Much like every industry, freight procurement and shipping are evolving and changing by the day. It looks a lot different than it did ten years ago, and it will look a lot different ten years from now. Here are some things to expect from the future of the logistics space.
Artificial Intelligence
AI has become an integral part of many industries today, and freight procurement and logistics are no different. From market oversight to forecasting to automatically finding compliant capacity, AI is proving to be hugely important to many freight procurement teams today, allowing them to both operate more efficiently and save money. And as the technology continues to become more sophisticated and widely adopted, look for AI to really start to help logistics companies and shippers break new ground.
Internet of Things
One of the best aspects of the tech revolution is the amount of oversight and knowledge that businesses now have into their operations. And arguably no innovation has had a bigger impact on the logistics, supply chain and trucking industries than IoT. Whether it is tracking trucking performance and planning proactive maintenance to avoid breakdowns, or having more insight into the loading dock to make sure loads are not overlooked, IoT is helping logistics and freight procurement teams optimize their operations immensely.
Connected Cities
Tying into both the sections above are connected cities and shipping hubs. Still largely in development, there will soon be a time where our surroundings are contributing to the overall performance of our businesses by providing true on-the-ground insights. We are already seeing the benefits that GPS is having on route guidance, but through next-gen smart city data, we could see a whole new wave in things such as urban planning and route efficiency. Which in turn will help save shippers money and keep their end customers happy.