In but a blink of an eye, we've moved from one year into another. While it is still early days, 2017 is set to be a year of investment, development and change – particularly for logistics.

Let's take a look at how the landscape will change and the implications this has for your business. 

The overarching trend

In 2016, the ARC Advisory Group conducted a survey on warehouse practitioners and how transformation in the industry is shaping operations. From this survey, a key theme was the fact that responsiveness and adaptability continue to rise in importance, with consumer centricity and drop-shipments shaping up to be major players in the future.

ARC's findings further suggested that technological investments are most likely to focus on goods arrival and order picking, shipping and warehouse planning. From this, it's easy to deduce how important process improvement will be particularly this year.

What are the specifics?

Expanding on this overarching trend of increasing responsiveness, Forbes, the Entrepreneur and the Supply Chain Brief (SCB) predict 2017 to be the year logistics are shaken up by the following:

1. Innovation

Unless businesses want to watch as the competition leaps forwards, it's no longer possible to continue operating in the same way as always. Instead, organisations need to reassess their supply chains and processes, from enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to inventory management software.

2. Automation

We've spoken about how automation drives the future before, but it keeps gaining traction. Now, Forbes warns that the more automated business operations become, the fewer jobs will ultimately exist in the industry in a few years. This means that, to avoid a sudden and negative awakening, key decision makers need to start rethinking the human role within logistics now.

3. Big Data

Using technologies such as RFID tags is not a new development for logistics. Yet, the capabilities of predictive analytics and the increasingly dominant position of the Internet of Things are enabling revolutionary accurate approaches to process improvement.

What does this mean for me?

To stay ahead of the curve, managers therefore need to adapt their organisation's processes and use of technology. SCB even goes as far as suggesting that competitive advantage will only come from heightened transparency, risk exposure and breaking down internal silos.

At SRO Technology, we offer the highest quality design, training and advice around industrial measuring instruments. Because of this, your business can adapt with the changing landscape in the most effective way possible. For more information, reach out to our friendly team today.