During the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of the logistics sector has intensified around what you know, when you know it, and more importantly, whether you have the visibility and capability to quickly align your internal and external partners to pivot and make the best decision possible to solve the issue in real time.
It is now a must to utilize new machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and predictive tools in conjunction with firsthand information provided by people on the ground in the origin countries, to proactively make decisions on how, when, and where to move, store, and distribute product to effectively compete and be among the winners. The best-in-class technology platforms need to allow stakeholders to collaborate in real time and enable importers to make smarter decisions sooner, changing from the traditional, reactive track-and-trace model to a proactively managed supply chain.
As rates have continued to increase, some of the traditional third-party logistics provider (3PL) solutions have taken center stage and become a critical factor in the discussion. Solutions like distribution center (DC) bypass, terms of sale conversion managed by tightly coupled control towers, owned assets, and infrastructure are making it possible to quickly deploy old and new options to solve equipment and/or ocean carrier space issues. Control towers have typically focused on governance and oversight of individual business units; the future is extending visibility and potential resolution options across business units, process, and trading partners, thus enabling holistic approaches to meet customer expectations at a competitive cost.
Value-added service offerings such as packaging optimization, previously a nice-to-have in the ocean world, quickly moved to the top of list of initiatives being considered. Improving the density of product loaded in a container or on an air freight pallet now delivers significant savings. Applying the best and brightest packaging engineers with in-country support, relentless focus on reducing damage, improving loadability, and not selling paper are a winning combination all around.
In the end, the winning formula is centered around neutrality and having available options, choices with the capability to execute the best decision possible without disrupting product, documentation, and information flow.