BY BEN AMES, SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
LOGISTICS 2030
Strategy
BRAINSTORM THE BIGGEST TRENDS TO SWEEP
through the logistics world in recent years and you might
come up with the rise of e-commerce, the driver shortage, and
the trucking capacity crunch. Think a little longer and you might
add emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous
vehicles. Dig a little deeper, and you might … not be able to sleep tonight as
you realize that the sector is being rocked by waves of transformation.
No one has the answers for the best way to weather this storm, but a new multiyear
research initiative aims to offer some insights. Called “Logistics 2030—Navigating a Disruptive
Decade,” the project was launched to guide logistics and supply chain professionals through the uncertain
times that lie ahead. Through a series of focus groups, online surveys, and interviews with industry executives, researchers hope to create an accurate portrait—warts and all—of the supply chain challenges we
face and then develop recommendations and best practices.
These waters are too deep to chart in a single map, so the study will focus on a single aspect of the profession each year. In 2018, the inaugural year of the study, researchers looked at freight transportation.
This year, the focus is on distribution and warehousing, with other topics to follow. The project is led by
Brian Gibson, executive director at Auburn (Ala.) University’s Center for Supply Chain Innovation; Gail
Rutkowski, executive director of the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC);
Rick Blasgen, president and CEO of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP);
and Mitch Mac Donald, president, CEO, and group editorial director at Agile Business Media.
Managing a
supply
chain in
uncertain
times
No one knows what the future
holds for logistics and supply chain
professionals. But an ambitious new
research project aims to guide the way.
