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In the first blog of the AI ​​transportation and logistics series, I introduced Purolator's AI transformation innovation; the second blog focused on accelerating smarter artificial intelligence telematics in fleet management. The third blog discusses the impact of AI emotional sensors and the emotional computing market on the transportation and logistics industries. The fourth blog discusses use cases for AI revenue growth and operational optimization related to the transportation and logistics industry, as well as drones and their economic impact.

This fifth blog discusses the impact of smart intelligence integrated into the supply chain management (SCM) value chain, from picking, sorting, delivery, and all sales and customer service operations. The complete technology of end-to-end connection-the Internet of Things is a smarter AI sensor value chain, in which humans are strategic architects who control the dynamics of its SCM ecosystem and determine and adjust operational requirements in real time.

In our lifetime, we will see more robots, collaborative robots, unmanned vehicles and smarter Internet of Things sensor highways integrated to create this real-time pulse, which will reshape millions of people around the world Job position.

It sounds far-fetched. It is possible that in my lifetime, I will not see all of these merge together. However, my child might.

Looking at the history of the aerospace industry, it can be traced back to 1903, when the Wright brothers demonstrated an airplane that could provide power and continue flying. The world's first scheduled passenger airline service took off in 1914 and operated between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. This historic event helped advance daily transcontinental flights.

In just 100 years, we have gone from having almost no aircraft in the sky to having more than 250 international airlines and more than 5,000 airlines with the official ICAO code.

Let's compare this speed with the speed of the transformation of the drone and IoT smart logistics industry. What are the drivers of change. There may be four key drivers worth noting: 1) the disappearance of space and time barriers 2.) the ability to stay connected while on the move 3.) the Internet of Things 4.) the universality of the Internet and the rise of cloud computing support. The result-the Internet of Everything is smarter.

We are transforming, and our customers expect faster delivery, get real-time information on any of their devices, smartphones, tablets or other places, and be able to change the choice of suppliers as they wish. The motivation to rethink almost everything in the logistics industry has shifted to customers.

Digitization in the transportation and logistics industry enables supply chain companies to not only gain better supply chain visibility, manage traffic and cargo flows in real time, simplify and reduce administrative burdens, and improve the efficiency of costly infrastructure and resources, but more importantly This comprehensive digital transformation will open up new value growth opportunities and reduce the overall carbon footprint of end-to-end transportation.

Pioneers like former Uber employees solved the freight forwarding industry by establishing Beacon, confirming its position in logistics organization and retail financing. Beacon has recognized that shippers are seeking technology-led products and services to more effectively meet their needs, enhance their experience and reduce their costs. Ovrsea is a French digital air and ocean freight company that is innovating to provide rich analytical insights and unprecedented visibility across complex logistics and transportation networks for ocean, air, and rail freight.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the market they define as "Truck as a Service" (TaaS) is expected to reach US$79.4 billion in the United States by 2025, compared to US$11.2 billion currently.

In a white paper titled "The Future of Technological Economy", UBS estimates that warehouse rents are no longer the main driving force behind the decision. Prologis is one of the largest logistics warehouse owners in the world (1.7% of world GDP per year passes through the Prologis warehouse), stating that online sales will require three times more warehouse space than the traditional economy.

Look at what happened during the transition from B2B delivery to B2C portfolio during Covid-19, disrupting supply chains around the world, causing unprecedented transportation backlogs, rising costs, and consumer disappointment.

With this type of change, the affordability economics of human-controlled warehouses will no longer be feasible. Therefore, the rise and acceleration of drones use alternative methods to meet transportation and logistics needs.

McKinsey stated that by 2030, 80% of commercial vehicles will be connected, which provides great potential for the emergence of additional digital services. The Boston Consulting Group's proposed network digital services will increase tenfold. Without mentioning the rise of artificial intelligence, drones, robots, or even sentient beings, you cannot choose one of the main SCM publishing resources.

The digital management of transportation and logistics companies, such as giants—FedEx, UPS, etc.—have to respond to improve the productivity, safety, and profitability of their operations. The ability to use advanced analysis and connection tools to use data can track all the activities of the carrier: from the management of driving and parking time, to the risk of braking and safe driving, to the maintenance forecast of the truck and its tires, and even through administrative management, wheel The organization of times, the geographic location of trucks, the real-time tracking of packaging-real-time tracking insights are endless.

The biggest challenge is to combine all the different data sources into a common data or information knowledge center. If it is not integrated into all digital and data-rich ecosystems, mastering the sharing of data is a difficult task for this industry. Therefore, why data lineage and data labeling services are also in high demand.

Controlling data means capturing, recording and organizing data provided by customers, or data from systems, customers, drivers, trucks, etc., and knowing how to share data insights to provide better services is the key to starting the roadmap for change.

Based on my experience so far, the complex digital transformation of the transportation and logistics industry is all about vision, strategy and architecture, as well as applying new technologies and imagining new optimizations and new services. It is easy to indulge in the past without understanding the speed of change in the transportation and logistics industry. This is a very exciting team, please forgive the puns-this is Halloween night.

For example, XPO Logistics has established a collaborative cloud portal to exchange information between its shipper customers and transportation providers. The portal combines machine learning and predictive analysis tools to optimize freight processes and costs, and predict future transportation needs.

In the United States, JB Hunt launched the Shipper 360 portal, which allows shippers to access multiple ground transportation methods and information about the carrier’s performance.

Since Covid-19, we have also seen the accelerated development of dark warehouses; the dark warehouse is a fully automated warehouse that can handle inventory by following system commands. Goods can be moved, sorted and even packed by robots or other automated machines without intensive manual labor. Using automated machines and robots, goods can be moved to almost any location in the warehouse.

In the transportation and logistics industry, there are no more digital innovations that use artificial intelligence than China. Take a look at the logistics laboratory JD-X of Alibaba's e-commerce archives. JD.com has been developing various smarter applications related to the movement and processing of packages from autonomous drones, delivery robots, and unmanned or dark warehouses. These facilities are where robots work alone in the dark, completing the tasks previously performed by humans. Task completed.

Automation in the logistics industry is a major global trend, but in China, with the country’s rapidly aging population and rising labor costs, the risks are even higher. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the number of workers between the ages of 16 and 59 decreased by more than 5 million in 2015. As the labor reserve decreases, so does the demand for better benefits and higher wages. China recently increased the one-child policy to the two-child policy to start accelerating labor demand to promote economic development.

If you are the CEO or board director of a transportation and logistics company, where do you stand when considering the use of artificial intelligence, drones, unmanned driving, and a complete smart supply chain?

Is your company ready for the all-digital end-to-end interconnected intelligent reality faced by the transportation and logistics industry?

There is no better way to start than to start.

Tracking your competitors is an effective way to stay ahead-but don't wait, maybe visit China, or visit the Amazon turbocharged robot warehouse, or bring some freshly graduated engineering students to your company to operate- —And ask them what they will focus on to drive breakthrough experiences — it’s even better to pull your ten smartest people with the most potential from their demanding full-time jobs, think carefully and imagine your future business model. Give them 30 days to rethink what everyone else has the courage to say.

You will learn and grow-more importantly, these high-potential employees will feel a wealth of new energy to push your company forward. The modernization race is underway, and it is moving forward with or without you.