The logistics industry is at a tipping point as the Covid-induced speed with which digitalisation has taken hold threatens to alter the workplace forever.
According to a trend report undertaken by DHL titled The Future of Work in Logistics, it is estimated that 29% of all current workplace tasks are done by machines.
This is expected to grow to 52% by 2025.
“Perhaps the most recognised force sustaining the current pressures for change in logistics and reshaping the future is the advancement of technology,” the report contends.
“Continued improvements in the realms of digitalisation, automation, and artificial intelligence are already having a significant impact on jobs, workplaces, and entire sectors around the world, further permeating all parts of the supply chain every year.”
“Simultaneously, logistics can now adopt once unfeasible or cost-prohibitive technology, thanks to important technological breakthroughs in recent years involving sensors, batteries, wireless communication, data storage, computing power, and material sourcing.”
These modern advancements, the authors believe, are the reason why augmenting and automating technologies have become unlocked and accessible to supply chains, opening the door to further developments."
In the future, some jobs will require the use of new tools, some jobs will no longer be needed, and many new jobs will be created.
“While this may seem like a far future topic for some, at the time of writing, severe supply chain labour shortages are so severe it’s making front page headlines around the world.
“From truck drivers to warehouse workers to data scientists, the industry is already grappling with a growing labour shortage and a war for talent.
To succeed, organisations need to deploy strategies that will attract, retain, develop, and motivate workers in the digital era.”
Companies will also need to adapt to a shift of values in the workplace.
“Workers are making new decisions about the conditions under which they will provide their labour and skills, the types of organisation for which they are willing to work, and the rewards they expect in return for their time and effort.
“And while everyone has their unique set of preferences and goals, they are also often heavily influenced by the period in which they came of age – that is to say, different generations generally have markedly different attitudes and values about the concept of work.”
As Bob Dylan wrote all those years ago, “The times they are a’changing”.
