How Internet-based logistics Apps are changing the Game

The evolving “Internet of Things” (IoT) is bringing about a new level of interconnectivity among devices, people, and organizations. The acceleration of IT interconnectivity in the supply chain function also creates potential risks if organizations do not ensure that they are making the right investments and have a plan of what they hope to get out of their IoT investments. The physical supply chain and the infrastructure that supports it (from manufacturing to delivery) are rarely designed with point-to-point IT risk management in mind.

At present, the country’s logistics industry is worth $300 billion, according to the ‘Logistics Market in India 2015-2020’. In fact, the report states, Indian logistics market itself is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.17 percent by 2020. Innovations are very important in this sector, as the demand is always for more reach and faster shipping at lower costs. Yet, the companies will need to invest in automation, while utilizing existing resources well.

The Blog explores the top four game change technology that will change the world:

1. Cloud Services: Cloud computing will be increasingly embraced by business of all sizes, as this represents a major shift in how organizations obtain and maintain software, hardware, and computing capacity. As consumers, we first experienced public clouds (think about when you use Google or Apple’s iCloud. Then we saw more private clouds and hybrid clouds from businesses such as Flextronics, Siemens, Accenture, and many others, all using the cloud to cut costs in human resources and sales management functions. This was only the beginning, as cloud services enable the rapid transformation of all business processes. Moreover, the healthcare companies are widely involved in Cloud Computing. Healthcare companies are re-considering the potential advantages and risks around cloud computing, their competitors are evaluating cloud solutions or probably already adopting them. Over the next few years, those companies, which fail to seize the cloud opportunity will be losing the competitive power—which will quickly lead to lost customers and market share.

2. Virtualization of Networking, Desktop, and Applications: will see continued acceptance and growth by both large and small businesses as virtualization security improves. We will continue to see the virtualization of processing power, allowing mobile devices to access supercomputer capabilities and apply it to processes such as purchasing and logistics, to name a few.

3. Social Businesses: It will stimulate a major boost in the marketplace, fueling a major switch in home viewing. Ever wonder how you could have over 500 cable or satellite channels and nothing to watch? You didn’t have apps on your TV allowing you to personalize the experience. This is the beginning of a major shift that will take place in living rooms globally. Look for Apple to introduce the iTV (living room size iPad).

4. E- books, e- Newspapers, e- magazines: pass the tipping Point due to the abundance of smartphones and tablets that provide a full-color experience, and publishers providing apps that give a better-than-paper experience by including cut, copy, paste, print, and multimedia capabilities. Interactive e-Textbooks will finally take off thanks to easy-to-use software such as Apple’s iBook Author and other competing tools, freeing new publishers to create compelling and engaging content, and freeing students from a static, expensive, and literally heavy experience.   

It would suffice to say that 2015 was the year of logistics for e-commerce in India, with many startups coming up in the space, and investments flowing into them. Online marketplaces such as Snapdeal, Flipkart, and Paytm came up with innovative strategies in logistics and supply chain management, backed by ample investment.

These are obviously not the only game-changing technology-driven trends to be aware of. As we all know from past experience, technology is always evolving, resulting in new trends emerging and new products appearing every day.