Logistics industry has faced a drastic change over the last 20 years. Unlike the past, logistics now does not only mean transportation of goods from one place to another. The logistics industry was embraced by both marketing and production areas, as they also had concerns with the issues of product flow. As a result, physical distribution of goods and logistics started to develop as an independent function within a business. This action was spurred by the recognition that logistics costs were high and that there was an unrealized opportunity to bring it down.
Presently, the logistics industry is at a heightening stage as various businesses and fields seems to embrace it because all their activities are embedded in it. Logistics in now being considered as a subset of Supply chain management. Earlier Logistics was considered as a support function for a business but now it is emerging as a key determinant /differentiator factor. Now it does not limit itself to land, water and air but beyond that.
Logistics have never been more important to a business than it is currently because with the rise in demand and the enhancement in technology it would turn into a shining star. With the upcoming technologies like IoT and Blockchain logistics industry is going to be transformed completely.
With logistics 4.0 there has been a shift from the traditional approach to digital supply chain making it smarter widely networked as well as technologically advanced. It is logistics 4.0 which has made integration and coordination possible across corporate boundaries.
With the internet triggering the evolution from client applications to web-based apps, cloud solutions and SAAS, the peer-to-peer model of blockchain is exhibiting the potential to generate new innovation channels on how logistics applications can be developed and deployed.
Emergence of SaaS
With the advancements being brought to the internet internet has created a platform for systems solutions that utilise new forms of technology which can be used in order to create new competitive advantages. However, the logistics industry relies heavily on the internet, its real value is as an enabler. The enterprise-based systems and which once seemed cutting edge are being rapidly replaced by the cloud-based technology, enabling the use of web-based software as a service (SaaS) which is instantly accessible and easy to use.
