As tech has taken over in most of the industry, logistics is not left behind.
Just like every other sector is dominated by tech, even transport, and logistics companies are now tech-enabled.
In the logistics industry, there are many types of factors that you need to consider. Unlike others, tech doesn’t just mean software here. When we talk about each revolution in logistics and transport corporations, we have to see the hardware technology also.
The hardware technology connected with software has allowed logistics partner to speed up their business growth. These things are typically known as IoT (Internet of Things). It starts with as small as a GPS tracker and can go as high as auto-loading and unloading machines.
So, we’ll have to talk about everything when we talk about the tech revolution in the logistics and transport industry.
Real-time tracking
One of the most advantageous tech revolutions is logistics and transport corporations in real-time. This gives customers the updates that they are looking for. From the past many years, the delivery is getting faster and faster. With this, it has become important to track the parcels. Just like speed is getting faster, even people want the delivery even faster.
In this modern real-world tracking allows customers the whenever they want.
It’s not just about the customers, it even allows the company management to plan the trips and stay in line with the deliveries.
It saves the hours of the labors as well as it allows the vehicles to be on time. This removes many obstacles that companies were facing.
Real-time tracking has made many tedious tasks easier in the entire logistics industry. They can simply scan the truck and get the details of all the parcels. In the same way, warehouse scanning allows the software to determine where the goods are reached.
There are also GPS trackers in the trucks using which the vehicles can be traced in real time. One can know if the vehicle is stuck in a place for a long time. Using this, the companies can take real-time updates from the drivers if needed.
This is also necessary if you consider safety. In the same way, it acts as an extra layer of security for the companies.
Predictive pricing
Earlier, the pricing was just an estimation. For customers, it was simply the same amount before and now. However, the companies couldn’t get the pricing of the goods.
Due to the estimation of pricing, the companies either used to face a lot of loss or they used to be in profits due to the estimation. However, in most of the cases, the companies face loss.
So, the maximum benefit of predictive pricing is for the companies. They can calculate profits as the prediction is now possible. They can keep the cash flow in check as they know about the pricing.
Today, predictive pricing is getting more and more accurate. As the pricing is getting more companies are now showing the exact prices directly on the website.
If you are a customer who is reading this article, you might have seen many websites where you can see the pricing for any city. You can just enter the sending location and receiving location.
Thereafter, you will get the pricing for that company to ship the parcel.
This is only possible due to predictable pricing. If the pricing was not predictable, it would have been harder for the companies to maintain the cash flow and get an estimation of the revenue and profits.
Management System
The biggest boon logistics company has in terms of tech is the management system. In this era, you have transport management software (TMS). The TMS is a small software using which companies can manage all their business operations using the software.
Starting with the management of the employees to managing the trucks, all these things are possible using this small software.
There are different modules such as finance HR, vehicle, etc. These modules are as good as standalone software. For instance, the finance module allows you to manage the finance of capital and it will allow you to manage all the salaries of your employees. The payroll makes the HR’s work a lot easier.
In the same way, the other modules allow you to manage that specific category. Vehicle management has many more parts about which we will talk later in this article.
The modern TMS is highly recommended if you have more than 5 branches across the country. When you are managing multiple branches, the biggest issue people face is synchronization.
Using management system, you can manage all the branches from a single dashboard. It also allows you to sync all the branches and send the updates from one branch to another. So, if there is specific data in one computer, it can automatically be viewed from the 2nd branch.
The top management team will have access to all the details whereas there are different permissions given to the branches depending on the position of the employee The branch head has complete access to their entire branch whereas a state head has complete access to all the branches. There are still a few limitations given to ensure safety and security.
Overall, each of your employees will have access to all the data they need. If you want to make some changes, the software company can also change the options and customize the software to fit your needs.
Modern Trucks with vehicle management
The next biggest transport technology revolution lies in the trucks. If you compare today’s trucks with those 10 years ago, there are a lot of technological seen here. Before, the trucks were just trucks with few customizations. However, today’s trucks are made keeping all requirements.
Starting from a place to rest for the cleaner or 2nd driver to the safety protocols to protect other vehicles moving on the road, modern trucks have all the features you will need.
Many companies directly offer optimizations. In that case, you will get the complete truck with your customizations.
Today, there is proper lighting and space in the trucks where drivers can comfortably drive the truck. The new trucks are made for all types of roads. So, you can expect less maintenance from the trucks as compared to previous trucks.
Many safety protocols are for other vehicle’s safety along with yours. Overall, the technology has not only helped the drivers but also helped the companies in vehicle management and truck management.
Auto loading and unloading
Auto loading and truck management should never forget about the heavy machines when we technology growth in the logistics sector.
If you take the highest end, there are also auto loading –unloading technology available. However, it’s still expensive. Therefore, these technologies are mostly used in the parts where the companies have to save time and there are many goods to load and unload. The most common use for such technology is the port. These technologies allow the port managers to easily load and unload multiple trucks in less time with less manpower. They can use the machines as there are more things to load and unload at the same time. However, we should not forget these small thin things play an important role in the entire logistics.
Not just focusing on the big things, many small machines allowed from one place to another can use them to load and unload the trucks or you can use them for warehouse management as well.
Above all, we should not forget the warehouse management technology that has come in. This is usually integrated into the TMS software. However, it’s worth mentioning it again due to the hardware and software technology.
The hardware tech enables you to take the goods out from the top floor and bring them to the bottom using the machines. In the same way, the software allows the manager to know where the goods are kept.
People even use data analytics with this. With this data, managers can also decide which goods should be kept in which place. The AI allows you to stuff in maximum stuff in the warehouse without having to worry about the space.
So, it completely removes the decision-making time. You can use the software and manage the entire warehouse with the help of software.
Data is the Key
With all these technologies, we should not forget the contribution of data analytics. You can collect data from all the places and it allows you to make faster decisions with more accuracy.
All these are integrated into the logistics software that you go with. It combines all the data and makes the decision accordingly. Therefore, we should never forget the contributions of data.
Summary
To summarize, there are many parts where the logistics industry has gone forward without any more technologies in the logistics instance, and the ins instance process for goods has become simpler than it used to be. In the same way, the payments for the goods are also getting easier and faster. With the faster UPI, the customers directly pay for the logistics online. If not, they can always use the card or tap to pay payment options.
Further, technologies like Blockchain will soon allow logistics companies to minimize their doings. In the same way, artificial intelligence will allow companies to make faster decisions and automate most of the processes.
The article mentioned some of the top technologies that have helped the industry in maximum ways. However, we should never forget all the small technologies that help in the modern management of logistics.
Author Bio:
Deepak holds a Master’s degree in Marketing and a bachelor’s in computer application. He works as a content & marketing manager at Bharat Software Solutions. He likes reading novels and traveling to hill stations.
