Amazon and Uber a logistics threat

There’s growing consensus among
industry professionals that large
technology companies will soon target
logistics as a lucrative expansion
prospect. And this is particularly
feasible for e-commerce companies
– like Amazon – which currently
outsource their logistics operations to
external providers.
According to a recent survey
undertaken by Hong Kong-based
Freightos, an overwhelming 89% of
senior decision makers believe Amazon
will make a move into the logistics space.
This after the company applied for an
NVOCC licence in November last year.
And Amazon is not the only
technology behemoth with logistics
prospects, according to the survey. “Over
one third of logistics influencers believe
Uber has significant potential to move
into logistics, while Alibaba’s logistics
arm, Cainiao, was recently valued at
$7.7 billion dollars – almost double the
recent valuation of the world’s largest
forwarder, DHL Global Forwarding.
Without doubt, both carriers and
technology players are leveraging
technology to make processes more
efficient, spelling out new demands
and standards for the world of
freight – and logistics companies are
looking at the likes of Amazon and
Uber with trepidation.