The logistics trends of 2019

What will 2019 bring for the logistics sector? Do robots take over more of our jobs and what role does technology have in general? Will the job market still have issues due to the shortage of employees? Does the hype surrounding online orders and deliveries stay and how does this inpact the market? And the underpaid employees? These are trending topics within the logistics sector. In this blog you will learn more about the five trends for the upcoming year.

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Decrease growth transport and logistics sector

According to the prognosis of the ING Economics Bureau, the transport and logistics sector’s growth will decrease in 2019. Last year the growth was 3% and in 2019 this will average around 2%. So, there is still growth, but to a lesser extent. A cause for this decrease, is less growth for clients working in construction, industry and retail. Despite that, it will be busy in the logistics services, road transport and package delivery. Logistics services have a structural growth due to the above average increase of the e-commerce market in the Netherlands. As a result the Netherlands continue to be attractive as a location for European distribution centres.

Growth connectivity

Connectivity is one of the trends that develop at an increased rate in 2019. Everything must be connected, both in the private, as in the business environment. “In 2019 more vehicles, riders and customers in the logistics process will be connected real-time with the office and each other,” says René de Jong, Sales Director Benelux at TomTom Telematics. Due to this vehicle connectivity, logistics players can easily make decisions for their customers and business management. Urbanization only increases the importance of staying connected. Combine this with a wish to make business management more environmentally conscious and logistic companies have no choice but to differentiate distribution. Connectivity makes it possible for logistics companies to respond to this successfully.

Research into the usability of logistics software has shown that communication between chain partners is very important in the logistics sector. 79% of the respondents find it important to very important that logistics software features a Customer Portal to be able to communicate with customers.

Dynamic price policy

Ordered before 10.00 PM, delivered at home tomorrow. Many websites set their goals extremely high when it comes to the delivery of packages. The customer wants to order as late as possible and expects it to be delivered the next day. These are demanding conditions which often results in employees working after midnight. Not just that, there are many peak moments, like Christmas, where there are so many orders that logistic companies simply can’t keep up.
According to experts, there is a simple solution: dynamic price models. That way peak moments are more easily spread out. The customer’s package can still be delivered in the evening, but it will cost more than delivery in the morning. The courier can also adjust the price according to the season, day of the week or time.
This approach ensures that customers who value quick delivery to a lesser extent, pay less for their delivery if they choose an eassier delivery time. For the company it means an improvement of the sustainable delivery. In 2019 a couple of innovative companies will start a pilot with dynamic price models.

Robotization at distribution centres

Due to the tight labor market, companies in the logistics sector are forced to think more creatively. For example, Albert Heijn built a fully automatic distribution center for groceries in Zaandam recently. A fine example that shows that employees can be replaced by robots. Nowadays robots are used as a replacement for ‘normal’ employees in distribution centers. They  are cheaper and they increase the productivity. Even so, robots will not replace all employees. For example many administrative jobs will disappear but new jobs are created such as the development of these robots. In 2019 there will be more automatized distribution centres like the one of supermarket organization Spar.

Sustainable

In 2030 the C02 emissions in the Netherlands need to be reduced by 49%. This is a big reduction, how are we going to make this happen? If we want to enjoy our planet a bit longer, we need to take care of it. The logistics sector has a big impact on the environment due to the use of vehicles. The emission of these vehicles influences the air quality and the climate. This pollution can be reduced by using economical transport and by using alternative fuels and propulsion technologies. A good example is the first electrical truck in the Netherlands that has been taken into use by Jumbo. The truck has a range of 100 kilometers and will supply the shops from the distribution center in Veghel. With this, Jumbo wants to decrease the impact of their products and business management on the environment.

Improving the efficiency of transport is another way to help the environment. The logistics market is dynamic, demanding and never sleeps. By digitalisation it becomes easier to organize the chain activities. An example of this solution is the Transport Management System by Adaption. This gives you more control over your transportation activities and you can manage and execute them from one central system. This makes the transport more efficient and you can easily respond to the demands of the customer.