Everything You Need to Know About the Future of the Logistics Industry: PwC's Shifting Patterns Report

Thanks to the incredibly rapid pace at which technology continues to advance, nearly every industry that you can think of is currently in the throws of transformation. The logistics industry is certainly not an exception to this, where new technologies are creating a new market entrance, which create new customer expectations and, eventually, entirely new business models. If you woke up this morning and found yourself thinking about the speed by which the industry is changing today, you're not imagining things. You're right on the money.

This is why we think it's so important to always keep a watchful eye not just on current trends, and track how they may be shaping every aspect of businesses today.

With that in mind, PwC recently issued their own report about the future of the logistics industry. It outlines trends, shifts, and other patterns taking hold today that will help you better prepare for whatever the future may have in store for us all. 

The PwC Report on the Future of Logistics

One of the major trends identified by the recent PwC report is a sudden increase in customer expectations. Today’s fast-paced society have people and businesses expecting faster delivery of goods through more flexible and cost-effective options that exceed what was once available before.

Because of that, the logistics field itself is becoming more and more customised, something that presents better options for customers and a significant challenge for industry professionals all at the same time. But thankfully, technology has advanced to the point where this is highly attainable with the right infrastructure. 

Data analytics can allow logistics and transportation providers to offer more specific, more niche services to smaller groups of customers while cutting costs at the same time. Automation also makes it possible for companies to streamline some of the costlier, time-consuming administrative tasks so their actual human employees can devote more time to offering that personal approach to their audience.

This represents a significant disruption and reshapes how the industry looked like five years ago. However, it also highlights an incredible opportunity for the industry to push towards greater heights and achieve something more than we ever thought possible.

The Sharing Business Model in Logistics

One of the major themes throughout the entirety of the PwC report involves the emergence of the sharing business model wherein collaborative working with other providers will become a priority all across the industry. Not only will this allow current market leaders to retain their dominance, but it's also an opportunity for new entrants to the industry to find new elements of the value chain that they can take advantage of. 

The sharing business model can mean a wide range of things — from partnering with a local provider for a faster and a more efficient last-mile delivery (think: Uber for logistics), to partnerships at the corporate level and more. However, this will create another need for change to address certain limitations like inconsistencies in shipment sizes, IT systems that now need to integrate with more existing solutions than ever before, and similar issues.

The Logistic Industry’s Start-Up Revolution

With a new demand to find solutions to existing issues, it should come as no surprise that another major trend shaping the logistics industry is the entry of start-ups eager to stand out and make their presence known.

As an example, consider this within the context of last-mile delivery. As this niche market becomes more and more fragmented, we expect new companies to exploit new technologies — and they will begin to appear in greater numbers. They'll introduce platform and crowd-sharing solutions that will radically shift the way companies collaborate with one another, all in an effort to complement the service offerings of incumbents, not replace them.

What this ultimately means is that not only will you be dealing with a larger number of start-ups entering the marketplace, but each one of them is bound to make a bigger dent in the way things currently are than ever before. This alone is one of the reasons why it's so important to be proactive about digital transformation and technology in general. The minute you stop making an effort to stay ahead of the curve is the minute you find yourself left behind. 

Powernet: Leveraging the Future of the Logistics Industry, Today

At Powernet, we understand that the logistics industry, like so many others, is currently going through a period of intense change that shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Like all change, this brings with it a certain amount of risk, but to be a company set for the future, you need to learn to look beyond the risks and discover what value these changes may have in store for you.

As valued partners and managed services providers, we want to do whatever it takes to help you mitigate that risk and find the right leverage to get you ready for the future, today.  

If you are interested to know what partnering with an MSP can do for you in these disruptive times, let us know and we’ll be happy to answer any questions for you.