Ever since the term “Logistics” replaced the “Transportation” business it has become more complicated. Today it is indeed a science. With the cataclysmic rise of e-commerce around the globe, innovative capabilities for last-mile delivery, reverse logistics, warehousing and technology will all be increasingly important. Investing in new capabilities is complicated, which makes finding the right third-party logistics providers for your needs more essential than ever.
The events of 2020 created a dramatic tipping point for supply chains. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, supply chains had become increasingly complex and struggled to meet high demands for goods. At the beginning of the crisis, the supply chain’s role as the lifeline of humanity; getting goods and services to all types of customers quickly, safely and securely became immediately clear.
Companies were woefully unprepared for the pandemic. To their defense few saw this coming. Companies were forced to quickly fast track their efforts to build intelligent supply chains that are not only efficient, but also customer-centric, resilient and responsible with greater transparency, increased visibility and faster decision-making to ultimately better serve their customers and communities.
Emerging From The Covid Ashes
Supply chains across all industries are facing continued disruption on a global scale. The pandemic accelerated consumer demand for e-commerce and faster delivery options, adding to the pressure on shippers.
To continuously adapt to changing markets and economic conditions, shippers need to prioritize value chain transformation. They need to adopt new ways of working that build greater levels of agility, resiliency, and sustainability all while proactively managing costs. That’s a pretty accurate description of the job of a 3rd Party Logistics company. Companies need to get scientific about their logistics planning. Technology, analytics and predictive analysis are only a few aspects of requisite effective logistics planning necessary in today’s market.
Benefits Of Partnering With A 3PL In Today’s Market
The 3PL market has become increasingly crowded and fragmented with a mix of global and local providers, as well as new players emerging with more user-friendly services and digital platforms. Over the past several years, global e-commerce behemoths have moved into logistics in a big way, competing with incumbent providers while significantly raising the bar in customer expectations. Since 1978 Land Link Traffic Systems been providing our clients with innovative and highly effective solutions, technologies, and outsourced support that drive cost efficiencies and improved service levels for our clients and their customers. Some things have changed since 1978. Namely the technology of Logistics. We were among the first to embrace analytics in our science. Today’s technology is much more complicated. Here are the basics
The Digital Supply Chain
By now the digital supply chain should be a familiar term to everyone in the logistics business. The trick is getting there. It’s basically going from paper to computer code. Only the behemoth shippers will have the talent in house to engage and implement the latest technology simply because the science which will support the digital supply chain is relatively new. Blockchain, AI and The Internet of Things will most assuredly be the industry standard in the very near future.
Blockchain is a simple concept with very complicated undertones. It is however, very user friendly to those restricted individuals with access. Blockchain is a series of digital blocks representing transactions or events connected by GPS tracking and customs verifications. It is a secure, verifiable chain of custody. The value of Blockchain technology is the security. It is virtually un-hackable. Bitcoin is based on Blockchain as are all the crypto currencies.
AI is interesting and, again, not that complicated conceptually. Artificial Intelligence is no more than teaching a machine how to complete a task through repetition. Just as a human would. So what’s the big deal. Hmm. How do I teach a machine to learn. That idea is a little mind blowing for average person. The reality is we are very likely in the beginning phase of the “Terminator” and “I Robot” stage.
IOT is, once again, not that complicated. We’re just trying to tie everything together. Well, the issue here is hardware, software and integration. It’s a complex communication network to facilitate data transfer between every electronic device in the system and making them work together.
The challenge to the Digital Supply Chain for shippers will be planning it al out. Diagnose the weak spots in your supply chain. Understand which technologies will address the issues and manage the software. Don’t let it be one of those DIY projects you wish you would have outsourced. Visit us today @ Land-Link.com.
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Stay Safe Everyone.
To stay up to date on these and other Logistics topics subscribe to our blog @ http://www.Land-Link.com/blog.
Author
Michael Gaughan
Technology Officer
Land Link Traffic Systems
Land-Link, a well respected professional organization, has been providing its clients with effective transportation and logistics solutions since 1978.
