The business of tomorrow will require a strong acceleration of flows, rotations, a reduction of stocks and a pooling of resources. The Internet in this context appears as a space of intermediation from which those intermediaries, old or new, who do not bring real value by contributing to the coherence of interference between actors are gradually eliminated.<\/p>\n
Anything that creates friction, inventory, or delays is counterproductive in an economy of rapid flows. Intelligent agents, like any tool that makes exchanges more relevant, have a bright future.<\/p>\n
The goal is to do more with the same resources, better, at lower cost and above all differently.<\/p>\n
Last mile delivery must completely transform and even reinvent itself. It is costly and resource-intensive due to supply chain inflexibility and use of outdated technology. These are problems for all commerce activities.<\/p>\n
Billions of dollars of investments will be invested in the coming years to improve the efficiency of logistics which is not adapted to the Internet economy, that is to say a fast, proactive economy which works without stocks. Objective: increase the ROCE of companies.<\/p>\n
Among these innovations, liquid logistics for last mile delivery will play a major role.<\/p>\n
The word \u201cliquid\u201d describes the ability to flow freely. This is the best term to describe what last mile logistics will be like in the future. The good metaphor is that of the flow of water.<\/p>\n
Remember that Amazon's next-day delivery option seemed impossible a few years ago. Amazon can now control\/customize all stages from order fulfillment to delivery. It became natural. The same will apply to liquid logistics.<\/p>\n
With liquid logistics, the vending machines of tomorrow will increasingly be central reception\/collection depots. They will be \u201cautomatically\u201d populated with items based on purchase history and also on trends observed in a community.<\/p>\n
Within three years, 50% companies plan to offer a complete unified logistics experience that will allow a customer to start and end the sale anywhere. This will be a key element of liquid logistics.<\/p>\n
More generally, digital innovations offer new solutions to address existing challenges, such as warehouse automation, last mile delivery and transportation optimization.<\/p>\n
To make this new logistics possible, digital innovations will be at the heart of the radical transformation of the entire process of circulation of goods. It will massively use IoT, Blockchain, wallets, Big Data, AI, AR\/VR, robotization, etc.<\/p>\n
With artificial intelligence, consumers will no longer have to order items. The items will naturally sell to consumers. Additionally, the everyday shopper will also become the carrier. Citizens\/consumers will be subscribers without knowing it.<\/p>\n
The benefits of liquid logistics are very clear. Liquid logistics will not require any \u201cphysical\u201d effort to purchase an item. It will naturally come to its destination like \u201cwater\u201d. It will therefore no longer be necessary to have local distribution centers and to make several re-delivery attempts.<\/p>\n
With \u201cliquid logistics\u201d, we can test an object anywhere (for example in our living room or even on the train). A simple approval action and the item will be delivered with a commitment to punctual delivery.<\/p>\n
The next challenge will therefore be the creation of the best reception experience at the time of delivery of each product: calendar, reception, best place to deliver an object will be at the heart of liquid logistics, etc.<\/p>\n
The drivers of liquid logistics (triggered by natural events, geolocation and a globally massively interconnected digital world) will therefore be geoservices. They will be made possible thanks to the very rapid diffusion of innovations from the new digital wave: the IP atmosphere, IoT + Blockchain + Big Data + artificial intelligence + edge computing + AR\/VR + robotization.<\/p>\n
Here are some examples of digital innovations that make liquid logistics possible:<\/p>\n
The Internet of Things.<\/strong><\/p>\n Being able to monitor products throughout the supply chain will increase safety while improving the quality of distribution.<\/p>\n For example, with modern GPS vehicle tracking and RFID sensors, one can collect real-time data on condition, asset location, temperature, and other forms of data regarding specific items. This will help supply chain managers implement better quality controls, ensure timely deliveries, minimize theft, and gain an overview of the supply chain to aid decision-making.<\/p>\n IoT data can be used to optimize real-time planning and rescheduling of routes, manage fuel consumption and reduce emissions to increase the company's green operations results. Other applications of IoT are fault detection to plan maintenance, increase road safety and ensure legal compliance.<\/p>\n IoT sensors can be used to track inventory and provide data that will help analyze trends to predict future inventory needs. This will help avoid understock and oversupply situations.