A significant trend affecting shippers, carriers, and providers of transportation technology solutions is the increase in e-commerce and the expanding Amazon-like business model. These options have created a consumer-driven business environment, with customers expecting and getting fast free delivery of goods of any kind. All indications point to these buying practices growing in 2018 and beyond.
To remain competitive, retailers and manufacturers and the logistics service providers that serve them will need to implement technology solutions that optimize every aspect of their rapidly evolving supply chains.
For example, with more local distribution centers being established to place products closer to consumers, companies will need transportation management system (TMS) solutions that provide advanced parcel capabilities and the ability to access multiple transportation modes using a single platform.
Because speed is likely to be a factor in many shipments, companies will need easy, fast access to capacity. The practices of calling carriers or doing manual searches will continue to be replaced by TMS solutions providing access a wide range of options while also automating some tasks associated with selecting carriers or tendering loads.
Seamless system integration will continue to be critical, with companies needing TMS solutions that integrate with other internal and external systems, including warehouse management system (WMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. This degree of connectivity is required to avoid disruptions in the supply chain.
Finally, companies will look to glean true business intelligence from the information they are already capturing. Advanced TMS solutions will be required to support effective data management, making it easy to identify areas of opportunity and to enable more-informed strategic decisions.
In 2018 and beyond, more demanding and sophisticated buyers will lead to smarter providers, empowered by advanced technology designed to support the future of delivery.