Ludwigsburg – By 2030 the volume of package deliveries will increase threefold. 40 per cent of all truck drivers in Germany will have retired by 2040. And 50 per cent of Germans think it's OK that purchases will be delivered by drones. These are just three of the findings from different studies that describe the increasingly complex framework in which logistical activities take place today and in the future. In order to facilitate orientation for companies and municipalities and to offer them a solid basis for well-founded decision-making, the management and IT consulting company MHP has now published the white paper "Logistics 4.0 – Intelligent, Integrated, Autonomous".
The authors concentrate many individual observations into three central trends:
- Not only the overall quantity of the goods being transported by logistics companies and CEP service providers is increasing, shipments are also being made in smaller packages. Consequently, the number of delivery processes is rising drastically, and thus also the volume of transport. This is having an effect on the transport infrastructure and the emissions – especially in towns.
- For the logistics companies and CEP service providers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find employees – while demand is growing, the offer is decreasing.
- More and more transport technologies are available that do not require human labor. Such innovations meet a high level of acceptance, which will continue to grow.
Great opportunities resulting from innovative technologies
Dr. Julian Popp, Manager of Digital Supply Chain Solutions at MHP and one of the authors of the white paper: "According to our assessment, we are currently at a crossroads: For example, with a view to the continuous digitalization along the supply chain there are several challenges facing all involved and a number of interests that at first sight seem difficult to reconcile. At the same time, innovative technologies are opening up completely new possibilities and huge opportunities."
A central factor here is extensive vertical and horizontal integration – both of the material flows and of the information flows. In this way, automated or autonomous processes are achieved, which leads to improved effectiveness and efficiency. What this may look like specifically is outlined in the white paper for the three areas of inbound, inhouse and outbound logistics. Here, firstly, examples of the use of technologies make the basic principles clear. Secondly, they provide impulses for the realization of sustainable logistics scenarios, ranging from modular transport systems to warehouses in the air and unmanned boats, as well as algorithmic production.
Dr. Julian Popp: "With our white paper, we want to sensitize people to the necessary changes in logistics and make clear everything that is possible. In this context, it is important for us that this is not about achieving all-out success today. It's about being clear on the strategy and then tackling use cases one after another."
The white paper is available on the MHP website and can be downloaded free of charge: mhp.com/de/unternehmen/studien
Dr. Julian Popp will be pleased to answer any questions on Logistics 4.0. Simply send your question to: PublicRelations(at)mhp.com
