words Al Woods
The importance of the logistics industry has been magnified during the Coronavirus pandemic as our lives have become increasingly dependant on deliveries to our homes.
Lockdown life has seen surges in online grocery shopping and retail as physical stores have been closed and people advised to stay at home to limit the spread of the virus.
The logistics sector has responded quickly to the extra pressure and importance placed upon it in recent months, but much of this development was already well under way.
Here, we will examine how the industry is looking to adapt to keep up with modern life and the new normal after lockdown.
Mobile apps
The shopping experience has gone from store to computer screen to phone screen over the years, with mobile technology now at the forefront of just about every industry, as our smartphones become more and more entwined with our daily lives.
Adding as much functionality as possible onto the small screen is never easy, but companies are coming up with novel ways of delivering their services in a mobile-friendly way.
Courier-comparison service Parcel2Go recently relaunched its app, enabling people to send multiple parcels, track package journeys, and send and receive QR code receipts.
The biometric security carried on just about all modern smartphones also offers customers an added layer of protection – something that can be crucial when sensitive details such as addresses and payment information is being handled.
Parcel tracking
We can’t be the only ones that have watched the little cartoon van drive up and down our local streets until our parcel arrives at our front door, right? Right?!
As well as keeping people with apparently too much time on their hands entertained, the advances in parcel tracking have helped cut down on delivery times and issues in transit.
With routes now analysed like never before, companies are able to plan ahead to cut out unnecessary waiting times and increasing capacity as a result, meaning more packages can be delivered quicker.
These advances have opened up services like same-day delivery, something which has been crucial in the uncertain times of the pandemic.
Robot technology
Many couriers were familiar with delivering at a distance before Coronavirus, with drop-off points a system used by many major providers.
But the need for sterile deliveries, to those advised to go into ‘shielding’ to protect exacerbating existing medical conditions, pushing some companies into smart solutions.
A robotics company delivering food but show the way forward for many industries, while Amazon’s continued exploration into autonomous technology could see drones and driverless vehicles become fixtures on our streets.
Have you utilised the new technology brought by logistics companies during lockdown? Maybe you have done so without realising it, but it seems clear that the future of this sector has been brought forward by the needs of our modern times.
