Trends Driving Change in Transportation and Logistics in 2019

There is no doubt that the transport and logistics sector is undergoing an important transformation as new technological solutions come into everyday use, driven by market trends. At no point in recent history have we witnessed such a large degree of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal changes influencing this segment of the economy.

Globalisation and technological advances have brought rapid change to the transportation and logistics sector in recent years and 2019 promises to be no different.

Here are the four most important trends we see impacting the industry:

The Modern Consumer

Transportation and logistics will continue to be shaped by rising consumer expectations in 2019. There is not only an inherent desire to receive goods and services instantly but an expectation—putting increased pressure on transportation and logistics companies to deliver goods exceptionally fast, and at the lowest price. Consumers now demand unprecedented visibility into order status, tracking and delivery, forcing the industry to invest in new technologies and partnerships.

A Rise in Ecommerce

The world’s population is rising and expected to reach 9 billion in 2050. Increasing consumer demands are fuelled by the explosive growth of ecommerce. According to a survey by UPS, 51 percent of purchases were made online in 2016. Moreover, the phone is becoming the primary shopping device of consumers, according to PwC, meaning that they can literally shop anytime, anywhere. The number of Smartphone subscriptions is predicted to approximately double to 4 billion by 2025. With the increased use of digital services, people will begin to expect similar service quality in other industries. As such, logistics companies will strive to serve their retail and corporate customers through multiple platforms.

Supply Chain Innovation

Omnichannel logistics lends itself to another trend that will be prevalent in 2019 the digital supply chain. Harnessing the power of data driven insights at various points along the supply chain offers huge potential to improve customer service and maximize efficiency. Big data and predictive analytics are empowering event-driven logistics and can help significantly reduce risk along the supply chain.

Logistics-as-a-Service

Innovations in the cloud have improved control over supply chain processes with access to real-time information—allowing companies to be more agile in response to volatility or disruptive events. Meanwhile, this same technology facilitates flexible integrations with other key business processes to optimise all operations.

Advancements in technology and changes in way goods are bought and sold are creating complexity means the world of Transport and Logistics is ever evolving…there is much risk but also opportunity for the industry.  In order to keep pace, companies operating in this sector will have to learn to be agile, forward thinking and open to collaboration as they navigate the constantly changing global economy.