UPS and STATS LLC launch data driven performance index for NCAA Basketball

Today, UPS, one of the world’s leading international courier companies, announced that it had teamed up with STATS LLC in an effort to expand its Team Performance Index (TPI) used to measure NCAA men’s and women’s basketball.

“UPS is thrilled to extend our association with STATS to include the new Team Performance Indexes for men’s women’s college basketball. Logistics are not only the foundation of our business, but they’re also the foundation for success on the court or on any playing field, and we’re proud to have developed a system that successfully quantifies which teams are best at the preparation, planning and precision that lead to success”, said Ron Rogowski, vice president at UPS global sponsorships and events.

The UPS TPI will comprise the following six correlated key statistical components:

• Offensive Measure – effective field goal percentage
• Defensive Measure – effective field goal against
• Rebounding – rebounding percentage amongst all rebounds in a game
• Ball handling – assists/game, steals/game etc.
• Overall miscues measure – turnovers/game, fouls/game etc.
• And the success measure – winning percentage.

Moreover, the courier’s new index will be updated on a regular basis with leaders of each division announced each week.

“STATS is excited to expand the UPS Team Performance Index into college basketball. The application of the Index to basketball highlights the efficiency and overall teamwork required to succeed in the sport. The Team Performance Index is designed to identify well-balanced teams that do multiple things well, similar to how UPS excels in logistics. The formula shows new insights and tells a unique story about the teams and the college basketball season”, explained John Sasman, vice president of commercial products at STATS.

With the help of a proprietary algorithm an index value will be put in place for each component with an average of 100 and a value of 200 as the maximum.

STATS is the world’s largest sports technology, data and content company.

Source: UPS

DHL secures £100m contract with Panasonic

DHL Supply Chain has scored a £100m contract with the British technology company, Panasonic. The global courier and supply chain company will be responsible for the management of all warehousing and transport activities.

"This is a significant solution that has been constructed in a very short timescale. Throughout, we have taken a truly collaborative approach to the project, working in partnership with Panasonic and adding value by exploiting our flexibility, global reach and focus on commercial innovation", said Paul Richardson, Managing Director of Specialist Services at DHL Supply Chain.

Increased transparency and new technology for Panasonic

Two of Panasonic's key goals are higher levels and decreased costs. Beyond that, the UK-based technology giant also aims at improving its service quality with the help of DHL. In order to optimise levels of transparency among Panasonic's transport networks, the current facilities will be turned into a technology campus. This will feature a plug and play IT solution as well as a Transport Control Tower.

"As our business evolves, it was necessary to bring in an innovative logistics specialist who understands the emerging needs of the technology sector. Our business needs the flexibility to adapt to the demands of current and new markets, addressing rapid product life cycles whilst consistently improving on our customer's experiences", explained Nigel Cowmeadow, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Panasonic Europe.

What's in it for DHL?

By utilising its global reach and industry knowledge to help with the optimisation of Panasonic's logistics operations, DHL hopes to replicate and expand its activities across all of Panasonic's European supply chain businesses.

Source: DHL

AA Cargo boosts New York's freight forwarding network

AA Cargo, the freight division of American Airlines, is planning on expanding its international flight schedule form New York City. The freight forwarder recently announced that there will be a new Boeing 777-300ER flying goods from JFK to London Heathrow Airport this year.

Image c/o azfreight.com

"JFK is not only the international gateway to Europe, but it also is the hub that connects Asia to South America and the West Coast to Europe and Latin America. Our network through New York allows us to move perishable daily from the Deep South to Japan and also hightech shipments from Asia to Brazil", said Cristina Castro of AA Cargo. 

The company currently moves over 450,000kg of air freight through its depot at JFK Airport where it also runs a 135,000-square-foot warehousing facility. Rich Burkhardt, manager of AA Cargo operations at JFK, considers the facility's ambient room to be a huge asset when handling temperature-sensitive goods.

"Expedite TC Passive supports ambient temperature control using cool rooms, expedited handling processes and high-visibility monitoring to ensure cargo is handling within desired temperature ranges."

This storage feature will also be available to future customers of AA cargo, i.e. to store goods before they are being sent out on the freight forwarder's new flight connection.

Source: Air Cargo Week