DHL’s logistics trend radar sees COVID as innovation catalyst

[caption id="attachment_91071" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Courtesy of DHL.[/caption] In the fifth edition of DHL’s logistics trend radar report, identifying technology and social or business trends in the near to far future of the logistics industry, DHL noted the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is “a rare catalyst for logistics innovation.” Many of the innovations have revolved around the new need for social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus, including the adoption of wearable technology to monitor and enforce physical distancing, increased utilization of robotics and automation, and the introduction of contactless operations. “COVID-19 has also been an opportunity for technology to prove its worth,” according to the report. “Across the logistics sector, companies have embraced innovative solutions to help overcome difficulties and maintain operations in the most challenging circumstances.” The new edition of the report also introduced a new trend, “multisourcing,” related to the need for maintaining operations even in the face of major disruptions like the pandemic, the trade wars that have impacted global logistics for the last few years and more localized disasters like tsunamis and hurricanes. “With the need for resiliency on the rise, globalization is expanding with the geo-diversification of supply chains,” said the report. As the wave of personal protective equipment shipments from China and Southeast Asia demonstrated earlier this year, supply chains have been very reliant on production from East Asia. However, in the next five to ten years, DHL’s trend radar sees multisourcing and supply chain diversification adoption as a growing trend in ensuring more robust supply chains. Other major technological trends, including big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud and APIs, are expected to become ubiquitous across the industry within the next five years. These technologies also tend to be interconnected, with IoT devices providing information for big data analysis, and human interaction with data through larger supply chain management systems, often connected to the cloud and utilizing specific APIs for software services. Among the advantages of these technology trends are scalable automation processes allowing for lower costs and improved efficiency, improved supply chain visibility and creation of more dynamic and customizable delivery services, according to the report. One of the most significant challenges in adopting these trends is the security risk to internet-connected systems and devices, which could become targets for cybercrime. Therefore, “next-generation security” is another trend DHL identified that is relevant to every sector in logistics. “As entire supply chains digitalize and connect, vulnerabilities must be shielded from the increasing likelihood of cyberattacks,” said DHL of the trend. The security trend, which is expected to develop over the next five to ten years, covers intelligent physical security and detection of counterfeit and contraband goods as well as increased protection for personal data and privacy protection. In another noteworthy change between the most recent report and the previous edition, DHL removed “low-cost sensor solutions” as a trend. The change shows the progress the industry has made in recent years, as DHL noted “low-cost sensors can be found at every stage of the supply chain and across all supply chain players,” meaning that the sensors have achieved widespread adoption and become part of today’s norm in logistics.

DHL’s logistics trend radar sees COVID as innovation catalyst

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