Logistics in 2018

2018 has brought new pieces to the ever-expanding puzzle that is a company's supply chain. Digitization and consumer desire for mobility and immediacy has caused dissonance in the logistics industry. Considering the brick and mortar shop is slowly approaching its final decline, logistics remains the backbone of a good company's supply chain and operations.

Based on the past technological advancements of the past few years that are finally starting to emerge as the "norm", here's our look at some of the top logistics trends of 2018.

Profitable, yet Sustainable

Regardless if America has chosen to de-emphasize sustainability this past year, we live in a global market place; and "going green" is an integral part of business in a majority of countries. Corporations are learning that investing in smart operations and intelligent auto-routing, they can not only reduce their carbon footprints, but effectively contribute to their bottom line.

Anticipatory Logistics

The prefix "smart" preludes most pieces of technology now-a-days. Big Data algorithms via data visualization dashboard tools are now getting so "smart", they can be predictive of consumer demand by studying patterns and trends - allowing for companies to set their supply chain strategy and orders in place ahead of time. This in turn will increase service quality and process efficiency by minimizing delivery times.

'Elastic Logistics'

This trends references the ability to shrink and expand enterprise capabilities to align with the demands of a supply chain in real-time. This is a flexible automation solution designed to be a unique answer to distribution channels, geographic restrictions, warehouse management, etc., to stay cost effective in times of market fluctuations. More companies are employing third-party logistics providers that will help outsource some of their logistic strategies. If used and mixed correctly into the current strategy, customer experience can be enhanced, agility and scalability will be increased, and real-time visibility will be added.