The FLEXE CEO, Karl Siebrecht, participated in a panel on crowdsourcing, collaborative warehousing & logistics at the WERC conference in Providence, Rhode Island last week. Check it out!

1. Crowdsourcing and
Collaborative
Warehousing & Logistics
Jennifer Pazour
Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Karl Siebrecht
CEO, FLEXE, Inc
Brett Spector
Director, North America Channel Sales, Iron Mountain
Brett Parker
President & Co-Founder, Cargomatic

2. Bringing the Sharing Economy to Less than Truckload Shipping
Case Study: Technology-enabled Collaborative Warehousing
Session Agenda & Introductions
Jennifer Pazour
Karl Siebrecht
Brett Parker
President & Co-Founder, Cargomatic
Brett Spector
Crowdsourcing and Collaborative Warehousing and Logistics
Questions and Answers Session
Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering
CEO, FLEXE, Inc Director North America Channel Sales
Iron Mountain

3. 3
The On-Demand Economy
On-Demand Systems:
Business model that matches supply resources to
demand requests on demand.
Crowdsourced Systems, Sharing Economy, Gig
Economy, On-Demand Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Systems:
When the demand requests are fulfilled by peers,
the resources are owned by independent users.
Crowdsourced Logistics Systems:
A business model for the movement and storage
of goods that matches independent supply
resources (warehouse space, truck space, delivery
services) to demand requests on demand.

4. Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
4
Last Mile Delivery (from * to customer)
Short-Haul
Delivery (B2B)
Long-Haul (City-to-City)
Delivery
Movement of Goods: “Crowdshipping”
Storage of Goods
*Grocery Stores
*restaurant
take-out
Individual Courier Services
(from customer to *)
*Retailers
(malls)
Shipping Containers
(Country-to-Country)
Emergency
Response

5. (some) Characteristics of
Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
• Independent Freelance Users Control Supply Resources
– Supply resources are not owned or employed by an organization. These
independent freelance users have control over access to their resources.
• Open Market or Open Crowd
– Supply resources originate from a crowd of independent users, and
membership to the crowd typically has low barrier to entry.
• Online-to-Offline
– Supply resources and demand requests are matched online using a
computer application, often on a smart phone, but the logistics service is
performed offline (physical transport or storage of goods).
• Visibility Required
– Utilizes technology platforms to provide visibility into untapped underused
capacity, as well as a large reach for demand requests. This results in
potential asset utilization increases.
5

6. Compare and Contrast
Traditional Business Model Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
6
For example: For example:
Incentives
& Control
Supply
Resources
Decision
Making
Network

7. Supply Resources (Assets)
Traditional Business Model
• A single company owns or
contracts resources.
• Results in a relatively fixed
capacity.
• Given demand variability,
companies either have extra
capacity, or have customers wait.
Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
• The P2P system owns no assets.
• A crowd of independent
freelancers provides access to
their resources.
• Leads to the ability to scale
capacity up/down, dynamically
adjusting capacity to meet
demand.
7

8. • Supply resources are under the
companies control and known.
• Goal is to match unknown
demand requests with resources.
• A company can take a systematic
perspective to the allocation of
their resources.
Incentives, Control,
& Decision Making
Traditional Business Model Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
• Both suppliers of and demand for
resources are users.
• Both supply and demand are
unknown and not in the company’s
direct control.
• Facilitates matching of decentralized
entities.
• Need incentives to attract both
supply and demand; current
incentives are flexibility
8

9. • Elastic Supply Chain Network
• Many-to-Many Configuration
– Infinite Participants
– Infinite Transfer Points
– Infinite Pickup/Delivery Locations
• More complex operations (e.g.,
transactions, authentication)
• Sharing results in the ability to be closer
to the end customer
• Potential for adaptable and resilent
supply chains
• Static Supply Chain Network
• Few-to-Many Configuration
– Finite Participants
– Finite Transfer Points
– Finite Entry Points
• Operational protocols are entity-based
• Security is based on authenticated
entities (personell and facilities)
• Can lead to rigid, expensive (e.g. last
mile) supply chains
Supply Chain Network
Traditional Business Model Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
9

10. Incentives
& Control
Compare and Contrast the Logistics Systems
→ A single company owns or contracts
resources.
 Given a fixed capacity, demand
variability results in either having extra
capacity, or having customers wait.
 Supply Resources are under the
companies control and known.
 Goal is to match unknown demand
requests with resources.
 Top-Down, centralized decision
making via a single entity.
 Systematic allocation of resources
possible.
 Static Supply Chain Network
 Few-to-Many Configuration
 Finite Participants/Transfer
Points/Entry Points Simplifies
Transactions
 Can lead to rigid, hard to adapt,
supply chains
→ The P2P system owns no assets, instead
a crowd of independent freelancers
provides access to their resources.
 Ability to dynamically adjust capacity to
meet demand.
 Both suppliers of and demand for
resources are users.
Both supply and demand are unknown.
 Need incentives to attract supply and
demand. An incentive for supply in these
systems is flexibility and control.
 Decentralized Decision Making of
Freelance Users (facilitation usually done
systematically by a 3rd Party)
 Elastic Supply Chain Network
 Many-to-Many Configuration
 More complex operations
 Sharing results in the ability to be closer
to the end customer
 Potential for adaptable and resilent
supply chains
Traditional Business Model Crowdsourced Logistics Systems
Supply
Resources
Decision
Making
Network
10

