For thousands of years, deliveries were made either on foot, or with the assistance of a horse or a ship. Then trains, automobiles, and planes came along and radically changed things. In the past 100 years, deliveries were able to be made faster, safer, and more efficiently than at any point in history.

However, deliveries are now going through yet another stage of development, and innovation is changing shipping again. Here is a look at some of the newest and most innovative delivery methods that companies are trying now.

1. Drones to fill the skies

Drones – unmanned flying machines that can be piloted by a person on the ground or guided using software – are among the most hyped new shipping technologies. A number of companies have already begun using drones to make deliveries.

In fact, in March 2017, Amazon made its first official drone delivery through its new “Prime Air” delivery service. The delivery consisted of a bottle of sunscreen and was sent to people at a conference in Palm Springs, California. The drone flew in, dropped off the package successfully and flew out without any issues. The online retail giant is a known pioneer and a trendsetter. So if Amazon starts heavily relying on drones for deliveries, there is a good chance that many others will soon follow suit.

Amazon is just one of many companies who are experimenting with drone delivery. Some other companies who are experimenting with drone deliveries include Domino’s Pizza, Mercedes, the Ukrainian Postal Service, and Workhorse.

The fact that so many famous brands are starting to use drones means that everything from pizzas to diapers to clothing could soon be flying through the air in high volumes.

It may soon become as commonplace to see drones flying through the air as it is to see cars driving on streets.

One of the key reasons why companies are starting to adopt drone technology is because they do not require drivers on the roads to move goods from point A to point B. This can help save companies a lot of money on delivery costs.

This is great news for companies, but potentially bad news for deliver drivers. However, despite the fact that many delivery driving jobs could soon vanish, many new job opportunities related to drone deliveries could soon arrive.

2. Driverless cars in beta

Driverless cars are another unmanned and automated approach to delivery that companies are beginning to experiment with. Domino’s again is involved with this exciting delivery innovation. On August 30^th, 2017, Domino’s started to experiment with self-driving pizza deliveries in its own hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Domino’s has partnered with Ford to use self-driving Ford Fusions to deliver pizzas to people around the city without drivers.

Because there are no drivers, no tips are required. To receive their pizza, customers have to walk up to the car and enter a four-digit code. After they enter the code, the back window roles down, and they can get their pizza out of a special heated container.

Domino’s is not the only company testing out driverless vehicles for delivery purposes. In fact, Ocado Technologies and Oxford University in England are working in collaboration to test small self-driving vans for grocery deliveries in the crowded streets of London. Oxford University is trying to create a car that will be emissions-free, in addition to delivering groceries autonomously.

3. One-hour delivery coming to your city, town or village

One-hour delivery, where possible, is extremely fast and can eliminate the days or weeks of shipping time that are often required for items purchased online.

Amazon is again leading the charge for one-hour delivery. The company now offers one-hour delivery in select major cities all over the U.S. and now into the UK and Canada for its Amazon Prime members.

Although this service is only available in a small number of cities, this amount will soon grow. This is especially true considering the fact that Amazon will be using drones more and more. Drones are not subject to traffic jams like cars are, so they have the potential to increase the speed at which items can be delivered. This is partially because drones can fly straight from point A to point B in many cases, barring buildings or other obstacles, since they do not need to follow winding roads.

So, essentially, drones could help bolster Amazon’s one-hour delivery and help to expand the service into suburban, or even rural areas.

Speedy one-hour shipping may become more common as other shippers and retailers try to keep pace with Amazon.

Revolutionizing the entire shipping industry

Between Canada and the United States, billions of packages are shipped every year. In today’s economy, customers want packages shipped faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. Delivery companies also want to reduce their delivery costs, while optimizing efficiency. The drive to create new delivery solutions is pushing companies to innovate at an impressive pace.

Delivery innovation is occurring so fast that five years from now the delivery landscape could look entirely different. Drones and self-driving cars could will automate vast portions of the delivery niche, while one-hour deliveries could make standard 5-7-day shipping periods look obsolete.

Amazon and Domino’s are two companies who are leading the charge for better delivery. This is not surprising considering that shipping is a key aspect of the business models for both of these businesses. In fact, Domino’s delivers more than 1.5 million pizzas every single day! The amount of packages that Amazon ships each day is very similar: roughly 1.6 million.

As these two major companies continue to innovate to reduce costs and improve shipping efficiency, the entire transport industry could change. The extent to which these new innovations will succeed and how much other companies follow suit is yet to be determined. But there is a high expectation that their innovations will be successful, and that many other companies will follow in their path.

Has your company changed the way you deliver goods? What will the next great shipping innovation be? Let us know in the comments below.

The post 3 innovative new delivery methods that are changing shipping as we know it appeared first on Trade Ready.

Check it twice!

If you are a supply chain manager, or you know one, chances are you know they’re not the type of people to leave things to the last minute.

