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Copy LinkIndustry 4.0 Needs Logistics 4.0 A Unique Approach
With each passing day, tech-enabled advancements are unlocking the doors to countless business opportunities. The overall trend of urbanization is successfully driving the vortex of smart mobility. From legacy companies to SMEs and government organizations to startups, everyone is putting their best foot forward to keep up with the Industry 4.0 wave. Addressing the day-by-day increasing demand, digital transformation is answering complex supply chain problems . The era of logistics 4.0 has begun with sustainability at the forefront. Last-mile deliveries, seamless quick replenishments, and multi-leg shipments are now accessible within a few clicks.
Taking into account the recent impression on productions and bottlenecks, businesses need to propose smart logistics solutions today, to achieve a profitable tomorrow. Let’s get a closer look and understand why industry 4.0 needs logistics 4.0.
Major Factors to be Taken into Consideration
COVID-19 – The current pandemic has flooded the logistics businesses with numerous challenges and is proving to be one of the major factors of influence for the same. The world is undoubtedly witnessing a paradigm shift from brick-and-mortar shopping to sustainable customized home deliveries.
Here’s a representation of the impact of the outburst in 2020 and beyond.
Now, let’s get a lowdown on some of the other significant factors:
Urbanization – A sustainable population growth rate is considered as 1% per year. However, the big picture outlining many evolving cities is far more different. Most of the prime cities across the planet have observed a growth rate of almost 5%. Such a rising population puts the resources and authorities under extreme pressure which ultimately disrupts the transportation solutions.
Price – Last-mile delivery is one of the biggest and costly challenges of transportation. It represents almost 40% of the total disbursement. Sometimes, the cost can even outfox the packaging/warehousing costs by 2X or more.
Online Purchase – “The weekly consumption of grocery delivery solutions is 40% and is anticipated to rise by 55% till the end of 2021,” says Capgemini in its last-mile delivery report. On the other hand, Alibaba Group’s logistics affiliate Cainiao is all set to determine an international smart logistics network that will substantially decrease delivery times over the next 3 years.
Buyer Expectations – Home deliveries are connected to the loyalty loop. Customers stick to companies executing faster services. The same Capgemini report also found out that a two- hour delivery framework can increase 55% customer loyalty.
Sustainability – Economic shortcomings due to congestion and pollution-induced environmental pressure indirectly affects sustainability. Concretely, the implementation of intelligent logistics solutions will mitigate the risks and adverse effects accordingly.
What’s Trending?
Technology innovations are hitting the right chords of the logistics and supply chain management (SCM) industry. From executing IoT-enabled trade solutions and heavy data storage to establishing automated warehousing and route optimization solutions, these innovations have come a long way.
The below illustration represents a set of tech-driven logistics trends that will influence businesses in 2020 and beyond.
Apart from all this, the simplification of protocols around drones and their implementation network is all set to redefine the last-mile delivery solutions alongside joining the Industry 4.0 foray.
What’s about to Trend?
The current smart logistics and supply chain management solutions will stand tall as the cornerstones of Logistics 4.0. This link will successfully embrace the below.
The Right Mix of Automation and Intelligence for
- Making operations effective and efficient
- Satisfying the needs of a connected economy with utmost flexibility
- Assisting a real-time economy
Holistic Industrial Transformation for
- Establishing a supportive affiliation between man and machine
- Orchestrating warehousing planning systems
- Understanding the rising demands
- End-to-end customer satisfaction and retention
Enhancing the Management Imperatives for
- Deploying industry 4.0 capabilities
- Productive and swift decision-making
- Dodging the decentralization wave
- Understanding every petite of data and information ecosystem
The changing realm of SCM and smart logistics is curating centralized businesses backed by data analytics and substantial planning. This will certainly aid the pre-determined logistics scenarios with sustainable solutions in the longer run.
Still, Way to Go
With all the above put in place, the logistics and supply chain management industry still have many challenges to overcome. As the businesses start to embrace the unexplored possibilities of smart logistics and SCM solutions, taking the lead alongside retaining the stakeholder ecosystem will not be an easy job.
With Logistics 4.0 bringing autonomy to the table, every component and area around will experience a ‘Change’ like never before. Be it intralogistics, route optimization, inbound & outbound logistics, line feeding, last-mile delivery, and/or industrial warehouse management, this change will create a whole new world of business prospects:
- Modern technology
- Resourceful market competitors
- Disruptive industry models
- Intricate customer expectations
Here’s a detailed depiction of the Industry 4.0 Roadmap for Logistics which sheds some light on Logistics 4.0 and showcases innovation to the core.
But are businesses ready to adapt to these changes? Only time can reveal that.