Top 4 Challenges in the Logistics Industry
The transport and logistics industry is known for supporting not only the general population, but also other businesses. Whether it be product supply, trading, or simply pick-and-drop services, the industry has embedded itself in our day-to-day lives and business functions.
However, to say the logistics industry does not face its own share of problems would be wrong. As the 21st century rolls on, there have been noticeable changes – in technology, client demands, business models and the like. Here is an overview of the top 5 challenges facing the logistics industry:
1) Increased costs
This is the biggest reason people decide to “cut transportation cost” when dealing with their business. As fuel prices inflate over the years, so will drivers’ wages – creating a never-ending increase in transportation costs. This gives rise to what we call a bottleneck: a process within a chain of processes, where its limited capacity reduces the capacity of the entire chain, resulting in production stalls, and slow business growth.
2) Planning Pressures
As online shopping becomes more popular, so does the expectation for quick delivery. In fact 87% of online shoppers consider short delivery time to be one of the main deciding factors for their purchase. This need for quick delivery creates pressure on planning time slots, tracking delivery processes and more. Each of these focal points need attention-to-detail – and maybe even separate software.
3) Advent of Technology
Although technology is considered a need, it stands as a problem for the logistics industry. It is steadily becoming a challenge to stay updated with the resulting new advances in business processes. Semi-electric trucks, self-driving trucks, speedy deliveries – these all sound enticing, but adoption can be overwhelming in terms of expenses and work functions.
4) Processing Large amounts of Information
Logistics managers often have to process data and figures to plan their next moves, alongside running smooth operations like ensuring safety of staff, sending invoices, managing bills and ledgers, and more. Manually, these tasks get so time-intensive that you often overlook the finer details, resulting in erroneous work, and potentially damaged sales.
A digital solution?
All the challenges discussed cannot be fixed in the short-term, but their repercussions can be heavily reduced by investing in good programs. A great warehouse and logistics software is Oscar POS, which offers an Analytics & Reporting software that solves the problem of information overload; it takes all your valuable data and creates both extensive and simple reports for you to get access to anywhere, at any time. You can also connect more than one warehouse within the same system; it makes managing multiple location data a lot easier, making business functions even more streamlined. You will hence be able to generate profits, without breaking a sweat.
One thing is pretty obvious: while the logistics industry has its challenges to face, it also has its own does not mean there are no solutions present.
