With the dawn of the information age, people now have access to businesses like never before. People can now make purchases from foreign businesses that they would have never heard about otherwise if it weren’t for the companies’ digital marketing techniques. Due to this influx of global purchases over the past three decades, businesses are now looking to transportation and logistics companies for help in getting products to their customers. In 2017, there are a few major trends amongst transportation and logistics companies that are helping them to stay competitive in this ever-growing industry.
1) Disintermediation occurred, but wholesalers are still at large.
With upcoming releases of services, such like UberFreight, wholesalers may face a challenge to their existence. Some disintermediation (companies who bypass wholesalers in the sales process between them and consumers, streamlining their sales process) occurred in the past, but, wholesalers are still at large. With the explosive power of the internet, services such like UberFreight makes it easy for companies to invest in the mass-production of their products in-house and, then, “UberFreight” it to their consumers. This type of service is trending now. Global, renowned companies like Amazon are taking center stage with their drones and self-driving automobiles. If disintermediation takes off even more in the near future, these companies will give wholesalers a run for their money. In years past, disintermediation didn’t pose a threat to the existence of intermediaries. However, as the world walks deeper into the belly of the beast that is the internet, more and more companies may try to sell directly to customers, improving their profit margins, reducing the need for wholesalers, and minimizing retail costs for consumers.
2) Being able to store massive amounts of documents and information on cloud servers has increased the need for added security.
Think of companies like Google. They have created “Google Drive,” which allows you to create and store mass amounts of documents on the internet. This allows for people to access information they need on any type of computing device that has internet access. Because the cloud is becoming more and more necessary to conduct business, transportation and logistics companies need to put a huge emphasis securing confidential and private information.
3) The marketplace no longer has an Asia-centric export flow.
The vast majority of exports around the world begin in Asia and end up in Europe and the USA. With the use of local wholesalers and factories, exports are starting to come from all over the world, not just Asia.
4) The market is infiltrating all lands across the globe.
In order to stay competitive, businesses have to now be able to reach people all across the world. Companies simply cannot compete with bigger brands while also ignoring global customer demand. Because of this, there is an exponential need for businesses to expand their reach to keep their edge.
5) There’s a demand for various shipment speeds, even though people usually pick the most frugal option.
People in the twenty-first century expect to receive things they want when they want it. People want to be able to choose a shipment option that allows them to receive things in a very short period of time, such as 24-hours from the time of purchase. Even though there is a demand for this option, about 67% of people will choose the shipping option that costs the least and takes the longest to ship. Sometimes people just like to know they have the option to do things differently should they need to!
The transportation and logistics industry is rapidly changing, and there are so many exciting things brewing all the time. Do you want to learn more about transportation and logistics in the meantime? Follow us on Twitter @SynterResource!