Rapid advances in digital technology are redefining the world of business. It is creating an opportunity to create value for all kinds of industries, including transportation and logistics.
It took most Fortune 500 companies an average of two decades to reach a billion-dollar valuation; digital startups currently are getting there in just four years. Digital technologies are creating new profit pools by transforming the expectations and requirements of customers and how manufacturing and logistics companies can address them.
Unarguably, digital transformation provides the manufacturing and logistics industry with unparalleled opportunities for value creation. Not only has it enabled companies to improve their ease of doing business with supply chain partners but also meet or exceed customers’ expectations.
Future of Transportation is Digital
Digital technologies integrate stakeholders and all the data involved in the ai for transportation and logistics industry to deliver the promised value to customers and ultimately grow revenue. It has also increased efficiency and lowered costs while delighting customers.
Here is a list of digital technologies that are transforming transportation and logistics:
1. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
The potential for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in logistics is enormous: a supply chain is probably a veritable goldmine of structured as well as unstructured data, and by harnessing and analyzing it, recognizing patterns, and generating actionable insights, organizations can dramatically transform operations and ease of doing business.
ML enables organizations to unravel patterns in supply chain data with the aid of algorithms that identify factors influencing their supply network’s success, all while learning on a continuous basis. These patterns can be in regards to inventory levels, forecasting, supplier quality, transportation management, production planning, and more. Along with all that information, these patterns provide companies with the knowledge and insights to enhance supplier performance, scale back freight costs, etc.
2. Self-Service Integration
Data integration with self-service capabilities enables even non-technical business users to create data connections across supply chain ecosystems in minutes instead of months. As non-techies come at the forefront of the business, IT users can free themselves to focus on more high-value tasks.
With features such as pre-built application connectors, shared templates, dashboards & intuitive screens, and more, business users (with minimal technical expertise) can integrate supply chain data for faster insights delivery and decision-making. This puts IT in a governance role, thus improving productivity and driving innovation.
3. Cloud Logistics
Cloud logistics is accepting fast approximation with 60% of transportation and logistics previously employing cloud administrators and another 30% expecting doing as such. With data shifting to the cloud, logistics services feel the need to rely on solutions that can access and integrate this data without effort and delays.
Companies are switching to hybrid integration platforms to harness the true potential of supply chain data. These solutions can integrate the on-premise and cloud data for accurate insights.
4. Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT is turning out to subsequent game changer. Coupled with next-level availability and sensors, IoT is making another evolution in the data world encouraging transformative opportunities for business.
IoT involves machine to machine and man to machine communications fostered on cloud computing along with network gathering sensors. This provides transparency in the operational visibility to execute effective decisions and generate value at the speed of business. No wonder it’s expected to reach $11 trillion a year by 2025.
IoT sensors monitor temperature and humidity for sensitive cargo such as pharmaceuticals and food. NFC tags will proffer product authentication with the faucet of a smartphone, thus safeguarding counterfeiting and breaches.
5. Blockchain
Blockchain technology decentralizes data, increasing detectability and straightforwardness. This is done by providing each member inside the chain the keys to important data on an item’s excursion. By cutting down complexity and breaking down trade barriers, it could fuel GDP and global trade.
Supply chain ecosystems will become more efficient when users can monitor the progress. On using digitalized versions of documents, the adoption of blockchain technologies increases by leaps and bounds.
Conclusion
Transportation and logistics organizations are leveraging these transformative technologies to transform the way they do business with supply chain partners and deliver value. Most importantly, these next-level solutions enable users to achieve business priorities — at speed and scale.