Summary: This report describes the conditions and circumstances the Material Handling and Logistics (MH&L) Industry is likely to face in the coming years up to 2025. This report might impact all CORE Demo WPs concerned with US transports containing a hinterland leg, depending on the actual layout of the trade lane. The WPs having visibility, planning of transports, resilience with future tracking systems, the theme big data and predictive analytics in focus might benefit from this report. As usual, you can find the full analysis, with the original report, at the CORE e-library, with the code CORE1038. Source file at: http://www.mhlroadmap.org/roadmap.html

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The main objective of the report is to describe conditions and circumstances the industry, (i.e. Material Handling and Logistics, or MH&L, Industry) is likely to face in the coming years up to 2025. In this sense, 10 major trends are identified:

1. The growth of e-commerce,
2. Relentless competition,
3. Mass personalization,
4. Urbanization,
5. Mobile and wearable computing,
6. Robotics and automation,
7. Sensors and the Internet of Things,
8. Big Data and predictive analytics,
9. The changing workforce, and
10. Sustainability.

At the same time, the study reflects the following four major themes to be the most important:

• People. Lack of good workers and lack of programs to train them.
• Collaboration. Significant benefits of collaboration are recognized. Nevertheless, there are big obstacles related to data sharing, security and trust.
• Sensors, data and algorithms. The development of technological capabilities is taking place outside the industry. The challenge is to harness such capabilities and use them for the industry´s advantage.
• New methods of distribution. MH&L will play a major role to determine which new distribution method will be viable.

Consequently, the report describes the capabilities this industry (MH&L) needs to develop to cope with these coming (some of them already current) conditions. Such capabilities are grouped in three topics (or chapters) throughout the report:

High-Speed, High-Value Material Handling and Logistics describes ways the material handling and logistics industry can meet the increasing demands for new logistics services in challenging environments. These are listed in five major areas:

• Total supply chain visibility,
• Standardization,
• Planning and optimization,
• e-commerce, and
• High-speed delivery.

Low-Cost, Low-Impact Material Handling and Logistics describes capabilities (grouped in 4 major areas listed below), that will keep the financial and societal burden of the industry at the lowest possible levels while delivering the high-value services expected of the industry.

• Collaboration
• Urban logistics
• Technology and automation
• Sustainability

The Workforce of Tomorrow, which addresses the problem of short supply of qualified human resources for the industry today, and the coming years.

Relevant points for CORE include:

1. Conclusions which determine that “Future tracking systems could offer complete, end-to-end visibility of shipment location, as well as an accurate prediction of delivery time.”,. And claims such as: “By 2025, End-item packages unit-load containers and transportation containers could have continuous GPS tracking—optimizing routing and delivery decisions.” have a direct relation with the visibility CORE is aiding to provide.
2. Big Data. The study foresees a major role of big data and predictive analytics. As it is stated in the document, the exploitation of such concepts presupposes that this data is available. The latter is one of the activities CORE is aiming to achieve.
3. The following capabilities mentioned in the document are directly related to CORE activities and/or objectives:
   • Total supply chain visibility
   • Standardization
   • Planning and optimization
   • e-commerce
   • High-speed delivery
   • Collaboration
   • Technology and automation

Detailed analysis of relevance for CORE: This report might impact all Demo WPs concerned with US transports containing a hinterland leg, depending on the actual layout of the trade lane. The WPs having visibility, planning of transports, resilience with future tracking systems, the theme big data and predictive analytics in focus might benefit from this report. But there are no specific examples given.

CORE Impact Anticipation:

To CORE: All efforts towards Standardization, data sharing, analytics, performance and visibility would have a relation with CORE.

From CORE: On the other hand, CORE seems to have a very good chance to impact on data sharing proof, since its demonstrators are a very good controlled environment for such tests. The latter is even more likely since the organizations involved in the demonstrators are, at least at some extent, somewhat convinced (since they agreed to be part of it), of collaboration benefits.

Cross-references: The three documents CORE1037 Review of Critical Issues in US Transportation-2013, CORE1038 Summary-Material Handling Logistics US Roadmap, CORE1055 Review of Building Resilience in Supply Chains all head in the same direction towards enhancing transport issues, the first two with US orientation.

Full Citation:

ROAD MAP ASSOCIATION, January 2014

MATERIAL HANDLING & LOGISTICS U.S. ROADMAP

Transportation Research Board. 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

© Copyright 2014 MHL Roadmap

Available to General Pubic at: http://www.mhlroadmap.org/roadmap.html

Accessed: 08/12/2014

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