Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

DHL: persistent e-commerce growth will buoy logistics firms in 2024

Trend comes as post-pandemic market sees rise of AI tech, flux of smaller logistics providers

DHL glo-press-text-generic-placeholder-ecommerce.jpeg

Continued growth of e-commerce spending in 2024 will spell out good conditions for logistics companies in coming months, according to a business trends forecast from logistics service provider DHL eCommerce.

Despite cautious consumer spending because of rising prices, e-commerce remains strong with an expected low to mid-single-digit growth in 2024, Weston, Florida-based DHL eCommerce said in its “2024 E-tailers’ Almanac.” Proof of that progress was seen in a “solid” 2023 peak holiday shopping season that signaled an increase in consumer spending confidence on purchases of low-cost items (<$100 in value), primarily apparel, many of which are shipping inbound into the U.S. via air freight from Asia.


Logistics companies will benefit from that economy, even as the sector transforms. New, smaller regional logistics providers entered the shipping arena after the pandemic, giving large, established logistics shippers additional competition in the U.S. market, DHL said. But as some of the up-and-coming new players have exited the market, the established companies that invested heavily in automation, robotics, capacity to handle more volume, and aggressive pricing during the pandemic have emerged stronger than ever.

However, logistics providers will need that strength in order to adapt to the shifting needs of e-tailers, DHL said. Online merchants spent 2023 focused on the priorities of cost, reliability, and speed, but 2024 is showing a noticeable shift toward quality and speed gaining prominence over cost. This shift can be attributed to online merchants looking to expand their businesses through an increased focus on time-definite delivery options.

But one thing will not change in that evolution—the continued importance of human employees despite the rising volume of conversation about artificial intelligence (AI), DHL said. That message comes even as AI chatbots become more common tools to improve customer service response rates, agent productivity, and ticket management. Although chatbots can help with consumer queries, lightweight parcel e-tailers in the U.S. still prefer a personal human customer experience to help resolve their logistics and transport queries, DHL said.

 

 

 

Recent

More Stories

digital image of procurement and AI

Survey: 90% of procurement leaders to adopt AI agents in 2025

A whopping 90% of procurement leaders have considered or are already using AI agents to optimize operations in the year ahead, according to a survey from Icertis, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered contract intelligence tools.

That result came from the “2025 ProcureCon Chief Procurement Officer Report,” which was produced by Icertis in partnership with ProcureCon Insights.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Jump Start 25 conference opens in Atlanta

Jump Start 25 conference opens in Atlanta

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the economy were hot topics on the opening day of SMC3 Jump Start 25, a less-than-truckload (LTL)-focused supply chain event taking place in Atlanta this week. The three-day event kicked off Monday morning to record attendance, with more than 700 people registered, according to conference planners.

The event opened with a keynote presentation from AI futurist Zack Kass, former head of go to market for OpenAI. He talked about the evolution of AI as well as real-world applications of the technology, furthering his mission to demystify AI and make it accessible and understandable to people everywhere. Kass is a speaker and consultant who works with businesses and governments around the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
trends in robotics

IFR: five trends will drive robot growth through 2025

As the global market value of industrial robot installations passes its all-time high of $16.5 billion, five trends will continue to drive its growth through 2025, according to a forecast from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

That is important because the increased use of robots has the potential to significantly reduce the impact of labor shortages in manufacturing, IFR said. That will happen when robots automate dirty, dull, dangerous or delicate tasks – such as visual quality inspection, hazardous painting, or heavy lifting—thus freeing up human workers to focus on more interesting and higher-value tasks.

Keep ReadingShow less
graphic of cargo in motion

Disruption events to global supply chains rose 38% over 2023

Overall disruptions to global supply chains in 2024 increased 38% from the previous year, thanks largely to the top five drivers of supply chain disruptions for the year: factory fires, labor disruption, business sale, leadership transition, and mergers & acquisitions, according to a study from Resilinc.

Factory fires maintained their position as the number one disruption for the sixth consecutive year, with 2,299 disruption alerts issued. Fortunately, this number is down 20% from the previous year and has declined 36% from the record high in 2022, according to California-based Resilinc, a provider of supply chain resiliency solutions.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of cargo theft in 2024

Cargo theft activity set new highs in 2024

Cargo theft activity across the United States and Canada reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with 3,625 reported incidents representing a stark 27% increase from 2023, according to an annual analysis from CargoNet.

The estimated average value per theft also rose, reaching $202,364, up from $187,895 in 2023. And the increase was persistent, as each quarter of 2024 surpassed previous records set in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less