<\/p>\n Anticipatory logistics<\/strong><\/p>\n Although anticipation logistics is not yet widespread, there is no doubt that it will become a competitive advantage for any merchant.<\/p>\n Implemented through software solutions, anticipation logistics predicts demand before it happens.<\/p>\n This allows logistics companies to significantly improve efficiency through reduced delivery times and better utilization of their transportation capacity and network using predictive algorithms derived from Big Data.<\/p>\n Autonomous delivery vehicles<\/strong><\/p>\n Such vehicles should not only disrupt the transportation industry\u2026but also the logistics industry. Tesla also unveiled its brand new autonomous electric truck in November 2017, more than 250 models of which have already been pre-ordered by various companies: Pepsi, Walmart, DHL, etc.<\/p>\n Considered the ground equivalent of drones in last-mile delivery, automated guided vehicles present even greater potential for disruption in the logistics sector.<\/p>\n Robotics & Automation<\/strong><\/p>\n In less structured environments, robots are already capable of manipulating objects, which allows them to support logistical processes.<\/p>\n These robots are either automated at 100% or collaborate with people (\u201ccobot\u201d).<\/p>\n For example, fully automatic solutions unload containers or pallets.<\/p>\n The smart door<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon created Amazon Key, a delivery system that allows delivery people to enter a home and drop off packages rather than leaving them outside and risking them being stolen.<\/p>\n This \u201cconnected door\u201d comes with a camera that will be placed in front of your front door, in order to monitor in real time or delayed the moment when the delivery person will drop off the package directly at your home.<\/p>\n Blockchain<\/strong><\/p>\n In a recent survey carried out by Xeneta, 72% of respondents answered that Blockchain would be applied to logistics to simplify administrative work.<\/p>\n Simply put, blockchain technology is a very secure way to share information between parties. Blockchain creates a permanent digital public ledger of transactions that can be shared among a distributed network of computers.<\/p>\n The possibilities for sharing this technology create many opportunities for logistics\/supply chain applications. Benefits include improved transparency and data sharing within the supply chain, better order tracking, reduced errors and better fraud detection.<\/p>\n For example, Walmart announced that it is testing blockchain technology to determine if it is well suited to identifying the source of bad food in the supply chain. IBM is also investing in technology and is currently working on blockchain product development.<\/p>\n IBM has developed with Maersk, considered the largest container ship owner in the world, a platform which aims to digitalize all stages of the transport chain. Indeed, the management of these chains still requires submitting to a multitude of successive administrative procedures, which costs companies time and money and slows down trade.<\/p>\n Carriers, for their part, will be kept informed in real time of the completion of each transport stage to best prepare the necessary containers. The blockchain is therefore used here to secure this exchange of data with an unfalsifiable register which can thus reduce the risk of fraud \u2013 which represents several billion dollars each year. Speeding up processes also helps reduce delivery times for individuals.<\/p>\n Machine learning<\/strong><\/p>\n Machine learning is a technology set to transform the logistics industry as we know it today.<\/p>\n Some areas of application of machine learning in the logistics industry include optimizing algorithms for shippers to select carriers, routing and quality control, using natural language processing to accelerate order entry and preparation, order validation and reduce waste in the warehouse.<\/p>\n Machine learning will enable those involved in logistics to automatically manage transactions while the delivery vehicle is moving.<\/p>\n With eWallet, it will be possible to manage immediate payments securely, even while traveling. With a Blockchain, we will be able to collect parking toll fees or other costs such as energy refueling or other delivery services.<\/p>\n The development of Car eWallet will thus ensure the execution of transactions by authorizing payments without the vehicle user having to intervene.<\/p>\n The world of mobility is evolving rapidly. Autonomous vehicles, electric cars and new mobility services have moved from visionary concepts to reality.<\/p>\n Augmented Reality (AR) & Wearables<\/strong><\/p>\n Wearable technologies such as smart clothing, bionic arms or smart contact lenses provide a powerful support tool for the human workforce.<\/p>\n Adding an augmented reality system, such as wearable cameras or smart glass displays, unlocks additional value for logistics companies, e.g. gamification to train and onboard new employees or the use of smart glasses for selection, positioning and scanning to allow employees to work hands-free.<\/p>\n