2016 has seen a lot of changes for the UK logistics, shipping and haulage companies. A lot more pressure has been put onto businesses to ensure they’re providing a high-quality service. Companies looking to hire shipping services are paying a lot more attention to results in a bid to ensure maximum customer service.
To meet the higher expectations, numerous technologies and services have been introduced. There are also further developments in the works, with better services planned in the not too distant future. So, what’s next for UK logistics, shipping and haulage companies? Below we’ll find out…
E-Commerce set to be even bigger in 2017
By far one of the biggest changes in the logistics sector has been the boost in e-commerce. There has been a significant shift from high street to online shopping. This has significantly increased demand for shipping and as 2017 fast approaches, this is only set to become even bigger over the course of the next year.
Of course, the increased demand has caused numerous challenges for logistics and shipping businesses. This is no doubt going to be addressed with the development of new technologies that will help with processing and we’ll continue to see a rise in ecommerce fulfillment needs. In particular, help with how deliveries are actually picked and shipped will be the primary focus.
Drones to be introduced?
One of the most exciting developments in the industry is the use of Drones. Amazon is the latest company to trial drone delivery, promising to deliver small goods within 30 minutes in selected areas. This takes speedy delivery to a whole other level. The service, known as Prime Air, uses aerial vehicles to ship and deliver small parcels quickly and efficiently.
How the service will specifically work isn’t fully known right now. However, Amazon has claimed it will increase safety within the industry. It’s also going to be a lot faster due to no real traffic to contend with.
Of course, not all logistics companies are going to be able to offer such futuristic deliver options. However, they will see an increase in next day deliveries. Customers opting to have their parcels delivered the next working day has increased dramatically over the past year. So, those companies which offer various parcel delivery options are going to do particularly well in 2017.
Driverless trucks
Whilst drones may take some time to enter the logistics market, driverless trucks are making huge progress. They have already been trialled in the US, making successful deliveries. However, there is still a lot of unknown factors to contend with such as the safety aspect of these types of deliveries. If they are introduced onto the mainstream, that would also indicate a huge job loss, which in turn would affect the economy.
Overall, there are a lot of developments in the works, though not all of them are going to be met with enthusiasm from UK logistics, haulage and shipping companies. If you’re working in the logistics industry, for now your primary focus should be on ensuring you offer a wide range of delivery services and your picking, packing and shipping process is as fast and simple as possible.
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