Fierce competition, restrictions from all sides, shortage of skilled workers and drivers – the logistics industry has been struggling for years. Is digitalization in logistics the mean of salvation?
Transport “should become digital by default“. But according to a survey by the digital association Bitkom, logistics companies consider digitalization in logistics one of the greatest challenges. Although they do recognize the advantages. If they want to protect or expand their market share, they need to address this issue. Because it’s the transformation of logistics processes, automation, digitalization and networking, even beyond company boundaries, that make the supply chain more flexible and transparent.
Digitizing supply chains for greater efficiency
Regardless of whether the company plans its transports and delivers the goods itself or outsources these tasks in whole or in part, it should be ensured that everything is interlinked and integrated into production, warehouse and customer processes. From order management and route planning to the connection of drivers. And all this in turn needs to be embedded in the company’s entire system landscape. However, there are often large gaps and neither processes nor systems really fit together.
This is where the real opportunities for digitalization in logistics lie. If processes are optimally supported by suitable systems, transports can be carried out more efficiently. Transport quality and reliability improve. Costs and emissions will be reduced. Environment and resources benefit from positive effects. A win-win situation for everyone involved.
Of course, a lot of questions arise at the beginning of such transformation processes: Do we still have the right processes in place? Which software fits best into the existing system landscape? Is there an out-of-the-box solution? Or does a customized solution offer the best support? It’s good to be able to turn to experts. They can assist in assessing all aspects and in selecting the right technologies for process optimization.
“The industry leaders are already in the midst of digitalization in logistics. However, small and medium-sized companies lack market overview, project resources and the time to deal strategically with this topic. And if a transformation process is initiated, it is often only perceived as a further hurdle to face in daily business. As independent consultants we offer adequate support,” says Sebastian Scherer, PTV Transport Consult GmbH.
Make the most of your global networking opportunities
Customers require a high level of delivery reliability and flexibility – in short: better service. Optimized transport networks also make it easier to fulfill delivery promises. Networking and transparency are undeniable assets, too. It is necessary to regularly analyze the flow of goods in the logistics network and to create new concepts to improve transport planning and management.
If you want to grow, you have to draw the right conclusions from your data, merge technologies and make your own services available to a larger whole. From production and storage to picking and transport everything must be considered end-to-end. Within an organization or across companies. This is the only way to achieve higher levels of efficiency and significant improvements. It is also important that the data is of high quality. Only then its full potential can be exploited during processing and evaluation.
“We also help companies identify their growth opportunities, develop and implement strategies for their logistics processes or find suitable cooperation partners to open up new international markets,” says Scherer.