Plan, procure, execute, & track transportation for every shipment across your supply chain & logistics operations
A SaaS solution to help grow your business by achieving 100% perfect order execution at high volumes
Increase vehicle capacity utilization and customer promise adherence
Grow your business with omnichannel presence and automated pickups
Consolidate shipments for hub to hub movement across land and air
Real-time customer communications and collect accurate PODs
Orchestrate logistics operations with multiple 3rd party carriers
Achieve cost effective, scalable, sustainable, and customer centric deliveries
Orchestrate all your cross-border logistics operations with ease
Improve address accuracy, ensure first-attempt delivery success, reduce costs and boost customer experience
Gain end-to-end shipment visibility, get proactive alerts, and send customers live tracking links
Grow business in a dynamic world and manage operations across First, Middle & Last mile
Delight customers by seamlessly managing store and online orders across own fleet and 3rd party
Reduce freight costs & get end to end visibility across shipments
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The logistics market in the UK is changing rapidly, and businesses are trying to keep up. In recent years, the market shifted towards online shopping and same-day delivery, which has put much pressure on logistics companies. As a result, many businesses are now looking for software to help them manage their logistics operations very efficiently.
Logistics software allows businesses to manage the flow of their resources more effectively. Technology has significantly impacted how businesses manage their supply chains as around 85% of logistics companies own some form of warehouse management system (WMS) software. Further, according to Gartner research, almost 50% of new warehousing projects now utilize automation technology.
Here, we discuss the current market landscape and implementation challenges for logistics software in UK. We also share the recent trends driving automation in the logistics sector in the UK and how smart automation can help businesses amplify their revenue.
The logistics sector in the UK is currently experiencing huge growth, mainly due to the surge in eCommerce. According to recent statistics, the UK eCommerce market was worth £182.9 billion in 2021 alone. Also, in 2021, consumer spending in the UK increased compared to the previous year. It amounted to approximately 1.33 trillion British pounds, and eCommerce sales made up 36.3% of total retail sales in 2022.
The United Kingdom E-Commerce Market is expected to witness a CAGR of 21.76 % during the forecast period (2022- 2027). Easy access to the internet and increasing online shopping are key factors driving the e-commerce market in the country. The UK is estimated to be one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, with consumers spending more than £16.7 billion every month.
Hence, the consistent rise in the demand for smart logistics software in UK doesn’t come as a surprise. Companies are adopting an intelligent distribution model powered by smart automation to drive delightful and profitable deliveries.
Further, companies seek more visibility into their operations. This is a big challenge that most logistics software developers are addressing. They are developing innovative solutions, such as mobile apps, to monitor supply chain activities as there is an increase in the number of goods shipped worldwide.
The UK logistics market is going through a phase of significant change due to many factors, such as growing e-commerce and reverse logistics operations, increased government intervention and trade flows, shortage of HGV drivers, and rise of tech-driven logistics services.
The biggest challenge facing the logistics sector in the UK is to create an integrated network that helps to meet customers’ expectations in terms of delivery speed and availability of products and services. Further, the software should enable businesses to ensure the quality and safety of products and help reduce overall operational costs.
Here are some key logistical challenges in the UK.
Statista reports that transportation is one of the biggest contributors to the UK’s total emissions and accounted for 24.4% in 2020. The surge in eCommerce, hyperlocal deliveries, and direct farm-to-plate models is only going to add to the emissions.
While road transport greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have reduced significantly over the recent few years, businesses are now seeking even more stringent control over the emissions in light of global sustainability awareness.
As the world becomes more connected, we see the rise of online shopping. People are now looking for faster delivery options and are willing to pay more. A recent report by Global Data revealed that the total e-commerce market grew by 20% in the last year alone. The global market size for e-commerce is predicted to grow by almost 25% by 2017.
People shop online or pick up the goods at their nearest retail store or collection point. The rise of online shopping has given rise to the concept of reverse logistics. The term refers to the logistics being returned to their point of origin, and it is now a vital part of any e-commerce business.
