Of course, there’s a cost benefit to collaboration which makes it attractive to many businesses. Allowing other businesses to use your assets, such as vehicles and warehouses, when you’re not using them yourself, provides benefit for all. Even sharing assets with a competitor can drive real benefits for both parties. Empty warehouse space is a drain, so why not rent it to someone else until you need it? This works especially well in instances where collaborating businesses have opposite peak periods. As the support systems and technology which help facilitate collaboration improve, expect to see collaboration increase.

Logistics is a people business. Our colleagues are our biggest asset but recruiting and retaining the best talent is a challenge. As an industry, we must improve our ability to showcase the breadth of opportunity and career development available. Take for example the changing role of the warehouse operative. The roles we now see in the warehouse environment are more varied and diverse than ever before. The roles of picking and packing, sit alongside engineers, customer service professionals, automation specialists and solution designers. The roles incorporate use of cutting edge technology, supported by continuous training and offer brilliant development opportunities.

Consumers want a vastly different experience than they did 10 years ago. Demands for access to a wider range of products, a seamless multichannel experience, convenience, and an increasing demand to be served directly are all having an impact on how supply chains work. Legacy systems are being rapidly outpaced by agile and responsive new ones. Understanding how consumers are changing and how to best meet their needs isn’t new. But competition is fierce and those that fail to anticipate and adapt will be easily muscled out by more responsive companies.