Click.Connect.Drive. | Phantom Auto: Recent Episodes
Phantom Auto
Click.Connect.Drive. is a podcast by Phantom Auto that explores how remotely operated vehicles are helping companies solve the supply chain labor crisis.
Remote forklift operations are a growing trend today, where technological advancements allow operators to control these machines from thousands of miles away. Safety concerns, however, remain paramount in this discussion. After all, in 2020 alone, the National Safety Council found over 7,200 non-fatal injuries due to forklift accidents. In all logistics Industries, including construction, where forklift operations are an integral part of the job, increasing safety and reducing potential injuries is paramount.
How could remotely driving a forklift possibly be safe?
In the latest episode of Ground Truth, a Phantom Auto podcast, host Gabrielle Bejarano delves into this intriguing question. Joined by Ryan Clifford, Senior Director of Sales at Phantom Auto, and David Rasmussen, Principal Functional Safety Manager at Phantom Auto, joined Bejarano to comprehensively explore the technology and safety measures behind remote forklift operations.
Highlights of their webinar discussion include:
- How does remotely operating forklifts compare to the current paradigm of manual operators
- How the remote operation of vehicles eliminates or reduces the direct risks associated with having an operator physically on the vehicle
- The role of advanced tools, like 360-degree views and other features unavailable to manual operators, in enhancing remote forklift operations
Ryan Clifford serves as the Senior Director of Sales at Phantom Auto. With a background in autonomous vehicles and a wealth of experience in the field, Ryan brings a unique perspective to the discussion. His co-guest, David Rasmussen, is the Principal Functional Safety Manager at Phantom Auto. An expert in safety standards, David brings a deep understanding of the measures necessary to ensure safe remote operations. Together, their insights illuminate the new frontier of remote forklift operation and its profound implications for industries worldwide.
On this episode of The Restless Ones Podcast, listen to Phantom Auto's Shai Magzimof, Co-Founder/CEO, and Elliot Katz, Co-Founder/CBO as they explain how remote operation is helping to create a more resilient supply chain by decoupling labor from location. The episode discusses topics such as expanding labor access, increasing operator safety, and redefining what logistics is today with remote operation.
Manifest CEO Jay Weintraub and Phantom Co-founder Elliot Katz discuss how remote operation decouples labor from location — expanding the labor pool and increasing resilience across the supply chain.
On this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast hosted by Kevin Lawton, listen to Ryan Clifford, Senior Director of Sales, and Ryan Chesterfield, Sales Engineering Manager, as they explain how Phantom is enabling companies to remotely operate their material handling equipment by tapping into labor from any location. The group digs into key topics including safety in the warehouse, unions, and the national labor shortage.
Manifest CEO Jay Weintraub and Phantom Co-founder Elliot Katz discuss how remote operation decouples labor from location — expanding the labor pool and increasing resilience across the supply chain.
In this episode of MHI Cast, hear from the MHI team as they speak with the winners of the 2022 MODEX Innovation Awards, as presented by MHI. Featured guests include:
- Jonathan Katz from Veryable
- Jack Smylie from Ancra Systems
- Elliot Katz from Phantom Auto
Each guest shares about the innovations their tech has brought to their respective spaces over the past year.
On our podcast, Ground Truth by Phantom Auto, our goal is to tell stories about the power of reimagined warehouse logistics, mobility and automation that speak for themselves. Our supply chain is riddled with pain points, from volatility in global supply and demand of commodities to worker shortages and ever-shifting consumer demands.
To figure out the answers, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Strategic Sales Manager and Solutions Development at Phantom Auto, and Trever Ehrlich, Creative Solutions Manager at Kenco Logistics, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that saw the value of Phantom Auto's remote operations and has transformed their supply chain footprint.
The trio spoke about how companies on the front lines of our supply chain are dealing with these pressures on their operations and how they are reimagining their workflows to meet today's needs using automation and remote operation.
They also broke down how their needs reflect larger trends in the industry and got into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to launch remote operations solutions.
Kenco's place in the broader supply chain includes distribution, transportation, material handling, real estate and ecommerce. With a hand in so many pots, they’ve certainly seen various pressures on their operations, especially over the past year.
This has undoubtedly forced them to become more creative in their solutions. One of the most challenging areas has been the labor market. As ecommerce demand has significantly increased, so has the need for new hires in these roles. Companies are also turning to automation.
"It has merged into more of a headcount and workforce problem. So, how do we keep people coming and the lines rolling?," Ehrlich said. "It has been a challenge."
On our podcast, Click Connect Drive by Phantom Auto, our goal is to tell stories about the power of reimagined warehouse logistics, mobility and automation that speak for themselves. Our supply chain is riddled with pain points, from volatility in global supply and demand of commodities to worker shortages and ever-shifting consumer demands.
To figure out the answers, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Strategic Sales Manager and Solutions Development at Phantom Auto, and Trever Ehrlich, Creative Solutions Manager at Kenco Logistics, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that saw the value of Phantom Auto's remote operations and has transformed their supply chain footprint.
