Software & Technology: Page 301

Software Solutions

High-Tech Agriculture Continues to Reap Rewards for Farmers and Society

Through new technologies, farmers produce more efficiently and see an increase in profits while improving stewardship of ecosystems and local communities.

The Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is one of the newest technologies being studied for improvements in agricultural precision.

U.S. Shipments of Packaging Machinery Rising to $8.5 Billion by 2020

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies

The food and beverage sector is expected to produce more than half this growth.

In regards to machinery categories, the rapid growth anticipated in the labeling, decorating and case handling segment is largely a result of new legislation demanding increased labeling and coding, continuing developments in printing technologies and the proliferation of SKUs.

As Amazon Focuses on Grocery, Alibaba Says They Won't Go Head-to-Head Against Them

Alibaba Group Holding is not currently seeking to make inroads into its bigger U.S. rival Amazon.com top markets, a senior executive at the Chinese e-commerce company told a business gathering in Hong Kong last week.

Joseph Tsai, Alibaba's executive vice chairman.

China's Baidu Hopes to Raise $500 Million to Compete in Food Delivery

Using scooters to supply everything from Starbucks coffee to sliced sashimi, Waimai is in a pitched battle with rivals to sign up delivery men and convince restaurants to join its service.

Baidu’s takeout delivery business became a separate entity at the end of 2015 and a funding round earlier this year valued the business at $2.5 billion, Chairman Robin Li told investors on an earnings call in April.

USDA to Invest $25 Million in 'Cutting Edge' Ag Conservation Projects

The USDA will be offering funding in six focus areas, including data analytics tools and precision agriculture conservation.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement at the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) Summit.

Alibaba's Lazada Group Acquires Singapore Online Grocer RedMart

With recent reports suggesting that the online grocery market is at an inflection point, the acquisition will provide Alibaba with a strong footprint in a leading global logistics hub in Singapore.

The transaction is expected to be completed in calendar Q4 2016, with Goldman Sachs acting as the financial advisor to Lazada Group while Credit Suisse advises RedMart.

Hold on Online Grocery, Study Shows Consumers Still Satisfied with Supermarket Experience

Retail Feedback Group

The 2016 U.S. Supermarket Experience Study reveals that supermarket shoppers rated quality/freshness of the food and groceries followed by the cleanliness of the store as the two highest-rated core experience factors.

Examining key supermarket retailing fundamentals illustrates that supermarkets performed well in some of these critical areas yet show room for improvement in others.

Delivery App Postmates Raises Another $140 Million in Funding

The new infusion of capital will mostly be used to improve engineering and expand into new markets as Postmates re-emphasizes their efforts to compete with Amazon Prime.

About 6,000 merchants pay for better placement on the app and to be featured in the Postmates Plus Unlimited program, which encourages members to place larger orders in lieu of delivery charges.

Software & Technology

Report: Online Grocery Poised for 'Major Boom' in 2017

The expansion of click and collect at retail stores will help close a gap between the large percentage of shoppers already making grocery purchases online and the relatively low percentage of fast-moving consumer goods purchased online overall.

Walmart will start with tests of grocery delivery through Uber in Phoenix, Ariz., and Lyft in Denver, Colo., which it expects to start within the next two weeks. This is in addition to a Sam’s Club pilot that started in March with Deliv involving delivery of general merchandise and grocery for business members in Miami, Fla.

Software & Technology

Survey Reveals Fleets Aren't Monitoring OBC Data to Identify Cost Savings

While 70 percent of industry professionals regularly monitor onboard computer (OBC) data for driver logs and dispatching, only 6 percent utilize it to gain insight on fuel consumption.

The survey also revealed that 33% of respondents cannot quantify operational savings using OBC reporting.

Otto and Budweiser Deliver First Shipment by Self-Driving Truck

Otto shipped a truckload of Budweiser from Fort Collins, Colo., to Colorado Springs last Thursday with the driver monitoring from the truck's sleeper berth for the entire two-hour journey.

Transportation experts predict the earliest applications of autonomous technology will be in self-driving trucks, not cars. The technology is best suited to the relative predictability of long hauls on highways, rather than busy city streets with many distractions.

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