Hampshire based PSP Worldwide Logistics has announced today that it has formed a brand-new joint venture in Hong Kong, PSP Logistics Hong Kong, significantly expanding its ability to provide end to end expertise to its customers.

PSP Worldwide Logistics has seen a substantial increase in demand in project shipping across the region requiring specific specialist knowledge. Shipping these large, heavy, and often delicate cargos requires complex planning, and specialist competencies and skills.  Due to this increased demand, managing director Frank Dixie saw an opportunity to open a new office. “Hong Kong and China are both big manufacturing markets for project shippers. Our long-term agents are very established in the region and their objectives align with our ambitious strategic plans. Our strong position in niche project shipping and our partner’s invaluable local and regional knowledge and network, make this new business a force to reckoned with.”

PSP Worldwide Logistics’ Finance Director Darron Strange has been in Hong Kong this week with the JV partners and the new freight forwarding employee, signing the final contracts ready for the company to start working immediately. With support and training provided by the UK office this promises to be an exciting and successful partnership.  “I have spent time this week with our partners from Unitex International Forwarding, finalising our business plan and contractual obligations and mutual expectations. This is a new chapter for us at PSP Worldwide Logistics and we are delighted to have an office in this region after so many years.”

The office opened for business on the 8^thAugust 2023.

We are not quite living in a futuristic sci-fi movie, but we’re not that far from it. Planes trains and automobiles may soon be a thing of the past, with innovative delivery companies offering new and seemingly futuristic solutions including robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles.

Over the last few years residents of California may have seen Amazon Prime robots on the streets delivering parcels. Amazon has been testing ‘Scout’ (pictured below) for many years and has introduced it to Seattle, California, Georgia, and Tennessee. “Amazon said the battery-powered robots were part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its delivery operations.” (Soper & Day, 2022) But according to Bloomberg, due to slow growth, the project has been halted. So, it seems we may have to wait a bit longer for the Scout robot to knock on our doors.  

Walmart is now operating a drone delivery service from 36 of its hubs. “Not every Walmart store is equipped to make drone deliveries, but the company said it has 4,700 of them located within 90% of the U.S. population. In a way, the firm has a network of built-in fulfilment centres, any of which could be transformed into a drone hangar. Another key statistic is that more than 85% of items sold at Walmart Neighbourhood Markets fit the size and weight requirements for drone delivery. In total, the retailer and its partners are able to offer up to 20,000 items, making it an ideal candidate for such a service.” (Daleo, 2023)

Uber Eats has recently signed a 10-year deal with Nuro, an autonomous driving start-up. “Nuro’s second generation R2 vehicle is not your typical delivery robot designed only for sidewalk travel. It’s much larger, about half as wide as a compact sedan, but shorter than most cars. And there’s no room inside for human passengers or drivers, making it fully driverless in the truest sense.” (Hawkins, 2022) Nuro is one of only a few driverless vehicles on public roads, but the licence only permits its use in Santa Clara and San Mateo. The advantage of autonomous delivery vehicles is that delivery times can be dramatically shortened and they can deliver all day without having to adhere to driver regulations.

A little closer to home, Leeds City Council has partnered with Co-op and Starship Technologies to offer a delivery service to 20,000 residents. “According to the firm, the robots are a more “sustainable and affordable way to get groceries delivered to your door”, with an average delivery for a robot consuming as little energy as boiling a kettle to make just one cup of tea.” (BBC, 2022) and according to Starship Technology’s website they have already completed 4 million autonomous deliveries.

So how do you feel about this technology delivering your orders?

References

BBC. (2022, November 30). Robot Grocery Delivery Service launches in Leeds. BBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-63809836

Daleo, J. (2023) Breaking down walmart’s 2022 in drone delivery, FreightWaves. Available at: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/breaking-down-walmarts-2022-in-drone-delivery (Accessed: January 26, 2023).

Hawkins, A. J. (2022, September 8). Uber eats and nuro sign a 10-year deal to do robot food delivery in California and Texas. The Verge. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/8/23339830/uber-eats-nuro-robot-delivery-ten-year-deal-california-texas

Soper, S., & Day, M. (2022, October 6). Amazon abandons autonomous home-delivery robot scout in latest cut (AMZN). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-06/amazon-abandons-autonomous-home-delivery-robot-in-latest-cut

What a joy it was to be out and about catching up with our industry friends at Seawork after such a long hiatus due to the Covid restrictions. We have always found Seawork to be a great place to meet with our customers and make new contacts. This year was another cracker and for some reason whichever week the organisers choose to hold the event, the sun comes out and douses us with tropical heat, a bit too much at times!

The three-day trade show welcomed guests from all over the world and we hosted visitors and exhibitors on our stand, offering them a chance to take the weight off their feet and have a cold drink. Our operations team based in our Fareham office were on hand ready to provide prompt quotations for visitors and exhibitors alike.

So only time will tell how successful the show really was, but the sales team will be connecting with all our old and new Seawork contacts over the next few weeks. Bring on the next exhibition, we are ready!