Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Logistic Technology Predictions That Will Fuel the OnDemand Economy in 2023
By Kashyap Deorah, founder
and CEO of HyperTrack
Commerce has focused on deploying
technology to win more customers and orders on the front end. It is a recent
phenomenon that fulfillment (last mile logistics) has gone from being the
back-end to the key value proposition, or the front-end. A few on-demand apps
are gaining market share at the expense of the incumbents due to their modern
logistics technology. The biggest overhaul in logistics technology is to enable
gig workers to fulfill on-demand and same-day deliveries with the help of live
location and mapping tech. Innovations that accelerate this will not only lead
to a higher impact of fulfilling consumer demands but will influence commerce
as a whole. Through recent conversations with
partners, customers and everyday consumers, here are three industry predictions
based on the early results of this year's holiday shopping season and trends.
Prediction 1: Consumer Demand Drives Last Mile
Package Delivery Improvements
eCommerce as a whole is going to
evolve after this present holiday shopping season based on ever growing
consumer package delivery expectations, leading to improved last mile delivery.
The major eCommerce players have put a lot of effort into streamlining the
customer buying experience, but the delivery process leaves a lot to be
desired. We typically know the day our package has been shipped and when we
should receive it; we even have a range of estimated time for the actual
delivery-but not yet the exact time.
Consumers want to know when their driver is 15 minutes away, five minutes away,
and when they are at your doorstep in order to be ready and prepared to accept
the package. The "DoorDash" experience is missing from most eCommerce sites in
terms of last mile delivery fulfillment, but this is going to change.
In early 2023 - after the present
holiday shopping cycle ends is when I predict companies will pour more
resources into logistics technology that illuminate the last mile delivery,
offering previously unseen delivery time transparency for consumers. This will
occur due to both consumer demand and eCommerce competition - the battleground
between rival platforms will move from the buying experience to pinpointing
Last Mile Delivery.
Prediction 2: Flex work (Gig Work) in the U.S. Grows
in 2023 by 70 Percent
A shaky economy combined with
evolving employee job expectations and steady consumer spending habits will
push the number of gig workers to an unprecedented level in the coming year.
- The economy speaks for itself, most Americans would benefit from
extra income
- The younger workforce has traditionally stayed with one job for a
shorter amount of time, moving between employers faster than past worker
generations
- Research is showing that consumer shopping has not curtailed as much as experts
predicted due to the effects of rising inflation
These three trends will lead to an
explosion in the gig worker economy, as workers take on a second job (or their
only job) benefitting from its extreme flexibility of it. Gig work is defined
by the idea of working at your own hours, pace and chosen day. I fully expect
flex work will grow because of this in double digit fashion, which is going to
translate into all kinds of interesting things, most importantly, how to
classify this massive workforce.
Prediction 3: Improved Service Time Forecasting with
AI
The use of artificial intelligence
software is going to improve service time accuracy, leading to an uptick in the
number of jobs a service provider can deliver in a day. The mapping benefits AI
gives to service providers - a locksmith for example - can shave off several
minutes for the commute from job to job. These few minutes are significant when
multiplied against the number of jobs performed in one day, they could even add
up to another full-service job and the hourly rate that comes with it. This is
where flexible companies willing to expand the intelligence of their predictive
logistics software will lead the charge. This accuracy benefits both the
consumer with jobs coming in on time, as well as the service provider that has
more time to provide extra services.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kashyap Deorah is the founder and CEO of the leader in logistics APIs, HyperTrack. A
fourth-time entrepreneur who previously sold companies to OpenTable and Future
Group, Kashyap is also a best-selling author and investor.
Kashyap started his first company as a college student at IIT
Bombay and sold it to a Silicon Valley firm. Since then, he has operated in the
US-India corridor and done business in China, South-East Asia, and Northern
Europe. Kashyap has written for leading print and online publications and made
keynote presentations at Internet technology and eCommerce conferences.