Absence of Effective Asset Tracking Stifles Growth in APAC Logistics Firms
- By CDOTrends editors
- May 22, 2023
Singapore-based HERE Technologies has conducted a comprehensive study, APAC On The Move, aiming to shed light on current technological practices and trends in the transportation and logistics (T&L) sectors across Asia-Pacific (APAC). This study marks the first step in examining how technology is molding supply chain management, fleet operations, and logistics in this region, which holds some of the world's most significant manufacturing and exporting economies.
A central revelation of APAC On The Move 2023 is the ongoing struggle of logistics firms with end-to-end asset tracking and shipment visibility three years into the pandemic. The survey shows that around 90% of APAC logistics companies are still grappling with technological hurdles in gaining comprehensive, real-time visibility into their supply chains. This comes even with the intent to enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
The logistics industry in the APAC region is crucial to global supply chain networks. T&L firms are increasingly challenged by continuous consumer demands, shifting customer expectations, and the advent of novel competition from disruptive startups and customer-turned-rival logistics operators.
“The supply chain and logistics companies in APAC are at a different stage in evolution as far as asset tracking and shipment monitoring are concerned. On the one hand, companies are looking to invest in IoT, AI, and drones to improve real-time visibility, and on the other hand, a large number of companies are still relying on manual processes to achieve the same objective. The companies who are currently relying on manual processes are likely to leapfrog to modern solutions,” said Vivek Vaidya, global client leader for mobility at Frost & Sullivan.
One highlighted aspect of the HERE Technologies study is the struggle with technology partnerships and implementations. Over half of the surveyed firms reported difficulties finding suitable partners or suppliers for technology implementation. Different concerns emerged based on the maturity of the local economies; in Australia and Singapore, the fear of potential disruption to existing operations was prominent, while in more fragmented logistics industries like India and Malaysia, simply knowing where to begin with technology implementation posed a significant challenge.
Firms expressed a need for easy-to-implement turnkey solutions that don't necessitate costly and labor-intensive overhauls. Existing software integration difficulties, limited implementation time, and high costs were cited as the primary obstacles to adopting logistics asset tracking and shipment monitoring solutions.
Despite the pandemic exposing the weaknesses in manual tracking within global supply chains, around 45% of APAC firms continue to blend manual inputs with asset tracking and shipment monitoring software. Meanwhile, tech investments are primarily driven by customer satisfaction, with financial benefits as a close second. The study also revealed a promising prospect: most APAC logistics companies are utilizing some form of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Many are planning future investments in drones, robotics, and machine learning to create a lasting competitive advantage.
“The study indicates that logistics providers — who handle road, sea, or air transportation, or oversee transportation management — are consistently challenged at implementing asset tracking solutions. Their reasons include implementation costs, integration with existing software/infrastructure, the time needed for implementation, and lack of skilled manpower. This speaks to the need for logistics providers to engage professional services to speed the implementation of in-house software development or off-the-shelf turnkey software, or offload the entire effort to system integrators or location consulting boutiques to develop a bespoke solution,” said William Strugger, senior director for global market intelligence at HERE
Technologies.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Thibault Renard