In the first blog in the AI ​​Transportation and Logistics series, I featured AI transformation innovations at Purolator; the second blog was about accelerating smarter AI telematics in fleet management. The third blog explored the emotion sensors of AI and the impact of the affective computing market on the transportation and logistics industry. The fourth blog discussed AI revenue growth and operational optimization use cases relevant to the T&L industry and touched on drones and their economic impact.

This fifth blog discusses the impact of integrated smarter intelligence in supply chain management (SCM) value chains, picking, sorting, delivery and all sales and customer service operations. Complete end-to-end connected technology – IoT a smarter AI sensor value chain, where humans are the strategic architects, controlling the dynamics of their SCM ecosystems, determining and adjusting operational requirements in real time.

Over the course of our lifetimes we will see more robots, cobots, driverless vehicles, and integrated smarter IoT sensor highways creating that real-time pulse that will reshape millions of jobs around the world.

It seems far-fetched. Probably in my life I will not see all of this come together. However, my kids probably will.

One need only look at the origin story of the aerospace industry which dates back to 1903, when the Wright brothers demonstrated an aircraft capable of powered and sustained flight. The world’s first scheduled passenger air service took off in 1914, operating between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. This historic event helped advance daily transcontinental flights.

In just 100 years, we have gone from literally no aircraft in the sky to over 250 international airlines and over 5,000 airlines with official ICAO codes.

Let’s compare this speed to the speed of transformation of the drone and IoT smart logistics industry. What are the drivers of change. Perhaps four key factors are worth noting 1) the disappearance of spatial and temporal barriers 2.) the ability to stay connected while on the move 3.) The Internet of Things and 4.) The universality of the Internet and the rise of cloud computing. The result – smarter connections in everything.

We are experiencing a transformation where our customers expect faster deliveries, real-time information available on any of their devices, smartphones, tablets or elsewhere, and the ability to change suppliers as they see fit. The power has shifted to the customer, causing the logistics industry to rethink almost everything.

The digitization of the transport and logistics industry enables supply chain companies to have not only better visibility of the supply chain, real-time management of traffic and flow of goods, a simplification and reduction of administrative burden, better efficiency of infrastructure and costly resources, but above all this large-scale digital transformation will open up new opportunities for value growth and reduce the overall carbon footprint of end-to-end transport.

Pioneers and former Uber employees have taken on the freight forwarding industry by founding the company Beacon, asserting its claim for a place in the logistics organization but also in the financing of mass distribution. Beacon recognized that shippers are looking for technology-driven products and services that will more effectively meet their needs, improve their experience and lower their costs. Ovrsea, a digital air and sea freight in France, innovates by providing rich analytical information on sea freight, air freight, rail freight – through complex logistics and transport networks allowing unprecedented visibility.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the market they define as “Truck-as-a-service” (TaaS) is expected to reach $ 79.4 billion in 2025 in the United States, compared to the current 11.2 billion.

In a white paper titled “The future of the technological economy”, UBS has estimated that warehouse rent is no longer the main driver of decision-making. Prologis, one of the largest logistics warehouse owners in the world (1.7% of global GDP goes through Prologis warehouses each year), says online sales will require three times as much warehouse space as traditional economy.

Just look at what happened in the shift from B2B deliveries to the B2C mix during Covid-19, disrupting supply chains around the world, creating unprecedented shipment backlogs, accelerating costs and disappointments for customers. consumers.

With this type of change, the affordability saving in warehouses controlled by people will no longer be achievable. Hence the rise of drones and the accelerated use of alternative approaches to meet transport and logistics needs.

McKinsey says 80% of all commercial vehicles will be networked by 2030, offering great potential for the emergence of additional digital services. The Boston Consulting Group suggests that the provision of digital network services will be increased tenfold. You can’t choose any of the top sources of SCM editing without mentioning AI, drones, robots, or even the rise of sentient beings.

The digitalization of the management of transport and logistics companies such as: the giants – FedEx, UPS, etc. – must respond to improving the productivity, safety and profitability of their operations. Being able to use the data with advanced and connected analytical tools makes it possible to follow all the activities of the transporter: from the management of driving and stopping times, to the risks of braking and safe driving to the forecasting of maintenance. trucks and their tires, and even through administrative management, organization of tours, truck geolocation, real-time packaging monitoring, real-time monitoring information is endless.

The biggest challenge is bringing together all the disparate data sources into a universal center of data or information knowledge. Without integration into all digital and data-rich ecosystems, mastering data sharing is a daunting task for this industry. This is why lineage and data tagging services are also in high demand.

Taking control of data means capturing, recording and organizing data provided by customers or systems, customers, drivers, trucks, etc. and knowing how to share data insights to provide better service is the key to unlocking the roadmap for change.

Based on my experiences to date, the complex digital transformation in the T&L industry is all about vision, strategy and architecture, applying new technologies and imagining new optimizations and new services. . It’s easy to stay locked in the past without appreciating the speed at which the T&L industry is changing. This is a very exciting team to move on, forgive the pun – it’s Halloween night.

XPO Logistics has, for example, set up a collaborative cloud portal to exchange information between its shipper customers and transport providers. This portal makes it possible to optimize the flows and the cost of freight transport and to forecast future transport needs by combining machine learning and predictive analysis tools.

In the United States, JB Hunt unveiled a Shipper 360 portal that gives shippers access to multiple modes of ground transportation, as well as information on carrier performance.

We are also witnessing the acceleration of dark warehouses since the Covid-19; a dark warehouse is a fully automated warehouse that is equipped to manage inventory by tracking system orders. Goods can be moved, sorted or even packed by robots or other automated machines, eliminating the need for intensive physical labor. Goods can be moved to almost any location in the warehouse using automated machines and robots.

Nowhere are there more changes in digital innovation using AI in the transportation and logistics industry than in China. Just look at JD-X, the logistics lab of Alibaba’s e-commerce archives. JD has developed various smarter applications related to the movement and processing of packages from autonomous drones, delivery robots and unmanned or dark warehouses, which are facilities where robots work alone in the dark, accomplishing tasks. tasks previously performed by humans.

Automation of the logistics industry is a major global trend, but in China the stakes are even higher as the country’s population is aging rapidly and labor costs are rising. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the number of workers aged 16 to 59 fell by more than 5 million in 2015. As the labor pool shrinks, demands for better benefits and wages higher also resurrected. China recently increased its one-to-two-child policy to start ramping up labor needs to fuel its economy.

Conclusion

If you are the CEO or director of a transportation and logistics company, where are you in thinking about completed smart supply chains, using AI, drones, driverless features and dark warehouses.

Is your business ready for a fully digital end-to-end connected intelligent reality in the face of the transportation and logistics industry?

There is no better way to start than to start.

Tracking your competition is a powerful way to stay ahead of the game – but don’t wait, maybe a visit to China, or visit an Amazon turbo robot warehouse, or bring a number of engineering students. freshly trained in your business operations – and ask them what would they be focusing on to lead a breakthrough experiment – even better, pull ten of your smartest high potentials and take them out of their demanding full-time jobs to think hard to imagine your future business model. Give them just 30 days to rethink what others just haven’t had the courage to say.

You will learn and grow – and more importantly, these high potential employees will feel an abundance of new energy to move your business forward. The modernization race is on and it is moving forward with or without you.