Name: Dash Systems

Legal Name: Dash Systems

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Founded: 2016

Founders: Joel Ifill

Website: http://www.dashshipping.com/

Social Media Following: 50 followers on Facebook, 91 followers on LinkedIn, 114 followers on Twitter

Introduction

Dash Systems is a commercial UAV manufacturer that facilitates cargo delivery through drones. The aerial logistics company designs, manufactures, and deploys one-way delivery drones. These low-cost devices can be mounted to any commercial aircraft, helicopter or UAV, thereby allowing fast and rapid deployment into any environment. 

The Product

Dash Systems claims to be the first commercial aerial delivery technology that connects cargo airplanes to customers and does away with the need for an airport or runway. The technology has been developed by marrying aerospace engineering expertise with a cutting-edge UAV backbone, making them capable of delivering cargo to otherwise inaccessible and remote locations. 

The core belief of the company stems from the fact that cost, complexity, regulations and performance limitations are all barriers to autonomous delivery. Factors such as weather,  infrastructure, availability, and safety are the barriers air deliveries continue to face today. With their proprietary technology, Dash Systems thus improves the efficiency of deliveries while reducing the cost of delivery drones. Using Dash Systems proprietary technology, every airplane can be converted into a mobile drone launch platform capable of delivering over 1000 packages at one go. 

Origin and Founding Team

Founder and CEO of Dash Systems Joel Ifill has to his credit over a decade’s experience as an engineer work experience at Senior Aerospace SSP as a lead welding engineer (where he led the design and implementation of an automated welding quality system leading to a 98% reduction in welding record mistakes), and stints at WET Design, Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation.

Performance and Trends

Dash Systems is funded by Techstars and MiLA Capital (Make in LA). Their latest funding was raised in July 2019 as a part of a pre-seed round.

The startup was also covered by Fast Company for its support in relief activities after the hurricane in Puerto Rico in 2017. While still in its pilot phase at the time, Dash Systems used its proprietary navigation system to target affected areas andd deliver supplies using airdrops. 

The post Dash Systems – Delivering aerial logistics services with smart drones appeared first on Techweek.

KINETIC has developed a wearable device and an accompanying cloud-based software system called REFLEX to help alert workers in unsafe postures.

Back Injuries are costing US Companies Billions

The 2018 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index estimates that serious nonfatal workplace injuries cost US businesses $58.5B. The leading cause of injuries has been overexertion – injuries related to lifting, pushing, pulling and similar activities. Overexertion related injuries alone cost US businesses $13.7B annually. Such injuries primarily affect the back and according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), 38.5% of all work-related musculoskeletal disorders involved the back. Stock clerks and order fillers (45.7%) and freight, stock, and material movers (43%) were groups with some of the highest incidence of back related injuries.

Following an incident, firms incur significant costs, such as medical compensations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines, worker benefits, and legal services. Apart from these direct costs, injuries also have indirect costs on account of medical and productivity related expenses that are borne by the firm and the worker. Occupational injuries lead to income inequality among workers as injured workers find it difficult to keep up with continued medical expenditure. On the one hand, worker’s don’t earn enough to cover even 25% of these costs while on the other hand, their earning position further deteriorates as injured workers make 15% less than their uninjured peers over 10 years.

In the aftermath of an incident, firms face further costs relating to hiring and training new employees, general administrative costs and a decline in productivity. Back-related problems cause the highest number of days away from work. With 195,800 cases, transportation and material moving workers had the highest number of cases with days away from work in 2017. These injured workers spent a median of 13 days away from work to recuperate. Days away from work results in productivity losses for the firm.

With REFLEX, KINETIC is trying to help this high-risk population reduce the number of unsafe movements while helping firms reduce costly injuries and downtime.

How KINETIC REFLEX Works

REFLEX is a small pager-like device that can measure the number of unsafe postures performed by workers on a daily basis. The device is worn on the belt near the hip. As the hip is indicative of body movements, the sensors and algorithms in the device can track the full body biomechanics and movements based on a person’s hip motion. Based on the movement and biomechanics, the algorithms decipher if the worker is in a strenuous posture with high injury risk. There are certain motions such as bending too quickly or twisting and bending or jumping that lead to injuries. When the device identifies the worker moving into such high-risk postures, the device buzzes with a light vibration, nudging the worker to change posture.

Apart from giving instantaneous feedback on the position, the device also shows the worker the number of unsafe postures performed during the day. In order to make the device more interactive and foster a safer environment, the REFLEX has a goal setting feature. A goal of X number of unsafe postures or less is given to workers. In order to play a more integrative role in the worker’s life, the device also shows the time, the number of steps walked apart from the number of unsafe postures.

