How to Turn Your Logistics Business into Smart Logistics

Transporting things from point A to point B is one of the earliest business we know, and no matter how massively it flaunts the technology prowess today, the fundamental goal remains the same- delivering things fast and at minimum cost. And if you are in logistics business struggling to meet these two, chances are you need a technology boost.

Whether you are just starting out or are an established player, logistics is one of the toughest businesses of which you can’t gain complete control due to the sheer complexity it brings in terms of diversity and quantity.

To illustrate an extreme case, BMW today receives over 30 million parts from over 1,800 suppliers based in 4,500 locations, which upon manufacturing, is shipped to around 4,500 dealers across 160 countries. And all that happens each day! To manage such mammoth operations, it has created a fully ‘connected’ logistics network and its ‘self-steering supply chain’ is considered one of the logistics marvels in the world. Though the scale at which the company operates seems incredibly huge, the technology and basics apply to everyone and lend a lot to be learned.

Before we delve into the various transport & automotive solutions you can adopt, it is worth mentioning that logistics too isn’t a single unit but more like a collaboration of different components, each of which must be optimized individually to achieve an overall seamless model:

#1 Storage

To deliver a package from location A to B, you must also have a warehouse C in between, to better schedule and streamline the operations. While the size of storage will be solely determined by the volume of your business, choosing a strategic location to optimize the operational cost is where the main focus ought to be.

#2 Management

Getting the deliveries in and out of the warehouse is one thing and managing them while they are inside is entirely different. Many of the recent innovations that we will discuss further are in fact aimed at bringing speed and efficiency in this industry.

#3 Supply chain

Logistics is often visualized as a fleet of trucks carrying all sorts of packages in different directions. While this is partially true, the internet has compelled this business to overcome national boundaries and from a supply chain that extends across the globe.

#4 Backend technology

Almost non-existent a few decades ago, these technologies today form the backbone of logistics operations and are responsible for tracing shipments, optimizing deliveries, and enable the entire operations to be centrally managed.

Now let’s take a look at the various transport & automotive solutions you can adopt to better manage your logistics business and with it, take a leap ahead from your competitors-

• Automate

Let’s face it- humans are slow, erroneous and the need for breaks do not help create a seamless operational environment. And since most of the tasks in a warehouse like moving around products, packaging are fairly mundane and do not require any cognitive skills, automating such processes through bots is a smart business decision.

From autonomous delivery carts to packaging systems to conveyors, most of the warehouses today work on one or more of these technologies to bring efficiency and minimize risks.

Though deploying such high-end technologies is considerably expensive at first, the benefits they bring are worth in the long run. As evidence, Amazon reported cutting its operating cost by $22 million dollars per warehouse by deploying robots. Yes, you may not operate your business on the scale that Amazon does, but for a small business, every penny counts.

• IoT

Logistics isn’t just about storing and moving stuff but involves a myriad of other tasks as well. From scanning the barcodes on a package to tracking packages in real-time, there is technology vested at every stage. And unless you have complete data about all the related components, optimizing any operation is impossible. While you can deploy sensors and other gadgets to digitize every aspect of your supply chain, it is only after they are all ‘connected’ and share data in real time that all the operations start to work coherently.

• Bluetooth

Bluetooth is not a new technology but its utility in logistics is certainly a novel innovation. As you might know, logistics generate a lot of data, and different components need to constantly communicate for sharing them. The general approach is to connect them all to the internet (which is a must if the components are a distance apart), but when we talk about sensors and gadgets within a confined environment like a warehouse, using Bluetooth turns out to more feasible due to two main reason. 1. Reduces the cost of bandwidth that it would otherwise consume; 2. Internet always faces a risk of downtime which can bring with it down the entire operations. Using Bluetooth solves this problem as well.

• Smart Backend System

Today, backend systems are the backbone of entire logistics operations that bind and coordinate all the other aspects. But when such systems are embedded with technologies like AI and Big Data, they not only coordinate but also start taking decisions to improve efficiency and curtail operational costs. For example, when fed with historical data of transportation network, delivery statistics, truck idleness, etc, these systems can suggest the best possible routes and schedules to increase the overall productivity.

• Autonomous delivery

This actually comes more into the realm of preparing for future than an action you need to take now. There is no denying that autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation and many companies have also started such operations on trial basis. From automated trucks and ships to flying drones, the future of logistics is bound to have minimal human interference and the sooner you get on to that path, the more prominent your market position you will earn.

Now that you know the various complexities involved in a seemingly task of logistics, taking expert consultation for transport & automotive solutions will go a long way for your business.

Sahil Miglani is a Content Specialist at Konstant Infosolutions, a leading app development company. He loves to learn about latest technology trends.