Supply chains were hugely impacted by the chain of impacts from the global pandemic. With the in-person retail experience suddenly forbidden, millions of people in quarantine turned to online shopping to meet their basic needs (and to combat the stress with a little retail therapy). Necessity is the mother of invention, after all, and the strain of the intense rise in ecommerce forced the supply chain logistics industry to create innovative solutions to keep up. There are three major trends emerging in this industry that you should know about!
1) Block Chain
In 2019, worldwide spending on blockchain solutions was at 2.7 billion; before 2022, this number is expected to climb all the way to 11.7 billion (DHL and Accenture, 2018). This industry-reshaping trend has been on the rise over the last few years, and is showing no signs of slowing. Data is becoming increasingly crucial to optimize logistics operations, and companies like Koopman Logistics have been thinking out of the box to use blockchain to regulate the logistics of automotive delivery. In 2019, worldwide spending on blockchain solutions was at 2.7 billion; before 2022, this number is expected to climb all the way to 11.7 billion (DHL and Accenture, 2018).
2) Reverse Logistics
With the rise of e-commerce comes a rising need for reverse logistics. This includes post-sale services such as returns, refurbishment, repairs, recycling and reselling. While only 9% of purchases are returned at brick-and-mortar stores, up to 30% of online purchases are returned, and good reverse logistics are essential to ensure these companies protect their bottom line. The figures are considerable; last year, return delivery costs were estimated to reach US $550 billion (Mazareanu, 2021). Up to half of an online seller’s total shipments can be returns! Expect to see enhancements to these operations as they become an even bigger part of the logistics and supply chain industries in 2021.
3) Digital Training Solutions
You don’t need three guesses to identify the company that experienced the unprecedented demand of e-commerce head and shoulders above the rest. Amazon hired 175,000 temporary workers at the beginning of the pandemic and has hired 2,800 new workers every day since July 2020 (Kaur, 2020). To cope, Amazon embraced digital training methods to handle the major onboarding challenges this 2020 hiring spree posed. Modern warehouse workers are used to the interactivity and ease-of-use they associate with their cell phones and other devices, and respond well to digital training (Robinson, 2018). Digital training can be an excellent companion to a modern blue-collar workplace.
Would these solutions enhance the performance of your company?
