{"id":20372,"date":"2023-02-03T01:38:49","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T01:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.odysseylogistics.com\/?p=19697"},"modified":"2024-01-26T01:31:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T01:31:05","slug":"20-year-retrospective","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.odysseylogistics.com\/blog\/20-year-retrospective\/","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019ve come a long way: A 20-year retrospective on the logistics industry\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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When Odyssey Logistics began providing outsourced logistics management services to the chemical industry and other process manufacturers in February 2003, the world looked a lot different than it does today. It\u2019s the year<\/a>\u00a0that the US Department of Homeland Security officially began operations, smartphone technology was emerging,\u00a0Tesla<\/a> was founded and iTunes music store<\/a>\u00a0was just launched by Apple.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The logistics industry has also changed significantly over the last two decades. Back in 2003, there were no autonomous vehicles, iPads or flying delivery drones. The Great Recession hadn\u2019t happened yet, e-commerce was still in its infancy and the global pandemic and its subsequent disruptions were still on the far-off horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Odyssey Logistics is proud to have shepherded companies of all sizes\u2014and across most industries\u2014through these and other evolutions.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Technology as a Driving Force<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In The History of Global Supply Chains<\/i><\/a>, Grace Whitfield walks us through the massive changes that have taken place in supply chains throughout the course of history. Specific to the 21st\u00a0Century, she says developments from previous centuries have helped make Industry 4.0\u2014or the Fourth Industrial Revolution\u2014a major part of any company\u2019s digital transformation.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThis revolutionizes the automation, monitoring and analysis of supply chains through smart technology,\u201d Whitfield writes, pointing to big data, horizontal and vertical integration, AR, IoT, additive manufacturing 3D printing, autonomous robots, digital twins and cybersecurity as the core smart technology pillars that organizations are now focused on.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThe technologies allow \u2018smart\u2019 products to be created and processes to be integrated, which in turn allows for higher productivity,\u201d Whitfield writes. \u201cThese developments changed the way companies operate, because as cloud manufacturing opens up new working practices, automation becomes more common.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Data Becomes the New Oil<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If there\u2019s one area that\u2019s changed supply chain and logistics management dramatically over the last 20 years, it\u2019s the accessibility of information. As companies adopted more technology, those systems began generating more data to review and act on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cERP implementations soared in the early 2000s, allowing companies to capture and accumulate data. But not until the last decade has this data, coupled with cheaper and faster computing, become truly accessible,\u201d Chainalytics<\/a>\u00a0reports.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cWith faster computing, increased storage capacity and data proliferation, the shift from distant rear-view business intelligence to near real-time, actionable descriptive and diagnostic analytics finally occurred,\u201d it continues. \u201cThis decade also saw enormous growth in analytics as capabilities moved from IT into the hands of supply chain functional users.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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E-Commerce Takes Hold<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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E-commerce has also had a major impact on how companies run their supply chains. The momentum was already well underway prior to 2020, but the global pandemic really pushed it over the edge. By mid-2020, companies across the board were transacting online and delivering smaller and smaller individual orders to their customers\u2019 homes and workplaces.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cManufacturers now sell direct-to-consumer, suppliers drop-ship retail orders and monthly subscription services generate two-way logistics flows,\u201d Chainalytics states. \u201cTraditional bulk manufacturers who now sell online have adapted their supply chains to serve customers directly \u2014 fulfilling individual orders, developing relationships with last-mile carriers and managing reverse logistics.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Going Green Becomes the Gold Standard<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another shift seen in the last several years, and one the industry can expect a lot more pressure from in the years to come, is the growing concern of sustainability. \u201cThe world itself has grown more concerned with the impact of the human population and the environment,\u201d Grace Tino writes in Supply Chain & Logistics: 20 Years of Change<\/i><\/a>. \u201cSupply chain itself directly connects to these concerns; from consumers to governing bodies, there is an increased call for sustainable supply chain strategies that take environmental impact and ethics into mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In the early-2000s, roughly one-third of companies had concrete goals to reduce their carbon footprints. Now, that number is closer to 90% and is expected to increase in the coming years.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThose goals may have initially been for PR reasons\u201481% of global customers \u2018feel strongly\u2019 that companies should do their part in improving the environment,\u201d Katalyst<\/a>\u00a0points out, \u201cbut as companies adopted these strategies, they also found that going green saves a lot of green.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 2021, Odyssey introduced its Cloverleaf\u2122 Sustainability Program<\/a>\u00a0to help shippers and carriers build stronger, more sustainable supply chains. Odyssey has invested heavily in the technologies behind the Cloverleaf program and actively participates in the US\u2019s SmartWay Program, Europe\u2019s GreenFreight and other government-sponsored initiatives. Odyssey will continue to increase its investments in the technologies, processes and information that will lead to smart new paths for sustainability and economic growth.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Odyssey Logistics began providing outsourced logistics management services to the chemical industry and other process manufacturers in February 2003, the world looked a lot different than it does today. It\u2019s the year that the US Department of Homeland Security officially began operations, smartphone technology was emerging, Tesla was founded and iTunes music store was just launched by Apple.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":22087,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"blog_category":[74,69,71,68],"class_list":["post-20372","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_category-industry-trends","blog_category-managed-transportation","blog_category-metals","blog_category-multimodal-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA 20-Year Retrospective on the Logistics Industry - Odyssey Logistics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 20-year retrospective of the logistics industry. 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