Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gartner: it’s not too early to apply cutting edge tech to transportation sector

Logistics operations could save millions through small improvements made by IoT, analytics, and AI.

gartner transpo tech

The latest cutting edge technologies in the transportation sector may still be somewhat immature, but given the colossal size of the U.S. transportation sector, they could save logistics firms millions of dollars if they improved efficiency by just a few percentage points, according to the research and analyst firm Gartner.

The three strategic technologies with the most potential to make that kind of impact include the internet of things (IoT), advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence, said Brock Johns, a principal research analyst in Gartner’s supply chain practice, in a session Wednesday at the firm’s Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo.


Those three specialities are among a group of seven “growth technologies” that have reached a mid-range of development, alongside intelligent autonomous things, 5G networks, immersive experience, and blockchain in supply chain, according to Gartner’s analysis. In comparison, a handful of other logistics concepts remain in the younger, “emerging technologies” category, such as: edge computing, governance and security, continuous intelligence, digital supply chain twin, and hyper automation, the firm says.

But according to Johns, those top three approaches already have such potential to improve operations that Gartner estimates more than 50% of global corporations will be using at least one of them by 2023.

Indeed, citing the statistic that U.S. business logistics costs totaled $1.63 trillion in 2019, as calculated in CSCMP’s 2020 State of Logistics Report, he pointed out that parcel shipments comprised some $100 billion of that total. That means that improving operational efficiency by merely 1% would generate savings of $1 million, Johns said.

Each one offers its own benefits to justify firms’ investments. First, IoT applications can help improve three areas, including visibility—such as location and condition tracking of temperature sensitive or high value goods—optimization of trucking routes, and automation of dispatching operations, he said. Thanks to those benefits, Gartner forecasts that more than 40% of freight containers and one-half of all pallets will be tagged with tracking technology by 2029.

Second, advanced analytics can provide improved transparency through data-based decision making, cost savings through better predictions, and improved customer relations through more accurate predictions of estimated time of arrival (ETA) timing.

And third, AI can support autonomous trucking and equipment, better customer experience through intelligent chat bots, and streamlined inventory flows through digitized freight networks, Johns said.

The Latest

More Stories

agility digit walking robot

Agility Robotics to provide walking robots for German car company

Agility Robotics, the small Oregon company that makes walking robots for warehouse applications, has taken on new funding from the powerhouse German automotive and industrial parts supplier Schaeffler AG, the firm said today.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Schaeffler has made “a minority investment” in Agility and signed an agreement to purchase its humanoid robots for use across the global Schaeffler plant network.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

image of board and prevedere software

Board acquires Prevedere to build business prediction platform

The Boston-based enterprise software vendor Board has acquired the California company Prevedere, a provider of predictive planning technology, saying the move will integrate internal performance metrics with external economic intelligence.

According to Board, the combined technologies will integrate millions of external data points—ranging from macroeconomic indicators to AI-driven predictive models—to help companies build predictive models for critical planning needs, cutting costs by reducing inventory excess and optimizing logistics in response to global trade dynamics.

Keep ReadingShow less
vecna warehouse robots

Vecna Robotics names Iagnemma as new CEO

Material handling automation provider Vecna Robotics today named Karl Iagnemma as its new CEO and announced $14.5 million in additional funding from existing investors, the Waltham, Massachusetts firm said.

The fresh funding is earmarked to accelerate technology and product enhancements to address the automation needs of operators in automotive, general manufacturing, and high-volume warehousing.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of sectors that lease warehouse space

3PLs claim growing share of large industrial leases, CBRE says

Third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ share of large real estate leases across the U.S. rose significantly through the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, as more retailers and wholesalers have been outsourcing their warehouse and distribution operations to 3PLs, according to a report from real estate firm CBRE.

Specifically, 3PLs’ share of bulk industrial leasing activity—covering leases of 100,000 square feet or more—rose to 34.1% through Q3 of this year from 30.6% through Q3 last year. By raw numbers, 3PLs have accounted for 498 bulk leases so far this year, up by 9% from the 457 at this time last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
A robot in every factory?

A robot in every factory?

In a push to automate manufacturing processes, businesses around the world have turned to robots—the latest figures from the Germany-based International Federation of Robotics (IFR) indicate that there are now 4,281,585 robot units operating in factories worldwide, a 10% jump over the previous year. And the pace of robotic adoption isn’t slowing: Annual installations in 2023 exceeded half a million units for the third consecutive year, the IFR said in its “World Robotics 2024 Report.”

As for where those robotic adoptions took place, the IFR says 70% of all newly deployed robots in 2023 were installed in Asia (with China alone accounting for over half of all global installations), 17% in Europe, and 10% in the Americas. Here’s a look at the numbers for several countries profiled in the report (along with the percentage change from 2022).


Keep ReadingShow less