The logistics industry provides opportunities for both movers and shapers
(Source: Flickr)
BACK in the good old days, before the PC and Macintosh, if you wanted something done you would often just do it yourself.
Companies sent their own trucks to the factory to pick up supplies, and the local department store could do “home deliveries” if you were happy to wait a week or so.
Life was simple, but also slower paced.
With the advent of hyper colour t-shirts, puffy hair and jelly shoes, successful manufacturers were increasingly turning to transportation and warehousing experts to help them get supplies from the factory and products to the store.
It turned out that moving lots of stuff from one place to another is a tricky business, and logistics experts could get the job done faster and more reliably, at lower cost.
With the dawn of a new millennium, and the growth of a novel technology called the Internet, the dynamics in the logistics industry changed, again.
The Internet enables suppliers to access customers directly, communicate with them in real time, and (if managed properly) to provide better service at lower cost.
The flip side of the coin, though, is that customers now have higher expectations than ever before.
This presents a challenge, but at the same time a big opportunity.
With the number of goods flowing back and forth, and with the amount of organisation required, an opening has emerged for managers, IT experts and business people to help coordinate the physical flow of goods.
The logistics industry, it turns out, provides opportunities for both movers and shapers.
[Note: Deloitte and BCG appear to have their fingers on the pulse. What about your firm?]