CH Robinson pledges to shape future of UK supply chain with "staggering" new investment

UK operators are set to benefit after logistics platform provider CH Robinson pledged to invest $1bn (£744.4m) in global technology to remove supply chain inefficiencies.

The company is working with more than 1,000 international data specialists and said it aims to help shape the future of the UK logistics ecosystem.

Its British customer-base includes global brands as well as some of the biggest industry and manufacturing firms.

“Our commitment to invest such a staggering sum will put CH Robinson at the forefront of technological developments in the UK and on a global scale,” explained Dave Fraas (pictured), director of software engineering at CH Robinson Europe.

“For too long, companies have relied on historical data to predict how they should operate. However, what happened just a year ago, or even a few months ago isn’t the same today.

"For example, existing historical models would not have predicted the explosion in e-commerce we’ve witnessed over the past couple of years. The pandemic called into question how much faith we should put in historical data, highlighted the urgent need for innovation in the supply chain and placed a greater reliance on the likes of AI and the Internet of Things to help predict the unpredictable.

“If we think about road transport, trucks alone account for around 25 per cent of global transport energy use and in Europe, a quarter of containers are empty. CH Robinson moves the most full truckloads of freight in the world and using our industry-leading technology, we can effectively match supply and demand more closely - every empty mile we remove is incremental capacity we add in to the supply chain to help the flow of goods."

At its Tech Centre in Warsaw, CH Robinson develops automated processes on a scale it claims is not seen anywhere else in the world. Aimed at streamlining the process between the customer and carrier, its automated systems aim to almost perfectly match customers’ volume demands and pricing requirements with carriers’ capabilities, providing both parties with greater visibility and flexibility.

It has also launched a new technology centre in Cork to further deliver customised solutions for shippers and carriers with the industry’s premier technology built by and for supply chain experts.

The company plans to recruit a significant number of technology professionals in the next three years to bring those efforts to life.