With demand fluctuations in both the freight production and logistics sectors, those responsible for supply chains will have to work with accurate forecasting models. The COVID-19 pandemic shows that predictive analytics will be one of the key tools for our sector’s future.
The Butterfly Effect
As specialists in international freight transport, we know that an incident in one part of the world can immediately and directly affect our operations in another. We are all aware of the butterfly effect theory, where a perceived small cause in the East can unleash a storm in the West. The ship Ever Given, stranded in the Suez Canal, which caused a crisis in international transport, is the most recent example. We live in a globalized and hyper-connected world that turns supply chains into a very complex network.
This complexity is a challenge but, at the same time, a great opportunity for logistics companies. Predictive analysis of our market’s behaviour not only increases our ability to overcome possible adversities but is also a powerful tool to reduce costs, time, and environmental impact.
Big data and smart logarithms: the future of the sector
At Transped and the Alonso Group, we are investing in new computer applications that will allow us to carry out predictive analysis in the not too distant future. Predictive analytics must be understood as a set of technologies based on forecasting developed software using big data and smart logarithms. Advances in artificial intelligence will also open the door to machine learning, a tool that will gain prominence in the coming years. Our goal is to obtain behaviour patterns that simulate the future and suggest automated decisions based on past data.
Predictive analytics is highly dependent on the organisation’s level of visibility, supply chains, digital capacity, and the use of real-time data.
At Transped, we cover all the links in the logistics chain. We are aware that coordination between associated companies, partners, clients and suppliers is essential in carrying out a strategic analysis of our global operations. We are in the process of digitising our operational channels, which will allow us to anticipate demands, optimise our loads and transport routes, and which will ultimately lead to greater customer satisfaction.
Technology is key to developing the sector, which tends to integrate all available information determining the number and frequency of shipments and using predictive routes that take into account external variables such as traffic congestion, weather conditions and even geopolitics.
Through predictive analysis, the status of shipments will be increasingly accurate and reliable.
One of the biggest challenges shipping companies face is improving the visibility of the status and location of shipments. At present, the consumer can see from the moment they purchase a product on the Internet the exact itinerary of the merchandise and can check in real-time where their purchase is at all times.
As a freight forwarder, offering this service as accurately as possible is crucial. Predictive analytics allows us to provide efficient and reliable tracking. The use of IoT and RFID devices to locate goods and shipments will further increase the ability to predict the time of final delivery in the future accurately.
The use of predictive analytics achieves a high return on investment, facilitates decision-making and contributes to more sustainable transport by reducing environmental impact.
