The New Era of Smart City Logistics – MHI

Let’s talk about your company’s futureproof strategy to meet the challenges and opportunities of Smart City Logistics head-on. Oh, wait. You don’t have one yet? You’re not alone. According to the fourth edition of MHI’s Annual Industry Report, “Next-Generation Supply Chains: Digital, On-Demand and Always-On” (available as a free download at www.MHI.org) a full 50% of the 1,100 manufacturing and supply chain industry leaders surveyed are not aware of Smart City Logistics.

The reason for MHI’s emphasis on Smart City Logistics is three-fold:

  1. According to the United Nations, 54% of the global population currently lives in urban areas, and by 2050 nearly 86% of developed countries’ populations—and 64% of developing countries’ populations—will too. Domestically, 65% of the current U.S. population lives in cities of more than 50,000 people.
  2. The National Retail Federation reports that the number of online shoppers grew by nearly 20 million from 2015 to 2016. Consumers are spending more and ordering more frequently online and retailers are looking for smart solutions to last-mile delivery challenges.
  3. In the U.S., goods transport via freight and delivery truck courier dominates 25% of urban road capacity.

Taken together, the continued migration of people to cities and increase in online shopping will generate even more freight deliveries to and within urban areas. Without intervention and strategic planning to achieve an optimal Smart City Logistics environment, these trends will cause even more traffic congestion, higher carbon dioxide emissions, and untenable noise and pollution.


Collaboration and Smart City Logistics

Cities worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, are leading the charge on Smart City infrastructure. Domestically, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have begun to roll out some of the more aggressive Smart City programs, initially in the areas of public safety, commuter transportation and parking.

To create and achieve the objectives of a Smart City Logistics strategy, a company or a municipality simply cannot go it alone. There are too many factors, data points and stakeholders intertwined within this unique challenge. Rather, the smartest strategy is to build collaborations between city government, multiple businesses (including competitors), academia, environmental organizations, transportation operators, independent researchers, consultants and more.

So which systems and solutions should companies consider as part of the development of a futureproof Smart City Logistics strategy? And where can your organization start?

To answer these questions, MHI added two new Solution Centers at MODEX 2018: “Smart City Logistics and Connected Supply Chain” and “Transportation and Logistics.” Located side-by-side, these Solution Centers will provide an abundance of solutions and resources for building your own Smart City Logistics strategy, as well as the professional connections essential to forming strategic collaborations.

The Smart City Logistics and Connected Supply Chain Solution Center highlights Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions: sensors, software, cloud computing, driverless vehicles, robotics and automation, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality wearable devices and mobile technologies.

Likewise, the Transportation and Logistics Solution Center houses solutions that bring people, markets and goods together in a way that is faster, more efficient and more sustainable, including via road, rail, sea and air freight transportation.

As the largest international supply chain expo in North and South America, MODEX runs April 9-12, 2018 in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Incidentally, this year’s MODEX theme is “Make Your Business Futureproof.” I hope you will accept our invitation to attend and learn more about how to develop and refine your Smart City Logistics strategy. For more information or to register, please visit www.MODEXshow.com.

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