C.H. Robinson Launches Incubator Robinson Labs
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C.H. Robinson introduced C.H. Robinson Labs, an innovation incubator in which ideas in logistics and supply chain are created, tested and scaled to build solutions for customers and carriers, the company said in a Jan. 23 news release.
Tim Gagnon, vice president of analytics and data science, was tapped to lead the incubator and its dedicated data science teams in Minneapolis, Chicago, Silicon Valley, and Warsaw, Poland.
Through Robinson Labs, C.H. Robinson’s logistics experts, innovation teams and data scientists collaborate with customers and carriers to create personalized solutions for shippers’ challenges with the industry’s premier technology that is built by and for supply chain experts.
Innovation is critical to business growth. Learn how C.H. Robinson Labs has created a collaborative culture of experimentation that can easily scale to drive smarter solutions for our customers and carriers: https://t.co/ONO2AGOQ5p pic.twitter.com/T2Q3YknLPX — C.H. Robinson (@CHRobinson) January 23, 2020
Robinson Labs works with the company’s technology team of more than 1,000 data scientists, engineers and developers, the company said. Once solutions are proved, the teams work collaboratively to scale them across C.H. Robinson as a whole, benefiting its 124,000 customers and 76,000 contract carriers, the company said.
“Our customers and carriers tell us that they are hungry for tech solutions to strengthen their competitive position and increase their efficiencies,” CEO Bob Biesterfeld said. That is why C.H. Robinson developed the incubator, he added.
The incubator will focus on comprehensive data sets in the industry to cut shipping costs, simplify processes, and drive greater reliability and visibility, the company said.
Robinson Labs is part of the company’s $1 billion tech investment, C.H. Robinson said.
The lab will digitally connect C.H. Robinson’s Navisphere capabilities into leading technologies such as Oracle Netsuite and Transportation Management, helping customers increase productivity and drive cost savings, C.H. Robinson said. The company also will enhance, through Robinson Labs, its online business intelligence software, Navisphere Insight, which is part of the transportation management system, Navisphere.
C.H. Robinson said companies such as L’Oréal and Target have been part of the pilot phase of Navisphere Insight, providing feedback to ensure that customer needs are being addressed.
Based in Eden Prairie, Minn., C.H. Robinson has more than $20 billion in freight under management and 18 million shipments annually, according to the company.
C.H. Robinson ranks No. 5 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.
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