CHANGE BRINGS BOTH CHALLENGE
AND OPPORTUNITY
The logistics industry is experiencing record change and growth. In the last
three to five years, waves of innovation and change have swept through
our industry at an unprecedented rate. In the next several years, even
more growth and change is expected!

Much of the change is being driven by the growth of e-commerce and heightened customer expectations. Companies are looking to innovate and flourish despite constantly shifting market conditions. That challenge is only compounded by a perpetual labor and talent shortage. It’s no surprise that so many companies are rethinking every aspect of their logistics operations as they vie to stay competitive.

Some statistics to consider: E-commerce sales grew a jaw-dropping 18
percent in 2018. Keeping in mind that this number represents only 14
percent of all retail sales, clearly there is plenty of room for additional
expansion here. At the same time, the labor challenges are heating up.

In a report issued in September 2018, real-estate services giant CBRE projected that our industry would need to add 226,000 warehouse and DC workers in both 2018 and 2019 to keep pace with growth. With an unemployment rate of 3. 9 to 4.0 percent and demand showing no signs of slowing, this labor shortage is reaching the crisis stage. Couple this with Amazon continuously pushing the envelope (almost daily it seems) with one-day and same-day delivery, which further raises customer expectations, and it’s clear businesses will face even more challenges ahead. I believe our industry is experiencing the perfect storm.