The holiday season is a tough time for retailers and the transportation industry, and the time between Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be the peak period of the rush. Large volumes of e-commerce purchases are putting more and more pressure on businesses and their logistics managers every year. Today we will look at how the crazy shopping day known as Black Friday came about to change the holiday shopping season forever.

Cell phones and different technology gadgets play a significant role in our daily lives. Almost all vital actions involve attention to a screen, and driving is no exception. According to a distracted driving survey, 88 percent of drivers are using their phones on the road. Along with high cell phone use, there are many other factors that are also distracting drivers from the road.

“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” – Sun Tzu Logistics and supply are one of the most essential functions for any military, modern or historical. Operational logistics for a military refer to the set of activities carried out in order to satisfy the needs of those involved. This includes food, transportation, war materials, medical services, and much more.

The last-mile delivery is a key part of a supply chain process, for both B2B and B2C businesses. It leaves the final impression about your company in the customer’s mind, so outlining the right last-mile strategy is very important.

October was full of many significant events, bringing in new advanced developments to the industry. Here are some industry updates from last month!

Why is the drivers’ shortage happening? According to the survey by American Trucking Association, the driver’s shortage could reach 175,000 drivers by 2024, which is almost five times more than 2014 rate. These forecasts can soon become a reality, as the average age of American truck driver is 55 years. It is easy to figure out that in a matter of 10-15 years, the old generation of truckers will retire, and carriers will have to deal with a disastrous situation, as recruiting young talents is a challenge.

In the logistics industry, no matter how hard you try to maintain the best service and utilize the most progressive technologies, problems can still happen to your freight during a shipment.

Third-party logistics providers already make a big impact on the transportation industry today. According to surveys, the amount of 3PLs users is growing and has reached 81 percent for domestic transportation in 2018. There is no surprise that fast and convenient shipping is a must for a company’s success. Demands for delivery rates and customer service rise every day. Therefore, efficient transportation management and awareness of 3PL trends become crucial to stay in the game.

In the age of Amazon, the only thing that is growing faster than the e-commerce sector is customers’ demands. Once a shipment is scheduled or an item is purchased, the customer is constantly looking for updates on the shipment, no matter if it’s an individual shipper or a large corporation.

Technology and digital innovations are making a significant impact on every industry. With all of the new advancements being made, there is a constant hanging question: will online services replace freight brokers? Depending on the industry, the answers may differ, but recent years have shown that nothing major is taking place yet. There is no doubt that digitalization is changing our lives and the process of running the business. But it definitely won’t do all the work.

Why is supply chain security important? As digitalization takes over the world, there is a raging demand for transferring loads of data to cloud storage. The transportation industry is no exception, considering the exponential growth of the e-commerce sector. Logistics companies and businesses are constantly working to stay ahead of new industry trends and technology but may often overlook one important aspect that is becoming a crucial part of the logistics industry – supply chain security, and cybersecurity in particular. ­

There have been many new developments that have helped make truck drivers lives easier. New technology, specifically trucker technology, has been created to make drivers’ lives easier and help ensure their safety. New truck driver technology consists of electronic logging devices, GPS tracking, mobile apps and voice activation. Today we will be analyzing the different types of trucker technology that is used today and how it can help make drivers lives easier.

Intermodal transport has recently become a popular topic throughout the transportation industry. Many companies have started utilizing intermodal to save them time and money on their shipments. We will discuss the reason many companies switch to intermodal transport, and how intermodal transport can save companies money, increase the safety & transit of a shipment, and even help reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

There were many new and exciting developments throughout the transportation and shipping industry during this month. Check out some of the top stories that made headlines during September!