Holistic IT deployments and green energy are just two aspects people often regard when thinking of the future. These business investments are sure to impact supply chain management, as well as how logistics providers deliver goods.
CFO.com acknowledged that a fair amount of third-party logistics companies are investing in radio-frequency identification technology, GPS, route-modeling, demand-and-capacity forecasting programs and trade management applications. However, not every 3PL has deployed the automated processing solutions that many distribution customers are looking for.
"When larger clients want full suites of customized offerings, it becomes a question of whether the [3PL] companies really have the capability to build out that functionality and what the ROI will be," said Korn Ferry Financial Officers Principal Beau Lambert, as quoted by the source.
On the other end of the spectrum, growing investment in renewable energy is putting pressure on logistics providers to transport copious amounts of natural gas, wind turbine components, solar panels and other materials. San Antonio Express News noted that CPS Energy will decrease its coal sourcing by 5 percent in 2020, with renewable energy usage increasing to 13 percent in that same year.
As a large number of wind turbines are typically required to power a greater metropolitan area, this means CPS will have to contract logistics companies capable of transporting large parts to designated properties over long distances.