The KINETIC Dashboard gives insight on worker activity based on accumulated data. It can help individuals track their performance while also helping the firm identify the most unsafe roles with high injury risk. These can be used to introduce targeted performance and safety improvement measures while also helping individuals with high injury risk

Evolution of KINETIC and REFLEX

REFLEX is a product of that has evolved out of Dr. Haytham Elhaway’s personal experience. Haytham grew up witnessing his mother, an elderly care nurse, suffering back injuries because of her work. This experience combined with the large magnitude of back injuries inspired Haytham to look for a solution to occupational injuries. Haytham’s background in biomedical engineering from Imperial College London helped him come up with an approach. Haytham partnered with a friend, Dr. Aditya Bansal, whose background in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue and experience in wearables provided the technological basis for developing REFLEX. KINETIC was co-founded in 2014 by the duo.

Since its inception, KINETIC has been working closely with small firms, running pilot tests in order to improve their product and get it right. The present pager form of the REFLEX is a result of continuous feedback and innovation.

Less than a year after product development began, the first version of a wearable system was launched in 2015 comprising a wristwatch and back brace. While this system was able to capture data and movement with high accuracy, feedback from pilot tests revealed that workers didn’t take to it. Apart from being cumbersome as they weren’t used to wearing such objects, there were logistical and hygiene issues such as cleaning a sweaty back brace at the end of the workday. In order to overcome these challenges, a chest strap version much like the GoPro Chest Mount was created. But this second version also was met with resistance from workers.

In 2017, the team went back to the drawing board with their experience and came up with a few guidelines. The device had to be comfortable to wear and had to blend into a worker’s existing outfit. As compliance of workers wearing the gear was a challenge, the device also had to be desirable so that workers would actually use it even without supervision. Meeting these guidelines while also ensuring the accuracy of the device’s understanding of biomechanics was a challenge. As a result of this exercise, the current pager form was arrived at.

The REFLEX has been able to bring about marked improvements in worker safety. In a 5-week pilot with Crane Worldwide Logistics, REFLEX was able to reduce the number of unsafe postures by up to 96%, from 320 unsafe postures to 12 unsafe postures. Apart from an overall performance improvement of 84%, the analytics helped provide the management with actionable insight. The riskiest times were the hour leading up to lunch and the hour before the end of the shift. Crane managers were able to act upon this to change processes to improve safety.

With the wearables market set to double to 240.1 million units by 2021 and versatile sector-specific requirements emerging in workers safety, startups are developing general as well as niche solutions. MākuSafe, a West Des Moines, IA based startup, is working on improving worker safety with an IoT armband that scans the workplace environment for risks. While KINETIC is focusing on a general solution for the manufacturing, warehousing, logistics and construction industries, other startups are focusing on sector-specific applications. SmartCap Technologies has developed a cap that monitors stress and fatigue levels among truck drivers in real time. MIT is also working on a full body IoT gear with their Safety++ project focusing on the energy industry.

In October, KINETIC raised $4.5M in a seed funding round with investors such as Crosslink Capital and Primary Venture Partners. The team intends to use the funds to expand manufacturing and scale operations. Recognizing that its success depends on institutional sales, KINETIC has been focusing on increasing its sales team in order to convert its pilot projects into sales. While KINETIC is a pioneer in worker wearables, the sales team’s conversion will be the critical component that determines KINETIC’s emergence as a market leader.

The post KINETIC – Outsmarting Workplace Injuries appeared first on Techweek.

In September 2018, the startup announced $40M in new investments, bringing the total raised to more than $62M. This Series C funding was led by Menlo Ventures, along with participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, and Y Combinator. ShipBob’s co-founder and chief executive Dhruv Saxena declared that the new funding would be used for expanding their fulfilment center network, growing their team, and advancing their software technology.

Coincidentally, September also saw the opening of a new fulfilment warehouse in Cicero, with six times the storage capacity of the prior Chicago warehouse. The startup plans to use the funding to hire 60-100 people in the Chicago area in the next year, and also double the software engineering team.

