You may not know this, but I’m a huge technology buff. It’s always been a fascinating subject to me, as it evolves so do we as a society. When I think about 2024, my mind immediately thinks of generative artificial intelligence (AI). In my opinion, AI is one of those great innovations that will change the course of life as we know it.
I believe AI is an enhancement—not a detraction. At Evans Distribution Systems, I encourage our teams to integrate AI into our operations at every level and department. Even though we are at the early stages of this innovation and its potential, we are finding a heightened level of productivity, efficiency, and accuracy. It has assisted in the development of new and creative solutions, optimizing roles, and expanded our capabilities.
Once again, we invested heavily in technology in 2024. We added new functionality to our proprietary business intelligence platform known as evans365. If you have not utilized this tool yet, I strongly recommend that you do. It centralizes your data and builds customized dashboards specific to your account. This data is invaluable to your operations.
The new evans365 functionality opens the tool up to both warehousing and transportation customers. The order status tool allows customers to track their orders at every stage of the shipping process. It also allows you to view historical shipments by date or order number. The ezTracker tool is aimed at improving visibility on international shipments. The ezTracker integrates data from a third-party source to provide real-time container positioning. It is our hope that these new features will make your shipment management easy and convenient.
This year, we upgraded our transportation management system to Trimble’s TMW.Suite. As an asset-based and non-asset-based transportation provider, Evans needed a flexible TMS to provide best-in-class solutions to an evolving customer profile. Our new TMS addressed the technical requirements that we set forth including integration capabilities, real-time reporting, digital documentation, route optimization, and customer visibility. We continue to leverage AI and machine learning on our small parcel packing line and drone-based inventory management system as well.
Recently, we spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the economic impact of a tariff increase on the city of Detroit. As a logistics company that has operated in Metro Detroit for more than 90 years, WSJ was interested in our perspective. Our proximity to Canada is highly unique. Most of our customers ship internationally, and having a direct access point across the border is valuable. In the 1980s, we opened our first Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) warehouse to provide a duty deferral solution to our international customer base. Today we have more than 1 million square feet of FTZ warehousing and this year we are working toward earning FTZ status in all eight of our warehouses. With the Gordie Howe Bridge opening in September 2025, we are eagerly preparing for a changing economic landscape over the next few years.
Strategic developments like FTZ expansion and technology investments are at the core of how Evans Distribution functions today. We strive to provide customized 3PL services that are flexible around the customer needs, timeline, or complexity. Many times, businesses are faced with unforeseen challenges, and Evans supports customers by ensuring shipments are not disrupted.
In the logistics industry, every new customer is an opportunity to discover a new process. This year, we have developed expertise in two growing sectors: solar energy and batteries. Solar panels require ultra delicate handling and thorough inspection, sometimes in a dark room, before they can be transported to a solar farm. Torque tubes are an essential solar farm component that can only be lifted by specialized or heavy-duty forklifts. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries, regularly used in electric vehicles, require a spaced-out storage layout, temperature-control, and safety requirements to prevent or address combustion. They often require reflashing which is a process to update battery software. There have been notable efforts by Evans’ operational teams to create detailed work instructions for these industries.
Our quality management program has focused on a company-wide online training program. This year, we have an average of 99.53% completion rate. The results are clear: We have managed new growth in our footprint and onboarded diverse accounts with little error. This helps us deliver on our brand promise, it’s easier with Evans.
Thank you to our customers, employees, and partners for making these advancements possible and for turning 2024 into a year to remember. As we charge ahead into the new year, I’m enthusiastic about our capabilities and opportunities to evolve even more. I will leave you with two requests: If you haven’t visited Evans in a while, please do! We enjoy having customers at our facilities and discovering how we can deepen our partnership. Next, I welcome your insights into the ways that you have integrated generative AI technology into your business operations. Together we can create a more efficient and prosperous world.
Please connect with us at sales@evansdist.com.
Best wishes,
John A. Evans