Technological innovation continues to support the current logistics industry in a good way, expanding globalization and providing consumers with new ways to take advantage of ecommerce, but where exactly is the future of shipments headed, both on the side of shipping companies and of the users who place such orders?
What was unthinkable a few years ago is now emerging as a more than feasible reality thanks to technological advances especially related to IOT and AI, technologies that in turn promise a huge level of organization and financial health to companies involved in the logistics sector.
Tools that arrive to promote technological innovation
There are a series of tools that are already having a considerable approach when we talk about technological innovation in the logistics sector, mentioning the following:
Artificial intelligence: AI has arrived to offer shipping companies platforms aimed at showing predictions about the level of demand that customers could have and in turn providing relevant information on which are the best routes to carry out shipments.
Internet of Things: Without a doubt, another great ally in terms of the technological advances experienced by the sector, since the IOT always makes shipments traceable until they reach the final receiver.
Automation in the supply chain: The supply chain is benefiting greatly from the implementation of robots and other accompanying computer system hardware that allows better control of inventory and the way in which the different distribution centers through which packages pass must communicate.
Sustainability becomes more relevant: After the container crisis and the Red Sea crisis, the logistics sector is looking for new forms of sustainability to balance operating costs and ensure a higher economic income that allows them to be profitable with their customers. This has led to a greater importance in reducing economic losses and even ensuring a lower environmental impact.
Points for improvement for the future
Despite the advances that technological innovation has had in logistics, it is necessary to point out a series of improvements that are being addressed to improve the competitiveness of the entire market, such as:
- Make greater inclusion of Artificial Intelligence and other automation processes that offer new ways to take advantage of strategic routes during cargo shipments.
- Avoid a considerable reduction in human personnel in the distribution chain because of the use of robots and other automated solutions, since, for the moment, a balance between humans and machines is healthy within the sector.
- Restructuring of international regulations to achieve a perfect synergy between the legal field and the transport operations carried out by companies using these new technologies.
The rapid adaptation that the employees and managers of these companies focused on transport may have will be vital to ensure realistic and permanent technological innovation in the face of current and future crises that occur in the sector.
Sources:
La logística del futuro: ¿Cómo será?. The Logistics World
Logística y cadena de suministro: 5 innovaciones tecnológicas. DispatchTrack
