Big Data, AI, Green initiatives for sustainability and similar other attributes have had the logistics and supply chain sector triumph even in such drastic pandemic times. Despite the Covid-19 situation, the industry has been able to survive and maintain an ROI with possible fluctuations here and there.
Heading straight into 2021, there will be more agility within the industry. The ability for truckers, third party delivery services or companies that are focusing on first or last-mile deliveries specifically will be able to pick, decide and reach their destinations faster with the inclusion of better technological systems. This will allow them to respond well in cases of emergencies, any unforeseen circumstances on-road such as avoiding routes with high traffic, responding in terms of any accidents and opting for alternate ways to fulfill client orders. Speaking of which, the industry has learned well enough regarding how to react in terms of a world crisis such as a pandemic as well by now. More technological implementation towards surviving such natural and unforeseen disasters and the proven methods to overcome them are also being used to introduce better technology for the logistics industry.
Similar to what Lorryz has been working on for sustainability in the logistics industry, there will be more initiatives aimed towards green logistics. A trend brought on by the millennials and considering that the last of this generation group have already entered the workforce, the sustainable initiatives will grow for years to come, the stats show that businesses and companies belonging to different sectors will focus on more green and sustainable initiatives that are environmentally friendly.
Another trend on the rise: Blockchain! By cutting out intermediaries and helping companies manage data transparently while being secure at the same time has led to businesses opt for time and cost-efficient methods to manage their supply chain. This has also helped in the rise of supply chain and logistics technology by analyzing digital data to make crucial business decisions. Another aspect this technology has positively affected is customer service management, where the process has become more streamlined and assisted in reducing overall errors.
For an even centralized and stable process, IoT technology will prosper further where businesses can manage stock movement, pick optimal routes and analyze monthly progress via the technology being used efficiently and timely.
AI and Machine Learning are to advance significantly and help businesses go to the next level. It has introduced several new processes in logistics and supply chain management. Keeping in consideration Machine Learning which can identify, analyze and replicate successful patterns and enhance previous strategies eliminating any added costs that businesses may have to face with additional hiring. Just some of the many advancements these trending technologies have caused would be staff productivity, lower retention rate, better supplier selection process, streamlined inventory management, optimized route adoption and amazing customer experience.
The aforementioned trends have significantly enhanced the traditional ways of logistics and supply chain, the common key performance indicators these results have been based on involving the overall daily performance of the truckers, systems, cost reduction with these sustainable approaches, the time involved in carrying out these operations and return rate that makes up for the return on overall investment of such technological systems. Just the fact that these multiple factors come into play and in analyzing the overall performance indicates that the logistics and supply chain industry have come a long way from the obsolete ways of handling these tasks.
Concluding this piece we’d like to leave you with what would be the top few priorities of SCM and logistics professionals in the coming few years: A lot of big data and information analysis, IoT devices being used to counter more roles and even cloud computing! With the inclusion of separate dashboards for businesses and clients, it is a win-win scenario where both parties can analyze their monthly performance and business activities. 2021, here we come!