Another challenge is the current trade flows in the UK. While the UK is a significant hub for global business, a lot of this is currently being handled by manual processes. This means that there is much potential for automation and efficiency gains.
It also means that there is much room for error as manual optimization is always full of loopholes and fails to deliver desired results at scale. As a result, companies are eagerly looking for logistics software in UK that could help them manage diverse trade stakeholders and operations from a single integrated dashboard.
One of the industry’s main challenges is a shortage of HGV drivers. This is a severe problem because HGV drivers are essential for transporting goods around the country. With enough drivers, businesses can move their products and services. This leads to a decrease in productivity and an increase in prices.
With enough drivers, businesses can meet customer demand and may even be forced to close their doors. The shortage of HGV drivers is caused by several factors, including the retirement of older drivers and the lack of youngsters entering the profession.
Highly smart logistics software solutions in UK can help businesses to make the most of their existing fleets. They can leverage the in-built AI routines to drive more deliveries per driver, per vehicle, in a highly cost-effective manner.
With the ongoing Brexit negotiations, the cost of delivery is likely to increase, making it more difficult for logistics companies to compete. Also the UK logistics industry is also facing a skills shortage.
This is driving a huge need for smart end-to-end logistics management and delivery orchestration platforms that offer integrated management capabilities for tackling various pain points.
Okay, so automation is great for smart logistics management, but it is important that businesses opt for the right automation to unlock the best results.
Hence, we share some of the must-have features that every business should look for while investing in logistics software in UK.
AI-powered logistics management solutions offer multiple ways to optimize the logistics operations, such as optimizing order allocation, drivers, vehicle utilization, vehicle capacity utilization, route planning & optimization, and more.
Businesses can choose from the list of available optimization criteria to ensure the highest level of cost savings and resource efficiency. Hence, it is one of the foremost must-haves to look for while investing in any logistics software solution.
The logistics software should optimize the order fulfillment process as well. Smart end-to-end intelligent automation reduces the time in the order-to-fulfillment cycle and improves the order processing efficiency on the supplier side as well.
Thus, businesses can enjoy effortless integration across all the major automation systems, such as WMS, OMS, ERP, CRM, etc., and control, manage, and monitor all the operations from a unified dashboard.
Optimized automated workflows, automatic order allocation, and prioritization of service providers are some of the most awesome benefits of logistics software solutions. Automated solutions can help businesses manage all the operations, right from raw material sourcing, to freight procurement, tracking of shipment, and Last Mile movements.
Automated logistics software solutions also help businesses to leverage predictive analytics and minimize their costs via efficient management of incidental costs, such as demurrage, detention, and transshipment aging.
Advanced data analytics and reporting features are becoming extremely important in logistics for driving intelligent business operations and helping users evaluate logistics operational efficiency.
Data-driven insights help make crucial decisions with real-time metrics and successfully predict problems. Real-time data can help businesses in many different ways, such as reducing delivery times, minimizing overhead costs, increasing fleet capacity, and maximizing business profit.
Some other key considerations that businesses need to keep in mind while choosing any logistic software in UK are mentioned below:
Shipsy is a custom SaaS platform that helps businesses overcome logistics challenges and unlock growth via smart capabilities and diverse functionalities. The platform is designed to be flexible and adaptable so that companies can tailor it to their specific needs.
It enables companies to streamline their operations via real-time tracking, route optimization, and data analytics. Shipsy’s integrated solutions for multiple industries and business use cases help businesses manage various parties via a single dashboard and stay ahead of the competition always.
Shipsy is a versatile platform that helps businesses track every aspect of their supply chain and manage all their customers and suppliers. They can get access to crucial data in real-time and leverage data analytics for better decision-making. They can improve their supply chain, lower costs, and reduce errors across the entire logistics ecosystem as the platform integrates well with the most popular ERP systems, including the existing ones.
With its smart capabilities and advanced functionalities, Shipsy has helped businesses unlock:
For more information, please visit the official solution pages of Shipsy or get in touch with our experts for a customized demo session today!
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