The transportation and logistics function is the backbone of every efficient supply chain, enabling organizations to facilitate a smooth flow of goods throughout the globe. The scope of transportation industry is wide, including passenger transport and commercial transport i.e. passenger transport that helps you and me to commute from home to work and back; and logistics and freight transport that facilitate transferring containers either by ship, rail or trucking networks across the globe. The global transportation market, especially the US market, is vastly competitive, reaping benefits of a highly skilled labor force, low costs and reduced regulatory and compliance burdens.

Today, the most dynamic and thriving industry- transportation, is expected to massively adopt digital technology; adapt to it internally and integrate it into its processes for accelerated growth. Companies are upping the ante in terms of investment in digitizing operations especially internal activities such as fleet maintenance, scheduling, repair and streamlining processes. Wondering what surprises 2017 holds in store for the transportation industry?

Herein are the 5 trends that will shape the fortune of the transportation industry in 2017

Bid Goodbye to Traffic woes – Traffic Management Systems (TMS)

With the sudden surge in urbanization and population, increase in traffic, accidents and parking issues have cropped up, globally. The increase in the demand for real-time updates has facilitated or propagated the development of the traffic management system (TMS) concept. A TMS essentially facilitates planning, monitoring and controlling traffic, in order to realize the maximum benefit of existing infrastructure and provide highly reliable and secure mode of transport and pay heed to environmental concerns among consumers.

Autonomous Cars and Self Driving Trucks

A self-driving vehicle or an automated car is a vehicle designed to travel between destinations sans any human input. But as of today, these vehicles are not permitted on the road without a driver. Therefore, companies are developing driverless software, which will make autonomous driving a reality in the next few years. For example, Google’s self-driving car project waymo that stands for a ‘new way forward in mobility’ has created enough buzz around the new technology.

Fleet Management Solutions

Fleet management makes use of GPS, sensors and mobile systems to monitor vehicles in real time and includes functions such as vehicle financing, maintenance, tracking, speed, fuel and driver management. It helps the companies to negate the risks associated with fleet management and investment, thereby improving its efficiency and productivity while reducing costs.

Real Time Logistics Tracking

Analytics and big data will facilitate integration of trucks and containers into logistics throughout the supply chain. Cloud based architecture and mobile applications will help transport carriers and companies in tracking and monitoring the vehicle location, temperature, pressure, health of the driver and estimated arrival time of the vehicle. The vehicles will also be enabled with sensors that will assist in determining route and space thereby making the operations efficient and effective.

Predictive Network

Predictive analytics can be used to tap into new growth opportunities in the transportation industry. The humungous amount of data at the disposal of the carriers can be used to derive actionable insights to predict consumer behavior and their shopping habits. This also means that the carriers can pursue these insights to provide on time delivery irrespective of peak traffic periods and other possible roadblocks. The freight and shipping carriers can leverage this data to manage their fleets, improve capacity, optimize routes and forecast traffic.

Therefore, Transportation industry is set to make a mark in the coming years with these five ground breaking trends. With SpendEdge, our procurement experts will offer effective solutions to help you optimize your sourcing strategies thereby reducing operational costs.

For more information on supply market intelligence in the
industry