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moved forward considerably since the days of Henry Ford’s
famous comment: “You can have any colour as long as it is
black!”
The automotive smart factory is lean and is driven by JIT
sequenced manufacturing processes with robotics and LOGISTICS
automation providing consistency in high volume complex
operations. The automotive eco-system demands similar
solutions in adjoining and offsite smart warehouses. Many of
the warehouse operations are on site and include line side
feeding of manufacturing cells.
In this environment where factory costs are driven by lean
processes and efficiency, contract logistics providers have
Big Data Analytics & Advanced Inventory benefited from strategic investments in programmable logic
Management Systems control (PLC) automations and sensor driven technologies
One of the largest expenses for many organisations is the that meet efficiency and productivity targets as well as
cost of inventory so many companies embed IoT sensors on required safety standards.
parts, packages and equipment to track them throughout
their journey and know exactly where they are in the The emergence of the driverless cars and trucks has the
network; in manufacturing, in transit or in the warehouse. potential to significantly disrupt the logistics industry whilst
improving safety standards of the average consumer. The
These advanced inventory management technologies are emergence of the air taxi and e-taxi and the ongoing
linked in with Big Data Analytics and directly integrate just research by companies such as Airbus, Tesla, Google and
about every aspect of complex physical inventory into Uber may signal the start of the convergence of the aviation
cloud-based platforms and systems. Big Data Analytics and automotive industries. Electrification of parts have the
manage information outputs from logistics systems and potential to create a more efficient lighter engine and replace
provide increased centralised intelligence and control for the need for hydraulic propulsion.
organisations with multiple inventory echelons and
distribution centres throughout the world. Meanwhile, Aerospace is becoming a big data player.
Incredibly, the information output from the ‘c series’ aircraft,
Blockchain and Cost Transparency necessary for preventive maintenance and customer
Originally developed to support the Bitcoin digital intelligence generates the same output as Facebook daily!
cryptocurrency, the ability to create deeply-encrypted, Data platforms to manage information from flight
immutable records in a highly-secure distributed ledger will entertainment and passenger airport activities is seen to be
become increasingly important to increase trust between essential for innovation in the industry, confirming the
collaborating logistics enterprises. Blockchain technology significance of Big Data Analytics.
will ultimately create more agile supply chains, close
partnership deals, ensure IP protection and ratify material
traceability and transparency.
Analysis of Industry Adoption by Vertical
Contract logistics providers have increasingly moved up the
value chain of their clients to achieve higher EBIT margins
that justify investments in technology. Country and Regional
Distribution Centres (RDC) often function as centres of
logistics excellence because of the scale and complexity of
the value add activities within the warehouse. The smart Automation has been at the heart of automotive and aviation
warehouse, can scale up with increased efficiency without technologies.
compromising service for launching ‘New Product
Introductions’ or for supporting high volume peak periods at Hi-Tech Vertical
quarter end and year end. The manual warehouse carries RDCs are consistently used for forward deployment
greater risk particularly when work forces are flexed up and strategies when OEMs co-locate manufacturing activities
down with part time staff to meet peak volumes. with value add logistics services to reduce transportation and
inventory carrying costs to improve order lead times and
Automotive Vertical customer satisfaction. Value add activities include,
The Automotive Vertical is a highly competitive and management of both client owned inventory (COI) and
challenging vertical for contract logistics providers. Robotics vendor owned inventory (VOI), high volume pallet and parcel
and automation have been at the heart of car manufacturing sortation, in-transit merge, localisation, postponement,
for decades and this sector has been an early adopter of new E-commerce and final mile delivery solutions including B2B
disruptive IoT technologies. The Automotive industry has and B2C fulfilment.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport 21