It has been more than a year and we are still coming to grips with Covid’s recurring waves. Mounting uncertainties, firms are preparing for lasting changes to adapt and minimise risk, shifting their business models to meet the dramatic shifts in global patterns and consumer behaviour.
Invaluable lessons have been learned from this global phenomenon in setting a criterion for emergency operations within the industry as well as others.
There will be a strategic necessity in securing life-saving products and supplies during any crisis by forming partnerships with other logistics companies.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic being far from over, we notice gradual stability with airports and borders opening up and economies trying to resume business activities.
The industry is in a midst of transformation with many trends which will stay and new ones will constantly rise.
All Logistics companies aim at getting back on their feet – post-Covid-19, in-order to drive growth in the coming year.
Few major requirements contributing in a logistics company’s victory in the region are – acceleration in process efficiency, managing labor shortages, and reducing delivery times. Dubai has evolved as a trans-shipment hub. There is rise in application of digital technologies and solutions by service providers. Deployment of warehouse robots, self-driving vehicles, exoskeletons, collaborative robots and equipment is helpful to service providers in lowering processing times, as robots handle the mundane time-consuming processes. Automation is verifiably useful during the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, as service providers with implemented automation technologies did not witness any grave impact during the pandemic.
Notoriously known for its over use of manual procedures and storing large amounts of data in various ways and places, the industry has probably the most to benefit from implementation of new technologies, following the most competitive Supply Chain and Logistics technology trends. A quick route to success is in the adoption of conventional methods to reignite markets. Digitalisation is the key to pave way in the future. As 2021 is seeing digital methods gaining ground, we speculate the digital trends to further spike up next year.
The Growth of Tech
There is no denying that the pandemic has been unfavourable, effecting so many negatively; tech is flourishing and that is a positive news.
Unpredictable life in lockdown is paving way to usage of more digital platforms and several other online technologies. There is a constant effort being put by tech innovators to discover new ways of increasing productivity and connectivity.
Usage of Zoom and Skype has risen exponentially since past year. Zoom reported approximately 170% increase in revenue last year in comparison to 2019.
Innovation in Logistics
Contactless delivery methods have amped up to fulfil the new health and safety standards globally. This is supported via introduction of new software functions, which keeps the consumer notified of the package locations at all times.
Aiding this, there is an integrated use of IoT technology within the supply chain.
Sensors provide precise data which provides real-time tracking information to the client, besides integrity and loss prevention data to the supply chain manager.
Unavoidably supply chains will be different not only in the short term but well into the anticipated future. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt from current pandemic and as companies are coming to terms with these lessons, the need for more resilient supply chains is shooting up. As per source businesses that don’t adopt conventional technologies across their warehousing, supply chain and transport operations won’t be able to survive in the long run.
