News

In order to be competitive in any business, one must follow the latest trends and technologies enabling a given industry to develop. That is why at LINK, we focus on innovation, follow new market trends and become involved in selected educational and scientific projects regarding the industry of transport, forwarding and logistics. Below, we will discuss three important trends occurring in the dynamically-developing industry of transport and logistics.

1. E-commerce

The impact of the e-commerce industry on the market of transport services is already huge (68% of people with access to the internet in Europe shop online), and this trend will continue to increase. According to the forecasts of market experts, in the upcoming years, the total number of transactions concluded electronically will reach the amount of 4 trillion dollars (based on data obtained from warehousenews.co.uk). It is a big challenge for transport companies that have to develop their services continuously to ensure effective supply chain management as well as services related to handling orders and transport. The current economic growth contributes to this trend and you can already notice it in the statistical data regarding the industry. For example, in the 4th quarter of 2017, the index of transport capacity in Europe as compared to the 4th quarter of 2016 dropped by 23.3% (according to the data obtained from the Transport Market Monitor Edition: January 2018). 

2. Autonomous road transport.

Autonomous cars (and artificial intelligence), and hence autonomous road transport have become some of the key subjects in the technological industry. Despite the fact that solutions in this scope are usually still at the test phase, in Western Australia autonomous tractors are a fact, enabling to limit transport costs in a safe and efficient way.

Also solutions involving implementation of integrated convoys are tested, created with vehicles of various brands. When vehicles are moving in an organised formation, they will take less space which will have a positive impact on increasing the capacity of roads, especially the busy ones. Truck manufacturers of many popular brands, have been cooperating within the scope of the Ensamble consortium, in works on integrated convoys composed of vehicles of different makes. The industry participants are already experienced in creating convoys of one vehicle make, and in certain cases of two makes. Currently, they are working on creating and testing a common system that will cover many manufacturers.

At LINK Company, we are also in the course of implementing a cooperation project with universities regarding autonomous road transport. We will inform more about this soon.

3. Robotics in warehouses.

The quantity of goods and products that are stored and kept in warehouses each day for transport purposes is huge. Organisation of movements in large-size warehouses or smooth flow of goods is an increasingly bigger challenge for the industry, while having a negative impact on the effectiveness of the logistic process. Hence, more manufacturers of internal transport systems focus on automation of this stage enabling to implement such solutions without the need for large changes in the structures of internal data processing centers. Furthermore, warehouse robots also enable direct physical access to storage shelves to choose any product from any level, which is a huge simplification of all warehouse tasks for the employees.

It is certain that the industry of logistics and transport is in the course of dynamic growth – hence LINK has been investing in innovative solutions and continuously developing its fleet, while implementing IT solutions to offer top-quality services to its customers.