The trio spoke about how companies on the front lines of our supply chain are dealing with these pressures on their operations and how they are reimagining their workflows to meet today's needs using automation and remote operation.
They also broke down how their needs reflect larger trends in the industry and got into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to launch remote operations solutions.
Kenco's place in the broader supply chain includes distribution, transportation, material handling, real estate and ecommerce. With a hand in so many pots, they’ve certainly seen various pressures on their operations, especially over the past year.
This has undoubtedly forced them to become more creative in their solutions. One of the most challenging areas has been the labor market. As ecommerce demand has significantly increased, so has the need for new hires in these roles. Companies are also turning to automation.
"It has merged into more of a headcount and workforce problem. So, how do we keep people coming and the lines rolling?" Ehrlich said. "It has been a challenge."
In the latest episode of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas & Phantom Make Forklift Driving a Desk Job, host Tyler Kern talked with Brian Markison, Senior Manager of AGV Partner Sales for Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas, and Elliot Katz, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer for Phantom Auto. We join them as they describe how Phantom Auto and MLA have formed a partnership that is transforming the face of the industry and the ways employees interact with forklifts.Phantom Auto and Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas have formed a partnership that will "offer forklifts that can rove around a warehouse in California, controlled by workers sitting at a desk a continent away."A common skepticism expressed about the new concept of remotely operating material handling equipment is whether forklift operation can really become a job that is done from behind a desk. According to Markison, the team at MLA, who owns UniCarriers, a popular manufacturer of material handling equipment around the world, believes the answer is a resounding yes.Host Tyler Kern and the duo dove headfirst into the nature of the partnership and discussed how teleoperation is being implemented onto the warehouse floor, where it’s set to drastically revolutionize the way organizations operate across a wide range of industries. The topics covered ranged from safety to labor retention and the driver shortage problem that is broadly affecting the logistics industry since the start of COVID-19.“We are honored to be working directly with Mitsubishi Logisnext,” Katz said. “[We’re going to] integrate our software, leverage their dealer network for service and maintenance, have Phantom-powered forklifts built and shipped straight from the Logisnext factory floor, and deploy our solution to existing Mitsubishi Logisnext customers. “Our customers are chomping at the bit to get involved.”You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.
In the newest episode of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, Issues Facing the Autonomous Technology Supply Chain in 2021 and Beyond, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Solution Development & Strategic Sales Manager for Phantom Auto. Join their conversation as they discuss current and potential issues affecting the global supply chain along with the steps that Phantom is taking to help provide solutions to logistics and supply chain providers. Today's supply chain faces several compounding issues that were difficult to predict only a year and a half ago. There are numerous short and long-term effects of COVID to deal with, increasing pressure from growing consumer demands, challenges in implementing autonomous technology, and, perhaps most imminently, a hiring shortage.On this episode of Click Connect Drive, host Daniel Litwin talked with Evan Rago, Strategic Sales Manager at Phantom Auto, who's been in the industry for more than 10 years, about current issues facing the supply chain. While there are short-term issues relating to the current hiring shortage, there are also more significant long-term issues looming in the manufacturing sector.New research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute shows that as many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled through 2030, which would end up costing the U.S. economy $1 trillion through that year. This will have a domino effect that will eventually lead to customers waiting on goods, and ultimately affecting their wallets, according to Rago."Whenever you can't find labor, your throughput decreases, your operation slows down, you become less efficient and you have to raise costs," Rago said. "Ultimately, [the labor shortage] is going to raise costs and create longer lead times. In today's consumer-driven market, that's really not feasible."With companies not able to fill positions, the possibility of relying on autonomous technology will move to the forefront. Companies are seeking more flexible options when it comes to employment, including the introduction of new innovative technologies, which will help safeguard them from labor shortages and prepare them for future pandemics and other crises."A lot of companies are turning to automation, and they're turning to different innovative technologies," Rago said.You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.
We are excited to announce the launch of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, our new video and audio podcast channel now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.In our first episode, Introducing Teleoperation for Industrial Vehicles, host Tyler Kern talked with Jordan Sanders, Vice President of Business and Marketing for Phantom Auto. The duo discussed how teleoperation is powering industrial vehicles in material handling environments to increase safety, productivity, and labor accessibility.Phantom Auto provides remote operation software for all types of vehicles. Their software allows humans sitting 10, 20, 100, or even 1,000 miles away to drive a vehicle. Think drone pilots, but for vehicles. Currently, Phantom works with a variety of clients and can remotely operate a variety of vehicles. The current list includes forklifts, yard trucks, robots, taxis, and other passenger vehicles. “Across all those applications, what our software really delivers for customers is transforming and virtualizing their operations,” Sanders said.With the advent of autonomy in consumer and industrial environments, the technology and resources needed to enable remote operation of vehicles are now widely available. With the reduced cost of hardware such as sensors and semiconductors, teleoperation has become a cost-effective option for the industry. Another major driver for the adoption of teleoperation has been the current labor shortage, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted supply chains and has highlighted the need for increased operational resilience.“Those two major trends are driving the adoption of our technology,” Sanders said.You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.