First, we don’t want to give credits to the year 2020. Yes, it is the year when several businesses made considerable losses in their entire history of operations. At the same time, some companies made or experienced historical growth and sales elevation.
The logistics sector in the UK was booming even before the turbulent situations of the year 2020. 2017 was the first year with outstanding growth records for delivery logistics. With eCommerce sales hitting around $23 trillion in annual sales recorded globally, customers started to rely on faster and best deliveries for all types of goods and services.
Home deliveries have been the natural evolution in the supply chain since then. It doesn’t end with retail. With many supermarkets to restaurant chains to the health sector and service providers, world logistics has experienced a radical shift.
But the hard truth is that home delivery got a significant boost last year. The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent impact on online sales fuelled the growth of this sector. According to the Office of National Statistics, online shopping in September 2020 amounted to about 26.1% of the total retail sales. That was an improvement from 18.1% recorded in September 2019.
What Are the Major Trends in the Delivery Logistics?
The paradigm change in customers and behaviours and expectations about deliveries pushes different organizations to change their operations to suit customer needs. This is the only way businesses can remain relevant in the competitive space.
Below are the trends that you need to monitor in 2021:
Sharing Economy
The pace of technological innovations is beyond control. The impacts of sharing economy solutions are already hurting the logistics sector. Uber and other companies are already setting up driver networks to deliver packages directly to consumers using their personal cars.
With the shortage of drivers and increased business demands, they need to explore and find more flexible fleets. The sharing economy began expanding in 2018, and businesses started to find alternatives to help them create a more adaptable and flexible infrastructure.
Some companies are jumping into different solutions to help them share fleets and resources to become more efficient in their operations.
Big Data
There are millions of data accrued by the delivery logistics systems. Every supply chain comes with the knowledge needed to develop business strategies and help in the decision-making process.
The process of data analytics is somehow challenging, and so companies are deploying all kinds of relevant tech platforms through multiple fleets and 3PLs all over their supply chain.
Consequently, many data recordings occur at different customer touchpoints, delivery, feedback to driver ratings, and reviews. All this information needs processing and analysis since they are the records one can use to rate “brand experience.”
From the supply chain perspective, massive data and predictive analytics are not fully explored. Unpredicted traffic and consumer behaviour are some of the external umbrellas that can interfere with the supply chain. That provides a genuine reason to monitor data more often.
Openness to the Unknown
The world is changing at a rapid pace. And in this era of technology, everything can happen within a blink of an eye. The delivery logistics may turn upside down with the prompt technological inventions.
Something we’ve never heard may pop up and change the entire supply chain.
You need to keep thinking and keep your head high for any opportunity that makes delivery logistics simple and easy. The invasion of Bitcoin and blockchain are some of the trends that impact the supply chain.
There are many trends within the delivery logistics sector. But the shared three trends are the key areas you need to give much attention to in 2021.