HERE Technologies, UK.Finance.Yahoo.com,
Las Vegas – Manifest Supply Chain Conference – HERE Technologies, the leading location data and technology platform, today unveiled insights from its latest ‘On the Move’ survey of transportation and logistics (T&L) professionals in the Germany, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and United States (U.S.). The survey, developed in part with Amazon Web Services (AWS), shows a significant gap in the adoption of basic data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with a lack of sustainability goals and progress toward achieving real-time supply chain visibility.
Identifying Opportunities for AI Adoption
According to the multi-country survey conducted by YouGov, only 50 percent of T&L professionals across the three countries state their organizations utilize basic data analytics in their operations. At the same time, 25 percent of all respondents state their organization leverages AI capabilities. This underscores the untapped potential of AI – from data analytics supported by machine learning to optimizing fleet routing, predictive maintenance and streamlining processes for strategic decision-making. The findings contrast with all three countries ranking in the top 20 of last year’s World Bank Logistics Performance Index[1].
While the study highlights the lack of data analytics and AI utilization, it also identifies the key barriers to technology implementation. Cost is the number one barrier to further technology implementation according to T&L professionals in all three countries. Thirty-one percent of professionals surveyed in Germany cited cost barriers alongside 23 percent of respondents in the U.K. and U.S. Potential disruption to existing services (12%) and lack of internal expertise (11%) were the second and third highest cited barriers to technology implementation.
T&L professionals want reliable solutions that are easy to use and can be seamlessly integrated into their existing processes and systems without requiring extensive technical expertise or costly technology overhauls. Thirty percent of all respondents rank improving fleet utilization, route planning and tracking as top considerations when improving operations.
Sustainability in the Shadows
Despite the global emphasis on sustainable practices, the study reveals a significant gap in the prioritization of sustainability among logistics companies across all three regions.
Across all three countries, a majority of respondents state their organizations do not have sustainability goals, with 27 percent citing they are “under development.” A total of 33 percent stated their organization is without sustainability goals with no plans to develop metrics. An unexpected 66 percent of T&L professionals in Germany indicate their organization currently does not have defined sustainability goals or metrics specific to transportation and logistics operations.
