(Expansion) – The digital transformation has impacted all industries, especially logistics and transportation, as it allows companies to identify areas of opportunity, needs and risks.
In addition to safety, it has contributed significantly to reducing fuel consumption, optimizing routes, predicting trends and future events, improving the customer experience and having greater control over costs, one of the most important issues for these types of companies.
Technological evolution in this sector is marked by data collection and analysis, electrical systems, process automation and Artificial Intelligence, giving rise to greater interconnectivity.
From my perspective, the use of Big Data in transport has three very clear trends. The first is that, thanks to data visualization, all relevant mobility parameters are more transparent and must be taken into account for the development of sustainable urban concepts.
The second is that it helps city officials directly test and evaluate the implementation of regulatory measures, from traffic and parking restrictions to the introduction of low-emission zones.
Finally, the combination of historical data and artificial intelligence methods help to analyze areas with excess supply or higher demand and therefore plan ahead.
Likewise, the interdependence between the logistics of tomorrow and a sustainable model can help in many areas, one crucial one being the environment. The United Nations Environment Program maintains that if 22 cities in Latin America replaced their current fleet of buses and taxis with electric vehicles, by 2030 almost 64 billion dollars in fuel would be saved and 300 million equivalent tons would be reduced. of carbon dioxide, according to estimates.
This is where we can see that improvements in the sector are not only important for profitability, but also for air quality and the future of the next generations.
However, there remains a significant gap in recognizing the need to implement technology innovations and have an adoption strategy. Over the last decade, various companies have put autonomous vehicles to the test.
Only a few countries, such as the United States or Singapore, already have this type of vehicle on public roads. In the case of Mexico, there are variables to consider for the implementation of autonomous vehicles: legislation, technology and innovation, infrastructure and consumer acceptance.
On the other hand, creating an adoption strategy is not easy. For this, it is necessary to evaluate the situation of the company and locate where the technological innovations will generate the greatest benefits; set specific, realistic, and measurable goals; adopt the appropriate technology, train and motivate staff to be the driver of change for improvements; promote a transformation of organizational culture from leadership; encourage teamwork, creativity and good practices; establish metrics to evaluate the results; and design continuous improvement plans.
Without a doubt, there is still a long way to go, since to get there it is essential that leaders are willing to introduce changes in their companies and train their staff so that the possibilities offered by digital transformation can be implemented.
Once this barrier is passed, it will be possible to respond to the needs and demands of the market in a fast, precise and innovative way, taking the transport and logistics industry to the next level.
Editor’s note: Jorge González Valles is director of Mobility & Expense at Sodexo Benefits and Incentives Mexico. Follow him on LinkedIn. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