That won’t stop us from providing some late ideas to add to any supply chain manager’s Christmas list, in the spirit the season, to bring joy to every SCM into the new year. So pull out your list, and get ready to start adding to it!

1. New shipping technology

Who doesn’t want some sort of shiny new toy to play with over the holidays?

Several major companies have tested or begun to use drone deliveries, including Google, Domino’s Pizza, Amazon and 7-Eleven. Self-driving trucks have also taken major steps, including the first self-driven commercial delivery in October by Anheuser-Busch InBev in Colorado.

While more testing and legislation are needed to make both a more accessible and affordable option for most companies, drones in particular may be a reasonable option sooner than you think.

2. A solid plan to mitigate unforeseeable disruptions

A major disruption that cannot be controlled by a supply chain manager, such as a natural disaster or a port workers’ strike, is the kind of situation that can cause nightmares.

While they usually can’t be forecasted, plans can be put in place to make changes in the event of a major disruption. These plans could involve relying on alternate suppliers, sourcing raw materials from another country, shipping to a different port or airport, or something else altogether. Whatever the solution, it’s better to have a plan that may need tweaking than to be caught completely flat-footed.

3. More eco-friendly delivery methods, materials, etc.

While metrics like speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are often a supply chain manager’s greatest concern, sustainability and environmental impact are quickly rising to the top of priority lists.

With a multitude of options to go greener – new packing materials, , more fuel-efficient transportation, monitoring suppliers’ sustainability efforts, etc. – the greatest challenge remains how to be more environmentally friendly without sacrificing overall supply chain efficiency.

4. Greater local/rural flexibility to get quick delivery outside of cities

There have been advances in rapid shipping within major city centres over the past few years. Amazon Prime subscribers in New York, for example, can now have goods delivered within the hour.

Despite these improvements, there are still many people who live in rural or remote areas who are unable to access such quick service.

Some of these challenges are outside of the hands of supply chain managers, such as ensuring all rural areas have the Internet access necessary to make orders in the first place. However, focusing on solutions to provide faster shipping to rural customers could open up new avenues for growth.

5. Lots of advance notice for any legal/compliance changes, and a crack legal/compliance team to handle them

Few problems will cause more headaches than a shipment being held up because of an unexpected or previously unknown change to compliance laws.

If you don’t have a legal or compliance team at your company who can stay on top of the latest regulations and how to comply with them, it can be especially hard to fit such work into your busy schedule. Setting up some form of update system to alert you to any changes, or working with a third party who specializes in these areas could also be a solution.

6. Reliable suppliers who embrace today’s high standards

A supplier can affect a supply chain manager’s business in many significant ways. Your supplier will meet or fall short of your clients’ expectations of quality, timeliness, innovation, and even finance. And all of the above will directly contribute to your ability to compete in your industry.

A supply chain manager’s dream supplier will fully embrace ecommerce and digitization, meet and exceed new standards in compliance, social and environmental sustainability, and can make any order size profitable. And they will do that reliably, earning themselves a warm place of loyalty in the SCM’s heart.

 7. Cutting edge business intelligence software

There is no doubt that big data has and continues to revolutionize the supply chain industry. This unprecedented amount of information is being collected and analyzed by tracking software at all stages of the supply chain. The outcome is the ability for companies to run more complex supply chains with greater efficiency, agility, reduced risks and greater foresight into the future.

But in order to take advantage of this goldmine of data, a supply chain manager needs the most up to date business intelligence software. So for the SCM on your list, drop a program that can manage all sales channels, inventory, point of sale and supply chain data in one – preferably cloud-based – system into their stocking.

8. Good analysts to know which metrics matter, which don’t, and how to understand them

 Once you’ve unwrapped that cutting edge software, you’re going to need someone to help you make sense of all the intricate data you’ve collected.

Today’s supply chains are getting more sophisticated and the role of a supply chain analyst has become an essential part of any logistics team. This year, SCMs want an analyst (or a whole team of analysts if you’re feeling generous) to not only analyze the data but suggest ways to optimize the supply chain based on their findings and accurately forecast future demand, pricing and costs.

9. A dynamite returns management team

No matter how great your products are, there will inevitably be returns for one reason or another. Since we all know that returns can eat up a big portion of profits, every supply chain manager yearns for an effective team that can handle the challenges of reverse-logistics flawlessly.

Companies that are making strides in this area use the latest returns management software, analytics applications, streamline the reimbursement process, and process returns at the snap of a finger. All of this allows companies to hold on to more of their revenue and keep their customers delighted with an easy, risk-free process. Cheers to that!

10. Full transparency to re-gift to all stakeholders and consumers

Being able to boast of socially responsible supply chain operations should be on every company’s wish lists this year. Being morally, environmentally, legally and socially responsible is no longer a “nice to have” in today’s age of increasing transparency. For consumers, it has become an expectation.

