Page 26 - Logistics News - March_April 2022

E-C O MME RC E

On-demand economy booms

By Picup CEO and founder Antonio Bruni

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 expedited the rise in e-commerce and led to the now-near
institution of the home economy.

hile the pandemic is coming under control with which allows businesses to make faster and more informed
an almost complete relaxation of restrictions, decisions such as circumstances related to weather or traffic.
Wthe on-demand delivery trend is now firmly Further, 5G improves signal quality and connection, enabling
fixed into consumers’ lives, so much so that big and small drivers to work faster on the road.
businesses need to adapt their last-mile logistics systems to
cater for South Africans’ increasing appetite for at-home or AI and machine learning
work deliveries. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have played a
major role in the logistics sector for years now, so this is not
To underline this point, in 2021, South Africa’s something new. But its use is helpful at providing last-mile
e-commerce market was valued at $4.5-billion and digital logistics analysis and optimisation, supplier selection and
platforms have been widely adopted by customers across workforce planning. In the case of last-mile delivery, AI has
various sectors including health, food revolutionised the experience in ways such as creating more
and retail. So aggressive is this uptake efficient route deliveries, streamlining business processes and
that it is estimated that by 2027 the local enabling better customer satisfaction.
e-commerce market will reach a value of
$7.9-billion. IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) has impacted all areas of our
Research by the South African Digital lives, including the logistics industry. Through intelligent
Customer Experience Report 2021 shows data analysis it helps to manage assets remotely, predicts
Picup CEO and founder that high shipping costs and unsatisfactory risk, ensures proper cargo handling and can forecast traffic
Antonio Bruni. delivery options are the two primary congestion. In short, IoT creates the connection among goods,
contributors to a brand losing a sale at the packaging, transportation hubs and vehicles.
virtual checkout. As such it is essential that businesses get that
last-mile experience right, and that means upping their ante in Smartphone logistics
the type of intelligent logistics solution software that they use. In days gone by, logistics firms would have had a hard time
communicating in real time with their drivers; now, thanks
With digitisation in the sector happening at a rapid pace, to the smartphone, they can be engaged while en route. They
and certainly likely to come into being within the next two also send invaluable data back to the system instantly, while
years, players like Picup are enhancing their experiences validating addresses while on the go. Smartphones are also
so that end customers get their goods quicker and more paperless, so the humble waybill is a thing of the past as details
affordably. Here are the leading logistics technology trends are captured automatically while the intelligent devices can also
that will soon influence the local on-demand sector – and optimise routes meaning the delivery happens quicker.
make the home economy grow even bigger.
Changing to optimise delivery
Emergence of 5G technology Lastly, any brand that is adopting smart logistics technology
5G offers data speeds that are 20 times faster than existing 4G will require a degree of change management across its business
L O GI S T I CS NEWS demand deliveries is that service providers can enhance their technology-enabled systems. It is a 360° shift from traditional
units as training will be needed to understand how to switch to
long-term evolution (LTE) networks. What this means for on-
ability to use analytics-based solutions to more effectively
processes that are time consuming, paper heavy and slow to
a more efficient, tech-enabled service that puts the customer
manage inventory and supply chains. This yields better
accuracy rates and speed in reaching the end customer. 5G also
first and delivers on demand without any cumbersome
has the potential to enable almost real-time data analytics,

24 M A RC H/A P R IL 2022 processes to slow it down. www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a