The difference between Traditional Logistics and Digital Logistics may not be as clear-cut as you think. Nevertheless, implementing a more efficient logistics system for your business requires that you’re first able to make a clear distinction between the two.
Traditional vs. Digital
Paper-based documentation - Scanned PDFs - Manually inputting data into different IT Systems - Constantly making calls to get the latest cargo status.
These are all keywords that illustrate what it’s like to operate under a Traditional Logistics structure. Here, there’s little or no interchangeability between the various software systems used by stakeholders across the supply chain, and most of the coordination and communication is done over the phone. Arguably, this method is both vastly ineffective and very costly. Still, many (perhaps even most) industrial logistics operations are done this way today.
Digital Logistics is the alternative. Moving far beyond having to scan documents or manually input data, this method is Cloud-based and enables optimization, visibility and collaboration between all stakeholders in the end-to-end supply chain. All data can be shared electronically between different management systems and applications. One of the major, time-saving advantages is that you can enter information into the systems once and then reuse the data multiple times instead of registering the same information for every shipment. Thanks to the convergence between logistics and technology, you get more collaborative solutions, in addition to tighter integration of warehouse, transport and end- consumer information.
