3 Major Trends Transforming the Logistics Industry You Can’t Ignore

With the increased connections among different countries in the modern world, the demand for different goods and products has increased, including logistics of edibles, vegetables, medicines, and the spare parts of vehicles and military equipment. Investors and business owners from all over the world rely on freight forwarders and supply chain managers to move their products to different parts of the world. Freight forwarders manage, coordinate and conduct the shipping of goods from one place to another by sea, air, road, or rail. From the confirmation of an order to its fulfillment, all can be handled by the logistics management teams. Logistics and freight forwarding companies provide multiple services that include warehousing, transportation, storage facilities, etc. They also give guidelines to their customers for preparing the shipment documents which may comprise an ocean freight quote, a detailed information of the shipping policies and area-specific shipping price of freights. They also make sure that the products reach their customers smoothly and on time regardless of the geographical constraints, including bad weather or poor infrastructure.

According to analysts, the global logistics market is estimated to grow to 12.68 billion USD by 2023. As the market is growing, the competition among different logistics companies is bound to increase. To gain a competitive edge in the market, freight forwarders and logistics companies need to adopt policies that are cost-effective and which can make them distinct and different from the other companies even with the same product services. Nowadays, innovators are creating new models and concepts to address different challenges that the logistics industry has been facing or may face in the future.

In today’s market, being flexible with the idea of technological integration and innovation is the key to success. In order to gain a stronger foothold in the market, companies may need to introduce new policies from time to time. By taking innovative steps, logistics organizations can transform themselves to meet the latest demands. Below are some suggestions for logistics and freight forwarder companies to follow in order to stay ahead in the competition.

#1. Role of AI and Augmented Intelligence

With AI spring in action, logistics companies are looking for ways to digitize themselves to solve various problems digitally which in turn would help them to increase their operational efficiency. It’s about time that companies integrate AI as those abstaining from it, might not succeed. With the advanced codes and algorithms, AI is capable of

• Handling larger amounts of data
• Lowering the cost
• Working efficiently in high volumes and low margins
• Performing multiple payments
• Meeting shorter deadlines

AI can assist logistics companies in handling customer’s demands with efficient techniques because that’s what people today expect and ask for.

Customer Service

With advancements in technology, the fulfillment of customer’s demands also requires technological usage. Moreover, as the company grows, the number of customers also increases and, in such cases, it can become difficult to cater to their needs and keep them all satisfied at the same time. But there’s no need to worry as the AI, with the ability to comprehend and communicate in various languages can address many of their demands. The automated voice bots and chat-bots can help companies to communicate and interact with the customers’ concerns in multiple languages.

Cognitive Contracts

AI can also help in classifying the provisions and conditions of an agreement. It also backs up data to keep the record related to contracts safe. Because of this amazing feature, it can assist people in identifying different parts of the contracts that could consist of hundreds of pages quickly. Among those pages, the important parts, including the signatures and the agreed policies can be reviewed by AI in a shorter time. It can analyze all the information with speed and efficiency. These cognitive contracts cut any chances of mistakes and keep the process transparent.

Predictive Logistics

AI can also make articulation regarding the demand and supply of products. Thus, it saves time and money. Furthermore, with the latest technology of AI, companies no longer have to depend upon defensive mechanism to handle unexpected situations. Now, AI is assisting organizations to operate on predictive mechanisms. In which proactive measures are worked upon to prevent any unwanted situation.

#2. Warehouse Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles 

Inventory tracking, warehousing, and transportation of goods are the most important pillars of the whole logistics system. As the business expands, and the network grows, the number of customers increases. To cater to the rising challenges, new ideas regarding the automation of vehicles and warehouses can be worked upon. These should mainly aim at reducing the chances of error and saving time, fuel and cost of labour. 

Customized Warehousing

In modern times, the role of the warehouse has surpassed its traditional role of just being a storage place. The warehouses have evolved owing to the modern-day growing demands. Many companies are looking for ways to customize their warehouses and to double the speed of

• Picking
• Kitting
• Assembling
• Storing
• Packaging

Customized warehouses add speed to deliveries and ease various operations with the help of warehouse robots, bar-code labels, at a reduced cost. With AI, automation in warehouses has made the handling of huge volumes of products easier.

Intelligent Robotics Sorting:

This technology helps to assort and arrange letters and parcels. Logistics companies have to deal with millions of letters, parcels and shipments daily. Robotic sorting can help in the categorization of these things in a short time, saving effort and cost.

There are robots that assist humans in storing and packaging goods too, thus increasing the efficiency of the process.

Customized Vehicles

The customization of vehicles is a new trend in the modern supply chain. With the customization of vehicles, the transportation of medicines and other temperature-sensitive products has become safer. Moving such products is a very responsible task and any error in this job can have severe consequences. Customized vehicles can allow:

• Easy loading and unloading of the products
• Autonomous operations
• Controlling temperature within the labeled range with the help of refrigerated vehicle
• Preventing products from exposure to high and low temperatures with temperature controlled vehicles
• Using alternative fuels to have eco-friendly transportation

With automation, vehicles can analyze and predict traffic and can communicate with other automated machines. They can also re-route the fleet if there is any hurdle in the already planned route.

IoT, RFID, WMS SOFTWARE

IoT short for ‘Internet of Things, with the help of its sensors, technology, and networking can streamline the whole logistics process. It can help share the supply chain information without requiring human contact. It can take care of the following things:

• Supply chain monitoring
• Vehicle tracking
• Inventory management
• Transportation safety
• Automation of warehouses and vehicles
• Delivery status

RFID uses wireless signals to share data between different microchips that are inserted in tags, cards, and labels of the products. This reduces the chances of error and increases reliability. RFID can provide many details, including:

• Size and type of product
• Quality
• Country of origin
• Country of manufacturing
• Analysis of the sale patterns
• Time of sale of products

WMS Software optimizes all the warehouse operations. Warehouse management software can monitor all inventory-related jobs. In this way, it can:

• Minimize labor expenses
• Enhance customer experience
• Increase the accuracy of product-related information hence improving transparency
• Enhance the responsiveness
• Manage inventory with information of the latest order and shipment
• Make effective use of space in a warehouse

#3. BlockChain and Logistics

Blockchains having decentralized data structures can help in overcoming a lot of loopholes in logistics management. The data in blockchains is owned by everyone and any changes made in it are visible to all the people involved. The principles that blockchain relies upon are:

• Transparency
• Decentralized data structure
• Immutability

With such technology, firms can handle a large business easily by keeping the whole logistics process transparent. It not only keeps an eye on the physical flow of products but also on the flow of finances and information throughout the supply chain. It helps to carefully observe third-party agents, inventory, transportation, payments and assists in keeping the record of an agreement safe.

Transparency

Mishandling of data is one of the major issues of supply chain and logistics management. Blockchain, having immutability features, allows all the parties to access data. It helps to prevent any loss or meddling of information. Having the ability to handle larger volumes of data, makes the whole process error-free and transparent. It can help spot any financial anomaly in billing, invoices, and payments and takes care of all the critical data thus, reducing the chances of counterfeiting to zero.  

Real-time Visibility

Every step in the supply chain can be recorded by blockchain and the data and information are shared with all the people involved. This makes the whole process visible. Moreover, the information is accessible from any part of the world.

Efficient and Timely Delivery

Customers prefer speedy and efficient ways for their daily activities. With the help of blockchains, smart contracts and online payments, the speed, accuracy and transparency increase. Sharing the information regarding the status of the product makes the payment and delivery process efficient.