Logistics

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Dematic, a global supplier of logistics systems for factories, warehouses and distribution centers, announced that Jay Leno will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Material Handling & Logistics Conference in Park City, Utah, Sept. 8 to 11.

Mississauga, Ontario -- Target announced the soft opening dates for 24 locations in Western Canada, with 22 stores opening on May 7 and two  opening on May 14.

The openings, which include stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, follow the opening of 24 stores across Ontario. As previously announced, Target plans to open 124 stores across Canada throughout 2013.

SAN DIEGO & DALLAS — Novatel Wireless, a leading provider of intelligent wireless solutions, has entered into a supply agreement with LoJack SCI, a leading supplier of supply chain integrity and tracking solutions, which will help companies protect their supply chains.

Montreal -- Jesta I.S. said Monday it has expanded its relationship with Canadian shoe store operator Town Shoes, parent to the Sterling Shoes, Shoe Warehouse and Freedman Shoes banners, to include the implementation of the multichannel order management capabilities delivered by Vision E-DOM.

In deciding to implement Jesta I.S., Town Shoes will further leverage its existing IT infrastructure, at the backbone of which are Vision’s foundational Merchandising ERP and POS systems.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Deliv, the same-day, low cost delivery service that partners directly with large retailers, has appointed former Amazon progressive supply chain executive Michael Hart to VP of logistics.

During the Spectrum Brands second-quarter earnings call, the Madison, Wis.-based company showed interest in bringing back some offshore production. 

Responding to a question about the rising costs of wages and freight for overseas small appliance manufacturing, Spectrum Brands CEO David Lumley said: “We are looking at that.”

He added that a first opportunity might be for North America manufacturing — Mexico or the Caribbean.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark announced that it was among several national companies represented at an event hosted on Tuesday by President Obama, VP Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden as part of the Joining Forces initiative.

During the event, the administration asked companies participating in the Joining Forces initiative to hire and train 435,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years, after nearly tripling its original goal of hiring 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar has announced that EVP of supply chain Charles S. Gibson will leave the company to pursue other interests.

“Charlie has overseen the growth and development of our supply chain network and has been a valued part of our team,” said Howard R. Levine, chairman and CEO. “We appreciate the contributions Charlie has made to the company’s success, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”