Descartes Evolution 2019 Recap

Posted Apr 04, 2019

Hi everyone,

For those who couldn’t attend, here are some highlights of Descartes Evolution 2019, focused on the initiatives we have underway and the value they are delivering solutions to customers. If you’re not familiar with Descartes Evolution, it’s our premier event where customers, partners, industry experts, and employees gather to discuss business and technology strategies and tactics that improve supply chain and logistics operations performance and security. Our goal for the event is simple: we want customers to walk away with at least one good idea that they can use to make a difference in their own business.

This year’s conference theme was “Transforming the Customer Experience”. Given how important the supply chain and logistics is to your overall interaction with customers, the conference focused on how new processes, technologies, and data can make companies more competitive. There were 89 sessions that delved into the various ways supply chain and logistics operations add value to your customers.

Below are some highlights from the conference attended by over 600 people:

Great Customer Speakers

Our customer keynote speaker was Dave Menzel, President and COO at Echo Global Logistics, who discussed how investment is driving innovation in the transportation industry.

We also had customer case studies and panels, including:

• Nucor and Pinnachem in a panel session discussed how global trade information gleaned from import/export data can be turned into “Actionable Intelligence for Manufacturers from Import/Export Data”;
• B+S Logistik provided a case study on “Expanding LSP Fulfillment Services for Ecommerce”;
• Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. covered how to “Improve Inbound Freight using Real-time Visibility”;
• CN Rail and DSV Sea & Air were in a panel session that explained “Strategies for Success in an Accelerated Supply Chain”;
• Hallmark reviewed how the organization is “Taking Control of Global Inbound and Retail Transportation” using TMS and visibility solutions;
• EMO Trans presented on “Ocean Freight Management in a Digital World”; and
• BC Sands discussed how the company is realizing “The Second Wave of Value” by expanding route planning and mobile solutions.

Significant Product Innovations

New capabilities and products were introduced across all six Descartes solution pillars as a result of a very busy last year for the Product Management and Development organizations. These innovations were covered in the training and roadmap sessions, as well as during the Tech Fair event, and included:

Fleet Performance Management:

• New capabilities for same-day delivery reservations for dynamic final mile distribution;
• New optimization capabilities for final mile returns management;
• Driver mobile application enabled to schedule the next visit at point of service/delivery; and
• Dispatch window visually optimized for industries with frequent reloads and asset-to-driver swaps.

Transportation Management:

• New cloud-delivered freight brokerage solution for enhanced visibility and productivity;
• New multimodal retail fulfillment visibility solution delivered through a store-friendly application; and
• New Android-based inventory management and fulfillment mobile solution for Descartes pixi™ Warehouse Management System (WMS).

Read the full recap here.

Global Trade Content and Compliance:

• Enhanced global sourcing analysis via the combination of Descartes trade data and duty calculation content;
• New automated product classification solution for harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) code assignment; and
• New enterprise resource planning (ERP) connected denied party screening solution.

Forwarder and Broker Enterprise:

• New collaborative visibility solution for forwarders and their customers;
• Descartes MacroPoint™ integration with Descartes OneView™ forwarding solution for real-time freight visibility; and
• New analytics platform for performance and profitability monitoring and analysis.

Global Logistics Messaging:

• New door-to-door air cargo visibility solution with estimated-time-of-arrival (ETA) and planned vs. actual monitoring;
• New air cargo status and estimated-time-of-arrival ETA automated programming interface (API) service;
• New Descartes vMail™ Android air cargo scanning and tracking solution;
• Enhanced ocean sailing schedule service; and
• Numerous additional electronic logging device (ELD) providers integrated for location and driver compliance.

Customs and Regulatory Compliance:

• Support for Swedish bonded warehouse compliance;
• Support for the new United Kingdom Customs Declaration Service (CDS); and
• New European Union postal/parcel ecommerce value-added-tax (VAT) solution.

Tying the conference together were the numerous networking events that allowed customers to spend time with each other discussing their operational challenges and opportunities. Many customers continue to tell us that they get some of their best ideas from interacting with other customers and establishing relationships that go beyond the conference.

Record attendance, sessions, customer speakers and interaction were all part of what made Descartes Evolution 2019 such a valuable event for customers and partners. If you would like to learn more about what was covered at this year’s conference and our plans for 2020, please contact us at usergroup@descartes.com.

Regards,

Chris

Written by Chris Jones

Executive Vice President of Industry and Services

Descartes Systems Group