The 10 most innovative logistics companies of 2022
Seemingly every week for the last two years there has been another product shortage chalked up to supply-chain challenges. We started with toilet paper and lumber, and recent panics have included cream cheese, headstone stencils, and a couple (but thankfully not all) Girl Scout cookie varieties. The surge in demand for goods brought on by the onset of the pandemic has only abated somewhat, but its effects on the supply chain linger and are expected to do so for another year or two. For every fix that gets addressed, another pain point can arise elsewhere in the system, much like how compensating for a sore ankle only puts more pressure on the next joint, the knee.
No one company can single-handedly “fix” the supply chain, but these 10 companies are addressing aspects of the multivaried complexity that is our global economy. One of the more inspiring examples of success are the efforts of Zipline and Controlant relating to the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. Zipline, which has long been an innovator in the drone delivery of medical supplies, adapted its systems to be able to get vaccines into remote rural regions of Ghana. Controlant, which specializes in tracking the so-called cold chain (logistics expertise for the delivery of goods that need to be maintained at a particular temperature), helped Pfizer make sure that vaccine shipments remained at -94 degrees Fahrenheit as they were distributed.
Beyond the delivery of these critical medicines, one company became a bit of a household name for its efforts to ameliorate supply-chain woes via its digital savvy: Flexport. CEO Ryan Petersen was seemingly everywhere—from popular podcasts to the L.A.-area ports—an expert resource for sophisticated business professionals who wanted the kind of intelligence that can only come from the sort of holistic view that Flexport’s expanding solutions for its customers could yield. The company’s entrepreneurial spirit could be seen in its product solutions for knowing when a factory shipment was ready to getting through customs more efficiently to Petersen’s fabled boat trip to view the Long Beach port from the vantage point of the ships awaiting entry.
The trucking industry has become another window into a potential point of failure for goods getting to their ultimate destinations, and it, too, is undergoing a technological transformation on multiple fronts. Convoy matches shippers such as Home Depot with truckers ready to go, seeking to eliminate what has to come to light as drivers often have to wait, unpaid, for a loaded trailer. Zuum Transportation similarly seeks to get shippers, truckers, and freight brokers on the same software platform to save money and time, and Platform Science builds internet-connected savvy into the trucks themselves. Meanwhile, Outrider has focused on bringing autonomy and electrification to the specialized rigs that operate in the distribution yards that sit between the warehouse and the highway.
Warehouses, too, are benefiting from the focus on how to improve the entirety of the supply chain. Berkshire Grey, which makes robotic systems for order fulfillment, has developed systems that can handle grocery orders with care and get items in place for packing more quickly. And Saltbox has cleverly combined coworking space with warehouse space, allowing businesses to be closer to their inventory and order fulfillment.
