Shipping and logistics giant Maersk has opened a global Innovation Centre in the US to discover how emerging technologies can improve the global supply chain.
With an aim of accelerating supply chain innovation, ideas from the centre in Jersey City, New Jersey will be tested in pilot programmes before being “introduced as scalable solutions for customers if successful.”
Erez Agmoni, global head of innovation for logistics and services, said: “We want to build an innovative supply chain ecosystem for customers using the best analytics, technology, research, engineering and partnerships.”
In looking to improve the business and customer experience, the centre will focus on key areas, including end-to-end supply chain traceability; climate-neutral solutions; accelerating middle mile transportation; expanding fulfilment offerings, solutions and models to support resilience; using predictive data and analytics to optimise distribution and supply chains and education and training.
Though the physical hub has only just been officially launched, the innovation centre has already partnered with the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Centre for Transportation and Logistics on doctoral and post-doctoral level research on supply chain challenges.
There have also been partnerships with leading tech companies and their products, such as Boston Dynamics’ automated robots, Fetch’s scanning tech, BionicHive’s warehouse automation tech and Verity on projects such as the use of drones to manage warehouse inventories.
Narin Phol, president of Maersk North America and executive vice-president of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said: “Every company is navigating the macroeconomic environment, looking for new ways to ensure their supply chains are resilient.
“Our goal is to ensure we bring an intelligent pipeline of business solutions to make their supply chains more agile, more responsive to market fluctuations and more competitive.”
Maersk’s global coverage was recently emphasised by the company through the opening of two new Global Service Centres for the Americas in Mexico City, Mexico and Santos, Brazil, which will include partnerships with the company’s technology teams.
