, reflecting a continuation of subdued demand in key manufacturing hubs across the continent.
"We're in a buyers' market. October is the fourth straight month that suppliers worldwide reported spare capacity, with notable contractions in factory demand across North America and Europe, underscoring the challenging outlook for Western manufacturers," Todd Bremer, vice president, GEP, said in a release. "President-elect Trump inherits U.S. manufacturers with plenty of spare capacity while in contrast, China's modest rebound and strong expansion in India demonstrate greater resilience in Asia."
Even as the e-commerce sector overall continues expanding toward a forecasted 41% of all retail sales by 2027, many small to medium e-commerce companies are struggling to find the investment funding they need to increase sales, according to a sector survey from online capital platform Stenn.
Global geopolitical instability and increasing inflation are causing e-commerce firms to face a liquidity crisis, which means companies may not be able to access the funds they need to grow, Stenn’s survey of 500 senior e-commerce leaders found. The research was conducted by Opinion Matters between August 29 and September 5.
Survey findings include:
61.8% of leaders who sought growth capital did so to invest in advanced technologies, such as AI and machine learning, to improve their businesses.
When asked which resources they wished they had more access to, 63.8% of respondents pointed to growth capital.
Women indicated a stronger need for business operations training (51.2%) and financial planning resources (48.8%) compared to men (30.8% and 15.4%).
40% of business owners are seeking external financial advice and mentorship at least once a week to help with business decisions.
Almost half (49.6%) of respondents are proactively forecasting their business activity 6-18 months ahead.
“As e-commerce continues to grow rapidly, driven by increasing online consumer demand and technological innovation, it’s important to remember that capital constraints and access to growth financing remain persistent hurdles for many e-commerce business leaders especially at small and medium-sized businesses,” Noel Hillman, Chief Commercial Officer at Stenn, said in a release. “In this competitive landscape, ensuring liquidity and optimizing supply chain processes are critical to sustaining growth and scaling operations.”