What no one is aware of and understands its importance until 2020 is that one of the most important pillars of the ongoing trade in the world is the production and the other is logistics. What can happen if the transportation and transportation vehicles do not work for only one week is very well expressed in the “A Week Without Truck Transport” report published by the International Road Transport Union IRU. It is exemplified what can be caused by-products that cannot be delivered for a week on a daily basis.
The technological development that had been experienced in the last five years before the pandemic took place six months after the onset of the pandemic. In the next period, technological and digital developments, which many people do not know and therefore do not talk about, emerged as new trends. IoT, artificial intelligence and robotics, which started to be talked about in 2019, formed the three main trends of the logistics industry and started to become widespread. In addition to these, the impact of the process called “Industry 4.0” and described as a revolution in logistics, according to the “Logistics A Breakdown on Startup Driven Innovation” report prepared by “Status Insights”, in the light of the data obtained from 901 startups, the impact of the startups after 2021 listed as 10 trend technologies that will give importance to. The impact of the industrial revolution was called Logistics 4.0 in Supply Chain Management.
1- IoT
2- Artificial Intelligence
3- Robotics
4- Last-Mile Delivery
5- Warehouse Automation
6- Blockchain
7- Data Analysis
8- Cloud Computing,
9- Autonomous Vehicles
10- Elastic Logistics
Logistics 4.0; explains how digitalization and automation in logistics should be shaped and supported, and the effects of Industry 4.0 on transport and cross-functional coordination tasks (Scherf, 05.06.2018). In the narrow sense, Logistics 4.0; It can be defined as the integration and integration of highly connected processes, data and systems of all companies in the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the customers through third-party logistics companies (Schiemann, 2016: 7).
- Internet of Things; A worldwide network of interconnected physical objects capable of collecting and exchanging data without human interaction. These devices are; It includes embedded systems (software, electronics, networks, and sensors) that can collect data about the surrounding environment, transmit data over a network, respond to remote commands, or perform actions based on collected data. There are many IoT devices or objects available today, including wearables, implants, vehicles, machines, smartphones, appliances, computing systems, or any other item that can send and receive data. Cloud-based storage and computing, Cyber-Physical Systems, and big data networks can all be integrated with the IoT. IoT primarily focuses on expanding internet connectivity from standard devices (like computers, cell phones or tablets) to relatively dumb devices like toasters. It turns old “dumb” devices into “smart” devices by enabling them to transmit data over the internet, facilitating communication with humans and other IoT-enabled devices.
2. Artificial intelligence; According to him, the definition of artificial intelligence, which is the terminology created by John McCarthy in the mid-1950s; was “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines”. He began working on self-driving cars to create programs that better understand the human brain and mimic the way people make decisions. Many of us use Cloud computing services where we can share data between people. This was another of McCarthy’s innovations. Artificial intelligence takes its place in many aspects of our lives, as can be seen in the visual. From giving us directions to medical analysis, AI can do anything we humans can do. In the world of technology and computer science, Artificial Intelligence is about human-like intelligence generated by a computer. It refers to the ability of a computer/machine to imitate the features of the human brain by copying its own intelligence. Alright! What if AI-powered autonomous weapons are produced and used?
3. Robotic in Logistics; The use of digital data is becoming an important factor in production, enabling the creation of new business models, and providing strong competitive advantages for companies in global and regional markets. According to many experts, robots, robotic systems and artificial intelligence will be the main drivers of the digital transformation of the economy. While it started to be used intensively in storage and transportation, it provided rapid use, especially in the e-commerce sector. The speed that gained importance during the pandemic period, the use of technology, the advantages of digitalization and the use of robots intensified. Artificial intelligence has taken its place here as well. Sokolov, I., Misharin, A., Kupriyanovsky, V., Pokusaev, O., & Kupriyanovsky, Y. (2018).
4. Last-Mile Delivery; Companies want to increase their volume, accelerate with this volume increase and affect customer satisfaction. For this reason, they try different models with new technologies.
What is last-mile delivery?
It is the last step of the process in the journey of a product produced in the supply chain from the warehouse to the door of us, the end-user, with a transport vehicle. The point where the package finally reaches the recipient’s door. This mode of delivery differs according to cities and rural areas. While there is a heavy traffic problem in the cities, distance and transportation problems are encountered in the delivery to every point in rural areas. It includes 53% of the total shipping cost. With the proliferation of free shipping, customers don’t want to pay a delivery fee.
This forces retailer and logistics partners to bear the cost. As such, it has become the first place they look to implement new technologies and drive process improvements to identify delivery points (like shopkeepers, grocery stores, gas stations, delivery boxes, us on the way home and/or work, etc.). Wang, Y., Zhang, D., Liu, Q., Shen, F., & Lee, L. H. (2016).
5. Warehouse Management (and Automation), which is one of the logistics activities, has an important place. Technology has an important place in the accurate, fast and high-quality execution and management of all operations (receiving goods, storage, supply, transfer, order picking, shipment, loading and unloading, etc.) performed in warehouses under the name of handling. The software used in this whole process, barcodes and labels, handheld terminals, handheld and pocket computers, automatic identification, data collection, conveyor, and vertical and horizontal order picking equipment has made rapid progress with digitalization. Hompel, M., & Schmidt, T. (2006).
to be continued
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