The COVID-19 pandemic exposed inefficiencies in the global supply chain, especially as transportation and logistics couldn’t keep up with e-commerce demand. However, despite empty shelves and product delays, the past year also brought forth opportunities to help improve the movement of goods.
Just last week, for example, a major luxury retailer announced that is now investing $85 million in immediate changes to its supply chain and technology ops, to overhaul its warehouse, order management systems and fulfillment centers.
Deloitte also recognized these opportunities and is releasing a three-part series outlining the factors needed for success in a post-pandemic world.
Based on a 2020 survey of supply chain leaders, and interviews with those operating across multiple segments of the global transportation value chain, the series provides strategies to help players in all sectors redefine how they connect and collaborate across the transportation ecosystem.
The initial report, “Creating a competitive supply chain advantage through connected communities,” outlines success factors that can drive the movement of goods to meet the increased demands of tomorrow.
Key takeaways include:
• Data-sharing is a top investment. Fragmentation is among the biggest hurdles across the global movement of goods today.However, data-sharing is gaining momentum as 58% of retailers and manufacturers are already implementing these solutions, while another 32% plan to invest in the future.
• In it together. Enabling cooperative operating models is critical to the industry because growing real-time ecosystem connectivity can help create new collaborative, transparent and technology-driven ways to do business. In fact, there’s been nearly US$14 billion in global funding for crowd-sourced delivery platforms in last-mile delivery since 2011.
• Cooperation with partners is key. 47% of survey respondents said they are working in tandem with supply chain partners to improve cybersecurity standards. Deloitte predicts that this collaboration towards advancing connectivity solutions will continueas global shippers take a more inclusive approach to innovation with key industry partners
Mike Daher, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and U.S. transportation practice leader, told SCMR in an interview that the research did yield a few surprises:
“Since 2019, our work has been focused on the three broad pillars driving change in the movement of goods: connected community, holistic-decision making and intelligent automation. When initiating our new research, we already had evidence that connected community was an important driver, and was being adopted across the industry,” he says.
“What surprised us is the extent to which transportation companies have already substantially embraced the levers that drive connectivity, collaboration and innovation across the ecosystem. For example, 100% of large integrated players are or are planning to invest in data sharing platforms in the near future. With the implications of COVID-19 on the industry, the importance of connected communities has only been amplified.”
Some supporting stats:
o 83% of large integrated players are currently investing in data sharing platforms (the remaining 17% plan to invest in the future)
o 80% of respondents are currently leveraging (or plan to in the future) in Digital freight platforms
o The adoption of IoT (42%) and blockchain (39%) to drive technological shift is stronger than expected, considering the relative nascency of those platforms
About the Author
Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor
Mr. Burnson is a widely-published writer and editor specializing in international trade, global logistics, and supply chain management. He is based in San Francisco, where he provides a Pacific Rim perspective on industry trends and forecasts. He may be reached at his downtown office: [email protected]
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