Digital Transformation in Logistics amid Covid 19

The coronavirus pandemic is a global health crisis unlike anything we have seen in over five decades. The Covid19 virus was detected and named barely nine months ago and since then it has infected over 26 million people and continues to take a tragic toll on people’s lives.

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It has changed the world as we know it, bringing about personal, societal, corporate and economic change on an unbelievable scale and at an incredible speed.And amidst all the uncertainty of what the future will look like or how people, companies and countries can adapt to this new normal, one thing is certain. The future is digital.

Shift to digital

With the world on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, businesses had already begun to adapt to digitalisation, albeit slowly. But the crisis has encouraged companies to quickly adapt and significantly fast-track the shift to digital.

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Over the last three decades, logistics has undergone a lot of change from being an operational side-function to an independent supply chain management function that ensures all operation from customers to suppliers are integrated. In the past, organisations chose to digitalise operations for efficiency and convenience but in today’s new world, it is a means to increase resiliency in disruptive times. The inherent inefficiencies in supply chain are highlighted during these challenging days and there is an urgent need for all stakeholders in logistics and supply chain management to switch to electronic data transfers and reinforce paper-free business transactions.

E-Solutions - the Way Forward

E-document solutions are the current trend. The digital transformation of freight documents becomes a huge advantage to ensure smooth transfer of cargo across the countries and regions. The availability of digital information also simplifies the administrative processes and saves time as invoices can be issued right away. It can also ensure that everything is on track and synchronised at all the different levels of operations. Digital data will ensure faster work timelines, better communications with all stakeholders and will offer the convenience to sign documents digitally. Full digitalization of the processes also enable employees to work from home and maintain social distancing.

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Traditional processes involved time-consuming and burdensome transfer of information that could affect the efficiency and speed of operations. However, with new digital solutions, end-to end visibility and smarter automation, this risk can be eliminated.

Adapting to the New Normal

The global pandemic will eventually end but it has definitely ushered in a new normal, which will permanently change how the world does business. Companies need to act now, to prepare itself for a digitalised future and this can be done with careful planning, teamwork and operative partnerships.

Going digital is the only way forward for the logistics industry and companies should accelerate their digital transformation and ensure they are at par with the rest of the world.

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