Information moves quickly and T&L needs to optimize its speed of providing goods, almost in real-time as the information. The supply chain is more complex than ever, but it still has one main objective: to satisfy the final customer. Here are a few of the disruptive trends that will set the competitive differentiation in this fast-paced industry.
Cloud-based technologies for goods inventory and tracking
Real-time data on goods status has become paramount for any transportation and logistics company. Cloud-based transportation and warehouse management systems help organizations optimize their supply chains throughout different locations. It also provides valuable data based on which they can make better forecasts and optimize their workflow. To give just an example, recently, Amazon introduced an innovative delivery system called anticipatory shipping.
Blockchain technology for uniform data spread across multiple sites
Blockchain technology is already being implemented in large logistics companies, helping them to create more robust systems throughout disparate activities. Transaction processing and asset tracking are also two uses of blockchain technology in T&L. General Electric to De Beers and Samsung currently have blockchain projects in development. Samsung predicts that blockchain technology can cut up to 20% of all its shipping costs.
Customer experience
Let’s not forget about the most important metric in any industry, and that is customer engagement and satisfaction. T&L industry is increasingly adopting new business models allowing it to enhance better customer experience through digital. Nowadays customers need to know the exact delivery date, track the goods in real-time and receive flexible and personalized services. Big data and AI have become the core solutions for knowing your customer and serve them with maximum efficiency.
Which leads us to…
Artificial intelligence 
PwC predicts that in 3 to 5 years, Ai will have completely reshaped the way T&L conducts its operations.
Most automated tasks will be executed by intelligent machines, rather than by humans. AI will be involved in most decision-making processes. Warehouse operations are the ones most prone to AI automation, for inventory organization and supply management. Other applications involve the operations that require processing and collecting data, like customer data.
In our inter-connected, digitalized world, transportation and logistics industry is still the one to move people and goods around. But in order to keep up with today’s fast-paced environment, it needs to acknowledge and adopt the strategic technologies that will keep its relevance.