6 Ways Technology Is Transforming The Logistics Industry
It’s an undisputed fact that technology is changing the logistics field — and you shouldn’t resist these changes any longer. Embracing digital transformation will change the way you and your staff experiences work every day.
Digital transformation is one of the biggest buzz phrases going around the business community right now. In fact, a majority of CEOs have been focusing on digital transformation for years.
Are you falling behind?
It’s simply the way the world is moving, and for good reason. The business workplace is being drastically altered by technology as each year goes by — if you don’t embrace it, then you’ll miss out on all the benefits it has to offer.
When it comes to your logistics firm, it’s important that you find innovative and cost-effective ways to bring your goods to market both quickly and efficiently. At the same time, it’s also important to reduce inventory and supply chain costs to achieve the highest level of profitability.
What Is Digital Transformation?
You can define this term as:
“The integration of digital technologies into all areas of your business, resulting in fundamental changes to how your business operates.”
In other words, it’s the initiative to use technology for better business outcomes. The fact is that, whether you embrace technology or not, the people you interact with (your customers and employees) will expect you to. If you don’t, they’ll work with someone else who does.
That’s why you need to make an effort to understand how technology can affect positive change in the work that you do. From customer experience to workflow optimization, technology is playing a big role in the way businesses operate.
6 Digital Transformation Trends In The Logistics Industry You Need To Know About
e-AWB: While a rather obvious development for the logistics industry, the digitization of conventional Air Waybill (AWB) is nonetheless important. As with the digitization of any previously analog documentation, e-AWB helps to improve accuracy, efficiency, transparency and security.
Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence is a technology that allows computers to correctly make decisions that would otherwise be left up to users. The two primary popular forms this has taken in the consumer and business worlds to date include:
Machine-learning, which exponentially improves the frequency with which it makes correct decisions by accumulating data and repeating processes (i.e., it “learns” by rote)
Speech-based technology that can understand spoken word in multiple languages, allowing it to execute tasks by verbal input (e.g. Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant)
Artificial Intelligence matters to any industry in which the technology can be introduced and applied: automation. When it comes to basic tasks that fall relatively simply into an algorithm (that is, perform a set action when given a specific input, or, “if a then b, if b then c” etc.), machine-learning allows Artificial Intelligence to eventually perform those tasks as accurately as a human counterpart would, if not more accurately.
The Cloud: Increase collaboration and simplify management by hosting your data and applications through the cloud, while prioritizing security in line with the access given to staff members. It shouldn’t have to be said at this point, but just in case you’re still in the past — get rid of your on-site hardware. Before the cloud, onsite servers were a must for any business that wanted to succeed, but no longer. Today, you don’t need to purchase, install and maintain onsite servers- with the cloud, you outsource it all to a data center instead. By choosing a cloud solution instead of conventional infrastructure, you will enjoy all the benefits of an up to date and optimized IT infrastructure, without having to pay more than your monthly service fee. This is so basic in today’s modern business world that to continue purchasing and maintaining costly onsite hardware is essentially fiscal negligence.
The Internet of Things: The Internet of Things is the term that refers to the interconnectivity of everyday things using light sensors, network connectivity, actuators, and so on. If you have a ‘smart home’ device that lets you unlock the door to your home from your smartphone or remotely move your thermostat up or down, you are already using the Internet of Things Thinking about how you can use the IoT in your business will help you get a jump start on the technology, and could lead to a competitive edge. Consider the kinds of tasks your employees do and whether they could be done remotely or by a machine instead of a human.
Blockchain: While not quite accessible to logistics firms quite yet, blockchain technology is on the horizon and rapidly approaching. Harnessing blockchain technology will allow firms to decentralize their data, making it easier for authorized parties to securely access data. In terms of supply chains, this will vastly increase both transparency and security.
Autonomous Vehicles: Self-driving forklifts are already in use in warehouses around the world, and so, it’s only a matter of time until self-driving cars start entering the logistics and shipping sectors. Properly coordinated automated vehicles will be able to “platoon”, safely driving bumper to bumper, vastly reducing fuel consumption (and the associated expenses) for long hauls. All of this will be achievable without relying on fallible drivers, or risking human lives.
What Are The Objectives Of Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation can do a lot for your business if you take the time to carry it out strategically:
Attract New Business: If you make it easier for clients and customers to work with you the way they prefer to, then they’re more likely to work with you.
75% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from you if you know their name, purchase history and can recommend products/services based on that info.
Marketers feel that few companies deliver customer experiences that truly fulfill the brand promise.
Attract Better Talent: Younger and more modern workers will be more interested in joining your team if you’re using solutions that they’re used to, and that allow them to work in the way they prefer.
38% of millennial staff members state that outdated collaboration tools have a negative effect on innovation.
According to findings from the digital business global executive study and research report, 71% of digitally maturing companies say they are able to attract new talent based on their use of digital technologies.
Generate Better ROI: By using technology to eliminate redundancies, speed up time frames, and provide greater access to products and services, you can get a greater return on the resources you invest in your business. For example, companies get results when they invest more in digital marketing
Need Expert Assistance With Digital Transformation?
In the end, modernizing your office doesn’t have to be a massive restructuring of the way you do business. Step by step you can affect these changes, either by talking to your staff about mobile device use for work or consulting with your IT company about how to automate more of your daily tasks.
The key? You have to be willing to start.
Need assistance harnessing new technologies to transform your business? Our end-to-end, integrated suite of solutions will give you everything you need to improve the way you do business through technological solutions.