Half of all transportation and logistics companies agree that their organizations have outdated technology, and more than a third believe this is preventing them from scaling up sufficiently during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings come from a new report by the mobility and IoT company SOTI. The survey was conducted by Arlington Research on behalf of SOTI.
Transportation and logistics companies are losing customers and missing opportunities to expand their businesses due to outdated technology in the final stage of delivery, according to a new global report from the mobility and IoT company SOTI – The Last Mile Sprint: The State of Mobility in Transportation and Logistics – which has examined the technical challenges facing today’s transportation and logistics companies. Although the transportation and logistics industry is currently experiencing exceptionally high demand due to strict social distancing guidelines, 49 percent of participating transportation and logistics companies globally, and 68 percent of Swedish transportation and logistics companies, report that their organization has outdated technology. Globally, the figure is highest among large companies—those with 5,000–10,000 employees worldwide—at 56 percent. The report, commissioned by SOTI, is based on interviews with 450 IT decision-makers in the transportation and logistics industry in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and Australia. The report aims to gauge companies’ views and understand the trends and solutions driving them.
Outdated technology means losing customers
Half—50 percent—of all senior decision-makers in transportation and logistics globally, and 53 percent in Sweden, whose organizations use outdated technology, believe they will lose—or have already lost—customers because of it. Nearly one-third, 30 percent, of them view the use of outdated technology as a direct reason why they are falling behind their competitors. Outdated technology also affects companies’ ability to expand or address challenges in the current climate. More than a third—37 percent—of companies globally with outdated technology, and 47 percent of Swedish companies, say that the outdated technology has prevented them from scaling up sufficiently during the COVID-19 crisis, while 36 percent of all companies globally—and 44 percent of Swedish companies—agree that their organization would benefit from improved real-time support for mobile devices during times of crisis.
– The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rapid shift we’re seeing from brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce, and the stakes have never been higher. As consumers increasingly turn to online retailers for their shopping needs, fast shipping is no longer a luxury—it’s an expectation.Transportation and logistics companies are lagging behind with outdated technology, especially in the final stage of delivery, and this results in lost customers and missed opportunities, says Shash Anand, Head of Product Strategy at SOTI.
Arlington Research, an independent market research firm, conducted 450 online interviews with IT managers, IT directors, and senior executives in the transportation and logistics industry in six countries (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Australia). All respondents work for companies with 50 or more employees globally.