ShipBob – from an online store to the shopper’s door

Shipbob founders Dhruv Sazena and Divey Gulati (right) (PC: Chicago Tribune)

ShipBob is the brainchild of co-founders Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati, childhood friends from New Delhi, India. The idea hit them while running their previous e-commerce business SnailMailPics. After spending time manually preparing and mailing packages, they realized that shipping was the most time-consuming process of the online transaction cycle. Additionally, a study by DHL group had predicted the need for convenience logistics in the shipping and logistics industry in the years ahead. Sensing the business opportunity, Saxena and Gulati founded ShipBob in September 2014, with assistance from Jivko Bojinov, Gulati’s associate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

It started with Chicago; now Shipbob delivers across the US

The e-commerce fulfilment startup which started out servicing just the Chicago area, now ships across the US. It also helps that Shipbob has a wide network of fulfilment centers located in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. For those unfamiliar with the term, a fulfilment centre is not merely a storehouse for a merchant’s products but also structured to efficiently meet customer expectations (of prompt delivery) around shipping.

Shipbob has built proprietary tools that offer complete control over inventory, orders, and shipments (receiving, processing, packing, picking). Their software can also be integrated with all major e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, Amazon, and WooCommerce.

The average Shipbob fulfilment process starts with new clients stocking their products at Shipbob’s fulfilment centers, based on expected shipping demand and locations. Once the e-commerce client integrates their portal to ShipBob’s software, orders are seamlessly imported, and items are picked, packed and shipped to the end-customer. The technology compares shipping prices between carrier partners, so orders can be filled quickly using the cheapest shipping option. Tracking information is then sent to the clients’ websites and discreet packaging ensures that ShipBob’s brand is hidden from their customers. The 3PL’s proprietary software also automates inventory management, notifying a client of when to restock a particular fulfilment center.

In its effort to go the extra mile and achieve client satisfaction, Shipbob leverages leading-edge technology. For instance, workers in the fulfilment centers wear iPod Touch devices on their wrists and scanners on their fingers which tells them the right product to pull out. In fact, the fulfilment center in suburban Monee features fleets of robots that are being utilized to allow workers to process more orders.

The rise of e-commerce and the cost of fulfilment

Shipbob warehouse (PC: Shipbob)

As the crowd of online shoppers grows, so does the market for e-commerce fulfilment. Gone are the days when the only names in the market were those of renowned tech giants such as Amazon FBA (known for its high storage costs). The surge of new players in recent years translates to more options for e-tailers to help manage their logistics. However, with great options comes great confusion. It can be tricky for e-commerce businesses to choose the best-suited fulfilment service, for they must foresee factors like product volume, shipping locations, prices, and speed.

ShipBob is known to provide small businesses with high-quality fulfilment service at affordable rates.  On the other hand, 3PL company Red Stag is recommended for oversized products, as well as high-value or fragile goods. 3PLs like Whiplash and ShipMonk are noted for their strong logistics and flexible infrastructure. For businesses prioritizing high-speed shipping, Ships-A-Lot guarantees shipping lead time of 24 hours or less. If they fall short of the speed guarantee on an order, they’ll pay clients (SMEs) $20.

Cost of fulfilment is often a business’s priority, so it is imperative to look beyond just shipping costs. What may seem like the most cost-savvy 3PL option at first glance might not factor in other expenses—both direct and indirect. Some of the costs to look out for are onboarding, inventory receiving, storage, and packaging. ShipBob claims to offer quick onboarding, charges no onboarding fees, and a flat $35 fee for the first two hours of receiving and storing inventory. It charges for warehousing on a per-shelf, bin, and pallet basis, so SMEs only pay for the space they use on a monthly basis. Furthermore, costs are saved for every order by comparing shipping costs between their partner carriers (such as DHL, USPS, UPS) and choosing the cheapest.

Like ShipBob, several 3PL companies are investing in the future of e-commerce fulfilment. In September 2018, Las Vegas-based Rakuten Super Logistics announced the opening of two additional fulfilment centers in New Jersey and Chicago. FedEx has stepped up its services targeting small and medium-sized e-commerce retailers with the launch of FedEx Fulfillment this year. United Parcel Service Inc. launched its Ware2Go service, a digital platform that matches businesses with available warehouses to help streamline online orders.

Competition is increasingly fierce, but case studies of delighted customers may be an indication of a 3PL company’s firm footing in the future. “ShipBob offered us the best solution and was tailored toward our needs as an early startup business on its way to growing”, says Tamarin Oblowitz, co-founder of Baja Bae, an Australian lotion company.

Today, 2,000+ internet retailers use ShipBob to run their supply chain operations. With more than four million packages shipped to-date, the progress made since 2014 to offer faster, more affordable shipping to online shoppers across the United States is laudable. Their plan, according to a company blog post, is to continue increasing its reach by setting up larger facilities in urban areas, based on shipping demand. “We are moving fast — but we’re nowhere near finished”, says Saxena.

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