Last year was eventful in the world of the Freight industry, with lots of changes throughout the year, including those associated with technological advances and Brexit.
With that in mind, what is 2018 going to have in store? Here are three trends to look out for this year:
Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence is coming into play in logistics now more than ever, with logistic managers relying on it’s insights to boost efficiency and optimise processes.
If you’re not familiar with BI, it’s a collective term for the strategies and technologies used by businesses and enterprises for the data analysis of business information.
It is becoming increasingly popular amongst logistic providers because instead of just extracting data, it extracts and presents information in a more visual way. It offers more in depth and effective end-to-end monitoring, inventory management, and transportation management, which can lead to practical actions to improve efficiencies.
The trend is highlighting the importance of having an integrated CRM system and is opening up more data insight opportunities. We expect this to come into its own in 2018 and become even more essential.
Block Chain Databases
What is a block chain database? It is best summed up in this quote from The Economist magazine:
“A block chain is a distributed database that maintains an ever-growing list of records called blocks. The information in a block cannot be altered retrospectively as each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block.”
~ The Economist
This trend has only very recently hit the logistics world but could kick-start a revolution in transparency in 2018. It will enable both business and customers to see every part of the supply chain from pick and pack all the way through to final delivery.
Technologies
There were many rumours and announcements throughout 2017 of new technologies that are going to take the freight industry by storm. While drone technology deliveries will most likely not happen in 2018 (although strides may be taken to make this a reality), this is not to say there won’t be technological advances in the freight industry. For instance, electric and self-driving vehicles are hot topics. Again, they could be further away than the next year, but the use of platooning technology may not be.
What is Platooning technology?
Platooning technology is where a group of trucks will travel together with drivers, but the trailing two will automatically follow the one in front, like a convoy but it will be automated. This takes away the risks that come with completely automated vehicles, but allows for smaller spaces between trucks and could even improve mileage through reduced wind resistance.
The UK government announced in the last year that they will run trial platooning tests in 2018 and the results with certainly be of interest to everyone in the industry.
A lot more could change in the freight and logistics industry this year and we will be sure to keep you updated along the way.
If you’re looking for freight forwarding services see how we can help you here and get in touch with a member of our team to find out more.