Progress is linked to the future, and this technological revolution that everyone was talking about has ended up leading to a complete change in the business management model. In just a few years we have gone from physical shops to e-commerce. What has this change meant? The need to be alert to change, and to know that the future can be as unpredictable as the present.
Therefore, faced with this scenario, it is necessary to try to know as precisely as possible one single question: where the future of logistics and distribution lies.
This sector is experiencing an annual growth of 4.4%, which means that one of the future challenges will continue to be the adaptation to the high demand that the sector is currently facing. According to data published in the newspaper El PaísThe activity has moved more than 16 billion euros worldwide last year, which generates expectations of reaching 19 billion euros by 2026. The progress of the sector is therefore not only increasing, but is also growing at an unstoppable speed.
Although issues such as the geopolitical and economic situation in different areas of the world can have a direct impact on the final push for logistics, the reality is that the expectations for the future of logistics are set.
What drives change?
Before considering the future evolution of the sector, we need to learn how we got to where we are today. To begin with, it is therefore necessary to focus on the issues that have driven the change in logistics models, among which we can find the diversity in purchasing models and the growth in demands of both consumers and organisations, which directly affect the model in which logistics activity is considered.
Having several options for shopping, whether in-store or online; paying through different platforms; picking it up at a chosen location... all of this points to the fact that logistics is adapting to a single issue: the demands of citizens, which are increasing all the time.
In this scenario, in which people's needs continue to increase and, therefore, the change in logistics management continues to be present, new tools are emerging that will mark the path for the future of the sector.
1. Technology
The benefits of being able to count on the advantages offered by new technologies applied to logistics is leading more and more companies to incorporate it into their operations. At present, its presence does not have a great weight due to factors such as the high economic investment involved, but the advantages it offers make it a key element in the future of logistics.
The possibilities it offers, ranging from data management to the simulation of scenarios and the improvement of operations, will in the future make it possible to deal with all the problems that the logistics world may face.
2. Logistics outsourcing
Outsourcing the various stages of the supply chain is a growing trend. With the increasing presence of online retailers, having your own distribution and warehousing service can lead to high economic costs. Outsourcing Both warehousing and transport services are expected to become an increasing reality in the sector.
On the one hand, it benefits both the contracting party - it saves logistical costs - and the contracted company - it already has an infrastructure prepared and adapted to each subject. On the other hand, for the end user, it is possible to offer an improved service, with lower delivery costs than would be the case if this service were not outsourced.
In the future, the application of Artificial Intelligence - AI -, digital twins or a host of other possible tools will be necessary in order to cope with the high demand load. So that all companies are not forced to take a step that they may not be able to afford at the time, logistics outsourcing will emerge as an affordable solution.
3. Training
The need to adapt logistics training to the new reality that is being incorporated, based on data analysis, supervision of technological tools, etc., is increasingly visible. It is in this scenario where the new educational model that the logistics workforce of the future will need must be focused.
If challenges are already being addressed today in the face of the talent shortage in the sector, being able to anticipate the error must be one of the most present objectives.
These are just some of the axes along which the future and evolution of logistics will pass.
