Are you curious what logistics trends for 2022 will look like? The past two years have shown that demand is unstable in ways we have never had to deal with before, and the labor shortage has made it a formidable effort to simply deliver the goods to their destination. The pandemic has led to turbulence in the supply chain, as a result of which more and more companies are moving towards automation and digitization to optimize their logistics processes. The challenges faced in connection with COVID-19 have brought the concept of digital transformation to the forefront over the past 2 years.

Staying up to date with news and trends in logistics and supply chain will be essential for retailers and logistics companies looking to become leaders in 2022. The priority is now to create a safe working environment and at the same time to know how to adapt to the disruptions that can occur both in the supply of raw materials from abroad and in the transport and transport of products at the national level. And all this is based on the ever faster development of e-commerce, with delivery windows that at the local level can be as short as a few minutes.

Sustainable logistics

We observe this logistic trend year after year. Green logistics is about implementing environmentally friendly logistics processes. What is its purpose? Constantly seek new ways to manufacture, store and distribute products in a way that reduces carbon footprint, pollution and waste across all links of the supply chain.

Retail supply chains are the largest producers of carbon dioxide emissions, responsible for more than 50% of CO2 emissions in industry.

The main culprits here are transportation combined with an increase in demand in e-commerce. According to a recent study, in 2030, an increase in e-commerce will lead to a more than 30% increase in supply-related carbon emissions.

Customer expectations for sustainable supply and logistics, retailers are starting to rely on their last-mile logistics service providers to help them reduce, observe, measure and report on carbon emissions – and even help them pass on the reduction to consumers.

Incorporating sustainability throughout the supply chain – especially through sustainable eCommerce fulfillment options and supply operations – will help supply chains become competitive and even increase market share in 2022 and beyond.

Another solution for companies that want to reduce energy consumption while increasing supply chain capacity is the installation of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS).

Fast trading: 10 minute deliveries?

We are in a unique stage of demand volatility and rapidly increasing consumer expectations. To meet changing customer needs, supply chains need to move faster than they used to. The latest logistics trend for 2022 is to move from same-day deliveries to ultra-fast deliveries in less than an hour. Quick commerce (qcommerce) revolutionizes logistics, and in particular two aspects related to online trading: speed and convenience in the delivery of orders.

The need for near-instant deliveries has arisen as a result of a change in the mentality and shopping habits of users who value speed, service and customer service over a possible discount or free shipping.

What will it look like in practice? For starters, this will mean increased visibility and connectivity throughout the supply chain. It will also mean using artificial intelligence (AI) in new and interesting ways.

Strengthening supply chain resilience

Supply chain disruption is a change in any phase of the supply chain caused by factors external to the product, such as changes in legislation, weather conditions or cyber attacks. A resilient supply chain is one that is ready to solve and minimize the various disruptions it faces to regain service, production and distribution levels after any incidents that may occur.

The Capgemini Research Institute conducted a study that shows that 62% of companies believe that increasing the resilience of the supply chain should be a priority in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is one of the biggest challenges for the logistics sector in 2022.

Hyperautomation

In 2022, companies are expected to increase the level of logistics automation, replacing cyclical manual processes with automated transport and warehousing systems (AS/RS) capable of making the decisions that drive the supply chain.

To increase the analytical and predictive capacity of hyperautomation, such technologies are used:

• Big data: processes a large amount of information that cannot be analyzed by traditional methods. This includes both structured and unstructured data.
• Artificial intelligence: promotes intelligent decision-making to perform automated operations without human intervention.
• Machine learning: used to process a huge amount of information and identify patterns. In this way, the algorithm itself is constantly improving its processes to obtain more and more accurate results.

The reaction speed of these technologies can be increased by implementing quantum computing. This involves applying the laws of quantum mechanics to the IT field in order to increase computing power.

NFT and blockchain in logistics

Already last year, Blockchain technology was a trend in the logistics industry. This is also likely to happen in 2022, in order to increase the safety, transparency and efficiency of communication between supply chain stakeholders.

This trend has also led to the emergence of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), contract-like digital documents that are recorded using blockchain technology. In the case of logistics, this can increase security, flexibility and transparency when consulting and communicating all information related to a specific product. Although this technology is still in the experimental phase, NFTs can offer full traceability in logistics and constant real-time tracking of a given item, as they know all the metadata of the goods.

Logistics in 2022: the final leap towards Industry 4.0?

The logistics and transport industry has always evolved, and 2022 will be no different. New logistics trends for this year are expected to foster more resilient logistics through digitalisation and automation. The aim is to avoid another supply chain crisis and get the sector out of the pandemic by making the final leap towards modernization in line with Industry 4.0.

The year 2022 is a year full of new challenges and requirements, in which logistics will continue to play an important role in our daily lives. Do you want to optimize your operational efficiency according to current trends in logistics? Do not hesitate and contact us, a trusted integrated logistics service provider with extensive knowledge. We will advise you on how to make the most of your logistics processes.