SCM SUMMIT 2024, organized by the SCM FAIR Exhibition Bureau, was held on March 21 under the theme of 'Next Generation Logistics, 2024 Outlook and Strategies'. 

The seminar introduced strategies to prepare for global supply chain instability, middle-mile solutions for tracking raw material procurement, production, and distribution, and cutting-edge IT technologies and automation systems that enable smart delivery services.

Professor Oh-Kyung Kwon, Graduate School of Logistics, Inha University, spoke about the global supply chain disruption under the theme of "Supply Chain Transformation, What Response Strategy is Needed?" and emphasized, "It is necessary to intelligentize the complex global supply chain by combining advanced technologies such as AI and big data." He also predicted, "The logistics market is a field that produces a lot of data, so the role of platform-based logistics businesses will increase a lot. 

In 2022, the global logistics market is expected to be worth $9.82 trillion, with 866 million TEUs of containerized traffic handled by ports worldwide. The logistics industry accounts for 24.7% of the EDI software market, with 800 million ship positions recorded each month using AIS ship tracking technology. 

The volume of shipments is also exploding. In 2022, UPS will ship an average of 24.3 million packages per day and 6.2 billion packages per year. CJ Logistics will ship 1.65 billion packages and Coupang will ship 1.3 billion packages. 

To process this logistics information, 10 billion barcode and QR code scans are made around the world every day, GSI said.

In order for this abundance of data to be used meaningfully, added value must be created. As a result, platform-based logistics businesses are expected to grow.

In the future, digital platforms are expected to replace service providers such as 3PLs and forwarders to a large extent, and the digital logistics market is expected to grow from $25 billion in 2023 to $54 billion in 2028.

Therefore, it is necessary to promote intelligent platformization by combining big data accumulated on the platform with analytics to develop services with high added value.

In his presentation on 'Strategies and Solutions for the Fulfillment Business in 2024', Kim Dong-yeon of Autostore emphasized the importance of fulfillment strategies with a long-term perspective for corporate growth, and presented various examples. He explained that it is necessary to secure comprehensive visibility across the entire corporate supply chain, interconnectivity between supply chain data, and efficient automation.

The global supply chain is facing a complex crisis as rapid changes in the environmental, social, political, and economic fields have occurred over the past three to four years.

Last year, opinions on the economic outlook varied from one research organization to another, and this year is no different. With uncertainty still high due to geopolitical and political risks, companies need to take a strong long-term view of their fulfillment strategy.

Amidst economic uncertainty, the growth points that companies should focus on are: supply chain resilience and agility; securing customer loyalty; shifting the perception of human resources; and maximizing and optimizing warehouse space.

With most companies only having visibility into 20% of their supply chain, companies need to enhance end-to-end visibility and data interconnectivity across the supply chain and drive dense, efficient automation to grow. This is because dense automation is more space-efficient and can carry more inventory, which can act as a buffer against supply chain uncertainty.

Organizations also need to respond to the rapidly changing innovation landscape. According to a 2023 report by KPMG, global investment in supply chain technology is accelerating, but a whopping 83% of global executives are dissatisfied with their technology investments. This is due to pressure to innovate faster, hype around the latest technology, and fear of new technologies.

There is no one-size-fits-all technology solution. Organizations shouldn't adopt technology as an end in itself. They should adopt logistics technology as a means to an end, based on an understanding of their innovation goals.

The parties involved need to be proactive, embrace innovation, and make it a change that everyone can embrace, meaning they need to be proactive and clear about the logistics technology they are adopting, not just what their competitors or the market are doing.

80% of the world's warehouses are still not automated. The technologies to watch over the next five years include AI and machine learning, blockchain, robotics, and automation. 

Profitability in the face of ESG changes is also important. Every step in the supply chain before a product reaches the end customer has an impact on the environment, local communities, and individuals. McKinsey research shows that focusing on ESG can also help companies increase their bottom line.

Sustainability has been high on the agenda for the past two decades, but in recent years, there has been increasing pressure to assess ESG issues across the board. There is also an increased focus on delivering positive outcomes rather than limiting negative impacts.

To turn ESG into business benefits, companies need to focus on three things: proactive responses to regulations, establishing and monitoring governance systems, and evaluating the footprint of their fulfillment facilities. As a result, they need to promote low-power facilities, green energy, and denser automated warehouses. 

By establishing a last-mile supply chain with nearby urban fulfillment centers, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 17 to 26 percent by 2025.

"Autostores are characterized by dense use of warehouse space, and can be used as urban bases by installing autostores in stores or supermarkets," said Kim Dong-yeon. GS Caltex has installed an autostore at the Nagok gas station in Seocho-gu and is utilizing it as an MFC.

"Autostore is highly energy efficient," said Kim Dong-yeon. 

Each Autostore robot uses an average of 100W of power per operating hour, so it uses very little energy compared to other automated facilities. In an automated warehouse with 40 robots and 10 ports, working 8 hours a day for 250 days a year, the average Autostore consumes about 13,600 kilowatt-hours per year. This is the amount of electricity that can be generated by a solar system of about 21 square meters on the roof.

"It's important for companies to have a strategy and solution in place to weather the storm, and it's equally important to find a partner that can support them," said Kim.