11. Case Study: Technology-enabled Collaborative Warehousing
Brett Spector, Director, North America
Channel Sales, Iron Mountain Karl Siebrecht, CEO, FLEXE, Inc

12. Unexpected returns, recalls,
supply chain disruptions
Competing with Amazon’s
delivery promise
Seasonal inventory swings or
promotions
How best to manage?
Fundamental problem: warehouses are static, businesses
are dynamic
Fixed, long-term leases are mismatch for dynamic inventory & high or uncertain growth
High fixed & committed costs
Often too much or too little capacity
Difficult and expensive to change
plans
Implications:

13. 75%REPORT SIGNIFICANT INVENTORY FLUCTUATIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

14. 70%HAVE NO SOLUTION FOR OVER-CAPACITY AND ACCEPT IT AS SUNK COSTS

15. <10%EXPECT THE DRIVERS OF THESE FLUCTUATIONS TO DECREASE OVER TIME

16. How do we compete with this?

17. FLEXE: a connected network of “on-demand” warehouses
• Reduces friction
• Enables control
• Drives efficiency
Empty space coverage
No cost / low risk
Low commitment
Easy
Scalable
On-demand network access
No fixed costs
Low commitment
Easy
Scalable
Access to massive + flexible warehouse footprint creates elastic supply chain
Buys
space/services
Goods Owner
Need capacity
Warehouse Operator
Have capacity
Lists space/services
2

18. Global Network, Local Services
Driving Consistency of Information Management
36countries 5continents

19. Our Track Record: Trusted and Tested
20,000+
Employees
1,000+
Facilities
3,600+
Vehicles
6
Underground Facilities
5
Data Centers
67.8M ft²
Real Estate
530M ft³
Hardcopy Records
89M
Pieces of media
8.7M (8M SS)
Trees Saved/Year
627M
Images Scanned per year
Resources
Information Managed
Stability
#726
On the Fortune 1000 List
155,000
Customers
$3.03 Billion
2014 Revenue
S&P 500
Index
60+
Years in Business

20. Iron Mountain + FLEXE partnership benefits
• New revenue stream
• Leverage existing assets and capabilities
• Technology makes it easy and scalable
To Iron Mountain:
• Large warehouse footprint
• Great brand, reputation and capabilities
• Strong strategic alignment
To FLEXE:

21. Bringing the sharing economy to logistics
Brett Parker, Co-founder and President
Cargomatic, Inc.
bparker@cargomatic.com

22. The Sharing Economy
”Unlocking underutilized capacity with technology”
Founded: 2009
Valuation: $70 billion
Founded: 2008
Valuation: $25 billion

23. Problem: Local trucking is highly fragmented
• No transparency on price
• No real-time visibility of capacity
• Too much time finding trucks
• Dead head miles
• No way to market excess capacity
• Lack of fleet visibility
Shipper Challenges Trucker Challenges:
90% of truckers operate 6 trucks or less

24. Business Focus
Infrastructure
Unlocking
Underutilized
Capacity
Regional / local trucking marketplace
that provides freight capacity to B2B
and B2C shippers in the logistics,
manufacturing and distribution
industries in the Continental US
Mobile and desktop applications for
Courier, LTL, FTL and Drayage
shipments
Over 1500 truckers and shippers
using the platform in the last 6
months.
“Bringing the sharing
economy to logistics.”
Business Solution: Use a technology platform to
connect shippers with qualified truckers who have
unutilized capacity in the most efficient manner.

25. 25
2
5

26. 26
Access to unutilized capacity
Real-time visibility (track and trace)
Dynamic Pricing
Paperless payments
Positive Environmental Impact
Sharing Economy Benefits In Logistics

27. Conclusion
 The sharing economy should be used for reliable and consistent capacity.
 It will be backed by solid operations and complete transparency
 It will also lead to lower pricing driven by market efficiencies
 It is a great time to be a logistician!

28. Question and Answer Session
Jennifer Pazour, Assistant Professor
Industrial & Systems Engineering, RPI
pazouj@rpi.edu
Karl Siebrecht, CEO, FLEXE, Inc.
karl@flexe.com
Brett Parker, President & Co-Founder,
Cargomatic
bparker@cargomatic.com
Brett Spector, Director, North America
Channel Sales, Iron Mountain
Brett.Spector@ironmountain.com