4 ways trucking is driving a supply chain tech boom
From on-demand deliveries to ultra-transparent logistics
Food, clothing, electronics, industrial products: Pick almost any sector, and chances are the global supply chain behind it is being impacted in a big way by an ongoing technological revolution in logistics.
With goods available increasingly on-demand, the companies tasked with assembling and delivering those products are experimenting with a range of manufacturing technologies, tracking sensors, apps and online platforms to speed up the process. Along the way, a range of hardware and software tools up and down the supply chain are also increasing transparency inside organizations, allowing for new gains in operational efficiency.
At the center of the upheaval in supply chain tech are trucking companies looking for creative ways to more quickly deliver loads without compromising back-end systems. It’s a process we at San Francisco mobile document scanning company Vector see up-close with our LoadDocs app.
To better understand the ways the supply chain ecosystem is evolving through the lens of logistics, we focus on four major areas of innovation:
1. Transparency & Traceability
For years, commercial fleet operators have been revving up visibility into when, where and how trucks are operating with increasingly-advanced Transportation Management Systems (TMS). But that was just the beginning for visualizing the way goods move through the delivery process.
Smart sensors are one hotspot in the world of traceability, which are often used to generate more data during production, bringing to bear the Internet of Things by digitizing that information for additional analysis. This data is increasingly paired with emerging technologies like machine learning and predictive analytics, allowing companies to better parse large volumes of supply chain information to refine freight routes, better forecast demand, or otherwise improve and cut costs in areas prone to slowdowns.
2. Enterprise Engagement
While back-end business functions like invoicing and order tracking sometimes take a backseat to flashy new sensors and gadgets, a similar set of advanced digital technologies are changing the way crucial processes like billing are completed at various stages of the supply chain.
Using Vector’s LoadDocs app as an example, we empower drivers to take smartphone images of essential documents like proofs of delivery and bill of ladings, then quickly upload those documents and send them to a carrier’s back office. The impact of merging mobile technology with the offline process of delivery is reducing vast amounts of paperwork and subsequent slowdowns in payment for both carriers and truck drivers, decreasing delivery processing times and costs in the meantime.
3. Warehousing 2.0
Moving things from Point A to Point B often involves the lesser-discussed time a product is stored at Point C — often a warehouse — before reaching its final destination. Here, too, technology is changing the way shippers and their on-the-ground partners do business.
Fresh-food-delivery company CommonSense Robotics, along with retail giant Amazon, are prime examples of logistics-centric businesses increasing automation in warehouses with robotics, changing the way labor is allocated in pursuit of shorter order processing and delivery times. Startups including Flexe and Darkstore are also pushing the boundaries of order fulfillment, offering up flexible on-demand storage space based on a model similar to consumer short-term housing rental site Airbnb.
4. Last-mile Delivery
With Walmart, Amazon and many others investing heavily in near-on-demand orders, the trend toward speedy order fulfillment is no secret. What is changing in the background, however, is the underlying technology that companies rely on to deliver freight.
Some carriers are refining their own approach to so-called “last-mile” deliveries, adding smaller vehicles or new routes to their repertoire. Also in play are newer third-party providers that often lean heavily on independent truck owner-operators, like Cargomatic and Deliv, the latter of which position themselves as the last link in the chain for enterprise customers like Best Buy and Macy’s.
