Enabling Technologies for Smart Logistics

The possibilities for future logistics are limitless due to the continuous development of digital technologies. To give some guidance in the masses of available information, DIGILOGIC has collected numerous inputs from research and academia, e.g. from the work of ETP Alice and the DHL Trend Radar to attempt a summary of different research streams and use cases for digital technologies in logistics. Some of the examples include:

• increasing the efficiency of transports due to improved location information through secure data exchange combined with IoT (Internet of Things),
• enabling a higher flexibility and scalability in warehouses and distribution centers by making use of autonomous systems e.g., for autonomous loading and unloading of trucks while consolidating new loads at the same time,
• simplifying decision-making using digital twins or
• improving the agility and process transparency in supply chains through big data analysis.

It becomes clear that these technologies are complementary: when used as an overarching system their impact is multiplied. Therefore, it is more than necessary to see the big picture.

If you would like to learn more, have a look at the report here.

While preparing this summary it has become apparent that digital transformation and the uptake of digital technologies follow local and regional trajectories which might differ from each other. Therefore, in the next weeks and months DIGILOGIC will amplify the voices of African start-ups, industry people, researchers, and policy makers to specifically address the different needs and priorities, to identify which are the most helpful solutions for the African continent.