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06 Dec 2022 | 14:00

Technology in transportation and logistics is driving sector-wide change

Closeup of a nurses uniform

The technology that drives transportation and logistics (T&L) is evolving now faster than ever. The pressures of COVID-19, the rapid expansion of e-commerce, digitalisation, a shortage of skilled workers and rocketing inflation have all fueled technological innovation, such as the development of self-driving trucks. These changes have impacted many sectors globally, but  few have been as heavily affected as T&L.

The new era brings huge opportunities, but issues around staff recruitment and retention, lack of infrastructure and a pressing need for T&L operators to digitalise supply chains have all contributed to the need for new technological developments. That’s why we have just released our new guide, Transport and Logistics: How technology is solving the challenges and shaping the future of an evolving sector, in collaboration with Honeywell. 

When producing the guide, our objective was to support T&L operators in their digital journey as the use of technology is now fundamental to success in this sector. This is largely due to: 

  • The need for real-time communication, agility and visibility throughout the supply chain, which can only be achieved with digital solutions, 

  • The need to automate and expedite more T&L processes due recruitment issues, increasingly complex workflows, regulatory demands and cost pressures, and

  • The need for high-quality data and data analytics to drive business growth and operational efficiencies.

The guide explores each of these aspects of future technology in transportation and logistics in detail, but let’s have a brief look at each one here.

 

Real-time communication and visibility

As we have discussed elsewhere, digitalisation of the supply chain is absolutely fundamental to making T&L efficient in the new world. With end-to-end real-time visibility, each member of the supply chain can act swiftly in response to changing demands and circumstances, whether those are extra-fast delivery times or traffic at a standstill on the M1. 

 What’s more, mobile digital solutions can capture data at every touch point, and work beautifully with cloud-based operational intelligence software to give you accurate data that is perfect for the data analytics that drive success. 

 This, in a nutshell, is why savvy businesses now have a mobile-first approach, and keep their mobile device estate constantly ready for action with Managed Services.

 

Automation for more efficient processes

The huge changes in T&L are making processes more customised and complex. For example, it is now common for transport firms to send vehicles out partially filled, due to the demands of customer delivery times and diverse destinations; collaboration across T&L business is also more common with a need to optimise ‘last mile’ delivery. 

It is very difficult to make complex workflows highly efficient unless you have the insight and accuracy that T&L technology and data analytics bring. You can read more about specific solutions such as warehouse management systems (WMS) and extra-long-range barcode scanning in our previous blogs.

Automation also helps to alleviate problems with recruitment, and can be used to automatically generate evidence of regulatory compliance. While there may be capital costs involved, automation can also drive down costs through speed, process optimisation and accuracy.

 

Data: the key to success

To quote Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Forbes, ‘the key to better decision-making is data’. However, whilst it’s true that good data improves strategic decisions at all levels, from process mapping to service provision, it has applications way beyond the boardroom.  

With recognition of this fact has come a raft of new software that takes data and crunches it to provide meaningful reports and actions. In particular, we’ve seen a wide range of sector-specific T&L software emerging, offering out-of-the-box benefits to help your business refine its strategy.

 Of course, a well-maintained mobile device fleet is absolutely vital for such platforms in that it allows your organisation to capture the necessary data at scale. Any data analytics process is only as good as the data it is ‘fed’. 

 

The future is technology in transportation and logistics

As you can see, the rapid and comprehensive changes affecting T&L call for digital solutions at every touchpoint, and analysis of the data those processes record. Fortunately, today’s enterprise mobility products are often multifunctional, allowing each device to undertake many tasks, which makes life much easier and mobile device estate much more manageable. However, there is no question that success in T&L is increasingly driven by the quality and management of mobile device estate.

If you would like to learn about the technological future of T&L in more detail, download Transport and Logistics: How technology is solving the challenges and shaping the future of an evolving sector today, and see how the earliest steps into digitalisation can transform the fortunes of your T&L business.

Keen to discover how we can help keep your transportation and logistics technology optimised and running smoothly? Visit our Enterprise Mobility Managed Services page for more information or get in touch today using the form below.

 

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