How Has Technology Shaped The Logistics Sector?

While there are numerous growth markets in the modern age, few boast as much demand as the logistics sector.

After all, product-oriented businesses are required to build a viable supply chain, and this explains why the industry is set to achievea cumulative value of $15.5 trillion by 2023.

Technology is also central to the sustained growth of this sector, with new and existing innovations helping businesses to improve the efficiency of their delivery models.

In this post, we'll look at how technology has shaped the logistics sector in the digital age, while taking a sneak peak and what may be on the horizon.

1. The Emergence of Bluetooth and GPS

The emergence of Bluetooth technology has had a seminal impact on the logistics industry, primarily by increasing accountability and quality control among delivery specialists.

This, when combined with GPS-based fleet management systems, has made it possible to acquire and relayreal-time data between distribution centres in various locations.

These data sets not only inform stakeholders of a shipments' precise locations, but they can also offer an insight into their condition.

Modern GPS-technology has also made it possible for systems to share geofence alerts, which alert couriers when a driver veers out of a designated services area and provides them with an opportunity to alter the route for maximum efficiency.

2. Accessing the Internet of Things (IoT)

If you're not familiar with the Internet of Things (IoT), this is a cutting-edge concept that refers to connected devices and that help to merge corporeal and virtual worlds.

This is largely based on the use of advanced sensors, which can relay data between smart devices and control physical systems and processes.

The IoT is impacting every stage of the typical supply chain, from ordering and manufacturing goods to the transportation of products between distribution centres.

While global couriers such as TNT have leveraged the IoT for a while now, the potential applications for this technology are growing with every passing year.

One of the latest developments in the integration of RFID tags, which are attached to products that are in-transit and can provide vast, diverse and real-time data to the relevant operators.

3. The Integration of Blockchain

In terms of future technology, the widespread integration of Blockchain remains one of the main talking points among logistics service providers.

While this de-centralised ledger technology is often associated with cryptocurrency and its poster-boy Bitcoin, it has a diverse range of applications across multiple industries in the longer-term.

Some trail-blazers have already begun to integrate Blockchain into their supply chains, of course, and this trend is likely to gather momentum in the future.

It certainly has the potential to impact on every aspect of the supply chain process, from conducting payment and audits to tracking both stationary and mobile inventory in real-time.

The main benefit of Blockchain is that it remains completely transparent, meaning that businesses can leverage this to securely and accurately track all types of transactions.

This means that every stage of the supply chain could be documented in detail, creating a permanent history of a product from its production to eventual sale.