Millennials, otherwise known as those between 18 and 34, are predicted to make a huge impact on supply chains in the next few years as they effect a consumer shopping revolution.
Their move towards new channel usage including online and mobile are expected to be transformative, and indeed this move is already having consequences in some areas of the supply chain. Further information on technology trends for this group are detailed in this article by Wired. Here, however we outline some of the specific supply chain impacts:
Mergers and Acquisitions
As Millennials continue their use of e-commerce,this in turn impacts on cross-border trade and subsequent global demand, significant mergers and acquisition activity is expected across all parts of the supply chain. This has been seen to date in the shipping industry but is expected to gather pace in other areas of logistics also. The most successful businesses will be those that can adapt quickly to the ever-changing needs of the Millennial as well as keep pace with their technical demands.
Technology Adoption
A key element of Millennial-driven change is expected to be technology adoption driving further innovation through the supply chain. This is expected to be of particular importance for logistics companies who will be seeking differentiation in the marketplace. Likewise, retailers and manufacturers are expected to benefit from Millennials understanding their own customers and driving appropriate innovation. Innovations in logistics like pallet wrapping machines for example, including pallet wrappers through www.packaging-machines.co.uk and others are seeing increased use in this area given the changing landscape and supply chain.
Predictive Analytics
As with many other areas of technology, the logistics industry has moved from embracing the idea of Big Data, to working with the importance of analytics, to now being at the forefront of predictive analytics. This is expected to continue apace, and enable providers to make predictions for future events from existing data analysis. A more in-depth look at information regarding the impact of this for the industry can be found here.
The impact of changing Millennial behaviour is expected to be the emergence of a potentially smaller number of firms who are relatively asset-light but tech-enabled, allowing them to respond to the needs of this customer set quickly and effectively. In short, a logistics revolution.