Future of Logistics
Every year lots of ideas turn to reality and change the way each industry works. Logistics is no different as technology continues to disrupt logistics and supply chain processes by changing it altogether from its core. The following are some of the new trends emerging and will make a mark for itself in the future of logistics. These “out of the box thinking” ideas will play a major role in the logistics industry directly or indirectly.
Robotics in Logistics
Robots are rapidly moving from characters and concepts only found in science fiction to part of our everyday lives. Robots can be of great use in inside a warehouse and can make material handling and distribution easier and faster. New age robots can be employed in major warehouse operations like picking, packaging and palletizing. Robotics has already entered the logistics industry and is no longer a Sci-fi fiction.
- Alibaba, the world’s largest retailer, ramped up robotic labour in one of its warehouses. The smart warehouse is operated by over 700 robots and they perform nearly 70% of the work.
- A robotics company has developed a warehouse robot that can actually climb warehouse racks to pick from any level, then transition to surface transportation to carry orders to human workers. Capable of picking up to 400 orders in an hour, the robots are already in operation with an online retailer.
- Logistics giant DHL launched a program to encourage development of piece-picking warehouse robots. The intention of DHL is to identify and build robots to be used in its day-to-day operations.
Warehouse Drones
We are all aware that drones have been used by amazon for testing delivery of packages using drones. However there are various restrictions and risks in using unmanned drones as it is a security threat. Today, drones are a reality in warehouse operations and help to perform a variety of warehouse tasks like robots.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a system comprising small drones that can fly around a warehouse or yard scanning inventory bar codes and RFID tags, greatly reducing the counting workload for humans in large distribution centres.
- Walmart is testing drones, equipped with optical scanners, to count inventory in its gargantuan US warehouses, the smallest of which is the size of 17 football fields.
Self-Driving Trucks
Self-Driving truck development has been a trend that’s grown over the last couple of years, but it still looks like it will be some time before autonomous goods vehicles are used in earnest on Australian highways, or those of any other country for that matter.
Automated trucks have already been a reality in Western Australia’s mining industry. In the United States Anheiser Busch hauled a full load of finished goods point-to-point without a hitch, and almost without a driver.
Big Data
Companies can utilize vast volumes of data to optimize routes, streamline factory functions, and give additional transparency to the entire supply chain process. Sensors and programs track traffic, weather data, vehicle diagnostics, driving patterns, financial business forecasts, advertising response rates, and much more. Managers can use big data to help spot specific problems in the logistics process and address it. Therefore many companies claim big data will be a big factor in making shipments cheaper, faster, and easier to manage. Big Data will Revolutionize Logistics industry.
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain can increase the efficiency and transparency of supply chains and positively impact everything from warehousing to delivery to payment. Chain of command is essential for many things, and blockchain has the chain of command built in. Blockchain seems like an obvious win for the logistics industry. However, there are still some issues for the platform to overcome. First, Blockchain is not regulated by the government, so the standards are still in flux, and many current implementations are not truly public.
There are several supply chain startups such as Cloud Logistics who saw an opportunity to provide blockchain-enabled supply chain solutions to improve efficiencies and reduce costs for the massive supply chain industry. More companies will most certainly join them as they realize the potential and demand for blockchain-enabled solutions to transform the supply chain and logistics industry.
Internet of things (IoT)
Traditional methods of asset tracking are manual, prone to error, and often lack comprehensive visibility. In logistics, internet of things (IoT) technology solves these problems by placing sensors on pallets to collect and send information to dispatchers through a cloud-based fleet management system. This type of tracking reduces costs by automating work tasks and gives managers real-time tracking of important assets. Logistics managers use this data to make smarter decisions and provide better customer support.
Tomorrow many of these will become obsolete and will be replaced by other ideas which will transform the Logistics industry from where it is today. It reminds everyone that change is the only constant thing in this world.