The future of logistics and supply chain management

“The sector should be ready to return to customer needs, as they are the most valuable assets.

Logan Fransman - The Namibian German Centre for Logistics (NGCL) is tasked with promoting and highlighting the importance of this sector.

Logistics is always evolving and improving. It is the backbone of the Namibian economy. Logistics and supply chain management evolved from the original military concept of the supply of weapons and other goods to soldiers to sophisticated processes to meet demands in a globalised trading environment.

Supply chain design may be the most important aspect for businesses these days, as it is vital for the procurement of quality raw materials, managing distribution, storage and delivering finished goods, ultimately to satisfy customers in a timely but cost-effective manner. For Namibia to become the preferred facilitator of trade in the region, there has to be consideration of what the prospect holds for logistics and supply chains, as it will shape the development of best practices.Examining trends and developments shows how the Namibian industry can utilise and leverage these for their benefit and development.

COLLABORATION

Supply chain collaboration will be a priority for businesses, especially in procurement, as strong relationships with suppliers are vital to meet demand and mitigate risk.Effective cooperation among stakeholders provides much needed data to make well-informed business decisions. If we as a nation and a sector achieve this through partnerships and investments, we can improve targets in such industries as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, fisheries, rural and urban development and tourism.

Collaboration among public and private institutions should be strengthened to provide an improved service offering from the sector.

RESILIENCEBy moving toward streamlined and overall digitisation of processes through new solutions, it places businesses in a more resilient position in an already fast-changing environment.

In a world where customer needs and expectations vary, a more responsive system is required. Digitisation with redesigned supply chains will achieve this and add value while increasing revenues.Best-in-class countries like Singapore, Japan and the UAE, rank reasonably high in competitiveness and logistics performance, because of their resilience and ability to change due to their technological and digitisation capabilities. Namibia has scope to join the digital economy if she realises the value of technology and digitisation for key operations.

IN THE CLOUD

Cloud services that are data-driven and can cut back on infrastructure-related costs will become even more prominent.Cloud services or Software as a Service (SaaS) offers the convenience of access to software on a pay per use concept, without the costs of owning and maintaining servers. Nations where logistics thrive have improved their performance by investing in technology that enhances its freight flow visibility and tracking and tracing capabilities.

AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enjoyed a boost in research in recent years and has developed several applications in logistics and supply chain operations.Autonomous vehicles and automated warehouses have already taken off, and in the future robotics will play a key role in improving business operations. Managing risks with AI will see operations optimised, reducing impact on the environment and cost.

Considering the size of the Namibian workforce and its disadvantages for industrialisation, automated processes and robotic technology can fill this gap for the country, providing an innovative and efficient edge over regional competitors.

There will be a need for circular supply chain managers that will rework the “raw material to finished product” concept, and suggest the reusing of finished products as raw materials to reduce administrative and transport costs of reverse logistics and to promote sustainability.

Namibia is ranked 5th in SADC and 90th overall for competitiveness based on 2017/2018 indicators. Pressures of sustainability and consumer behaviour are among the factors that need to be looked to, to improve this index. Circular supply chain management may be a game changer for a trade facilitating country like Namibia.Keeping abreast with the latest logistics and supply chain trends is essential to respond to fluctuating market conditions. The sector should be ready to return to customer needs, as they are the most valuable assets. Embracing this brave new future of Logistics will make and keep Namibia competitive.