Big data offers huge potential for new business models allowing logistics companies to become search engines for users from every field, said an expert.

Martin Wegner, vice president of R&D, DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation team, said that big data and logistics fit together perfectly in the ‘Big Data in Logistics’ trend report.

‘Big data’ is the name given to the huge amounts of information that can be systematically collected from various sources and then analysed and evaluated with the help of new technologies.
 
“Logistics companies manage a huge flow of goods and thereby create massive volumes of data. Specific data about millions of deliveries, including destination, size, weight and information about contents, is recorded every day,” he stated.

The report included concrete examples that could be applied in three areas for data analysis by logistics companies and other industries - operational efficiency, customer experience and new business models.

The aim in the field of operational efficiency is the real time optimisation of package delivery routes taking into account the order of delivery, the traffic situation and the availability of the recipient, while the ability to predict delays in the supply chain, followed by the appropriate logistical service response, allows for an improved customer experience, said the report.

Finally, big data offers logistics providers ideas for new business models, to help companies optimise processes, it said.

The study was conducted as a part of the Logistics Trend Radar programme, which is used by DHL’s central innovation department to identify topics that could have a major impact on the future of the logistics industry. - TradeArabia News Service