Sustainability initiatives are being boosted by innovative technology, allowing supply chain management teams to trace their products from sourcing to delivery. Santa should be loading up on supply chain traceability software to send to every SCM, so that they can pass on the good news of their responsible practices to their partners and customers, and put a smile on everyone’s face this holiday season.

Wishing everyone a happy, efficient, just-in-time time holiday season this year!

The post 10 wishlist items every Supply Chain Manager wants from Santa this year appeared first on Trade Ready.

There are even some drones that are capable of operating underwater. Whether the drone is in the air or underwater, there are many ways that these incredible machines are being used to help ship goods around the world safely and effectively.

1. Having an eye in the sky to avoid obstacles and physical danger

If a cargo ship is traveling through a narrow or dangerous passageway and the captain wants a better look at what’s ahead, he can simply have one of the crew launch a drone high into the sky, above or in front of the ship, to gain a significantly improved vantage point.

Doing this can help the captain see what the swells may look like as they approach the ship. He or she could also better detect any sandbars or reefs in the way, and get a better look at clouds on the horizon. Currently, drones are even being used to patrol beaches for sharks. The technology could also be used in the same way to locate someone who falls overboard.

Additionally, drones can be used by ice breaker ships, or any ship in regions with ice, to take a look at the ice flows ahead. Doing so can help the ships find the paths with the least ice-based resistance. Trying to do this without a drone is much more difficult. The bird’s eye view that drones provide greatly improve the view of the captain or crew.

If a ship captain is having difficulty navigating through heavy, low-lying fog, then a drone may also be able to provide viewing assistance. The drone could potentially be flown above or around the fog to help the captain ensure he or she is not in danger of hitting anything, such as other ships, light houses, or islands.

2. Making transportation safer by inspecting where other eyes can’t go

Drones can be used to conduct a wide variety of international trade inspections, and can dramatically improve the efficiency and safety of the process.

For example, drones can currently inspect wind turbines four times faster than traditional methods. They can also be used to inspect hulls and containers on cargo ships to make sure they are stacked correctly. These inspections are particularly important if any sort of collision has taken place.

In addition, drones can be used by authorities to inspect the underside of bridges, long stretches of railroad track, or ports from above. In terms of port inspections, the authorities can use the drones to ensure that no unauthorized ships are docking in the ports, causing congestion and navigating difficulties.

Companies are also able to use drones to inspect land for surveying purposes.

In fact, they are so efficient in surveying that some estimates declare that a drone can do in 20 minutes what it would take a week to do without one.

This can be highly beneficial for mining companies, or other businesses that need detailed land surveys.

3. Finding problems so you don’t end up 20,000 leagues under the sea

There are a number of drones that are designed to operate underwater. These submarine drones are currently being used to look for submerged mines that could potentially threaten cargo ships. Using drones to do this work can help reduce risk to both shipping professionals and the personnel who would otherwise be doing the mine sweeping manually.

These submarine drones can also be used to take a better look at underwater wreckage. Using drones in this capacity can help crews get a better understanding of how to salvage sunken ships, or to determine if any danger is presented by the sunken vessel to ships passing above.

Sunken ships can be a real problem if they sink in shallow water, near ports or other narrow waterways, such as canals. Submarine drone footage can help the involved parties determine what action needs to be taken to prevent the sunken ships from causing harm to ships on the surface.

4. Improving safety and recovery when an accident does happen

The unique views that drones provide can be highly useful for rescue purposes. For example, if the Coast Guard is searching for a distressed vessel in a storm, it can launch a drone to acquire an expanded view of the surrounding area. This can make this task significantly easier and safer in trying conditions.

Further, drones can be used if a fire breaks out on board a ship to help locate trapped crew members, and to help find a safe passageway to rescue them. Drones can also help locate the source of the fire safely, without having to risk crew members.

Additionally, if a ship strikes a reef, iceberg or another object in the sea and starts leaking, submarine drones can be piloted to the area of the hull underwater. There, they can be used to find out exactly where the leak is and see how bad the damage is. This kind of information could save the lives of those on board the ship.

Drones just might be your new best friends

Whether they are being used for weather and geographic feature detection, inspection, underwater hazard detection, rescue purposes, or for a multitude of other tasks, drones are quickly becoming more and more important to the international trade industry.

The ability of drones to provide enhanced viewing power from a safe distance, without putting anyone in harm’s way, makes this invention an incredibly important development for any industry.

Anyone from shipping professionals to military agencies or inspection authorities can find uses for these devices. Due to their versatile nature and unique capabilities, these handy machines are likely to be used more and more in the world of global trade. Without a doubt, there will soon be even more uses discovered for these nimble devices!

Is your company making use of drones? How have drones changed the way you do business?

The post 4 ways that drones are making international trade safer appeared first on Trade Ready.