Truck, rail, port and other logistics executives are expecting a lackluster 2023 peak season following a year of decreasing imports as retailers "continue to burn off excess inventories" and aren't rushing more goods to market amid a consumer spending shift towards services, writes Paul Berger. The Logistics Managers Index recently reached its lowest recording in more than six years and A.P. Moller-Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc is among experts who don't see any sign of a volume rebound during the second part of 2023.
FedEx plans to increase its rates on Jan. 1 by an average of 5.9% for FedEx Express' US domestic, US export and import services and FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery and an average of 5.9% to 6.9% for FedEx Freight shipping, depending on the customer's transportation rate scale, said company officials. "This is the earliest [general rate increase] announcement, and likely a preemptive strike by FedEx that puts pressure on UPS as it comes out of the Teamsters negotiation," said Shipware's Paul Yaussy in a LinkedIn post.
Digital twins, augmented and virtual reality, the Internet of Things, computer-aided design and digital scanning are among the building blocks for an industrial metaverse that already exists in "proven form," reports Forrester. Currently, these technologies deliver individual and combined value, and "as applications get more complex, combinations of a growing number of individual technologies will be able to create a powerful recipe when mixed together."
Logistics professionals choosing digital solutions should consider options that can help make up for labor shortages and also incorporate AI, environmental, social and governance reporting, and customized tech stacks, writes Maneet Singh of Odyssey Logistics and Technology. "Achieving the balance between standardizing and allowing for freedom to innovate is going to be a key challenge for any business in this space," Singh writes.
Two vital skills needed for business-to-business marketing leaders today to be successful are "problem-solving" and "creative strategy and execution," per LinkedIn's 2023 B2B Marketing Benchmark study. LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions' Penry Price advises B2B marketing leaders to map skills within their teams and help employees develop emerging skills, such as generative AI.
Generative AI is poised to bring greater effectiveness and efficiency to personalization, data analysis, content creation and customer engagement, SmartBrief's Emily Snyder writes. "Striking a balance between automation and genuine human connection will be essential to ensure that generative AI serves as a tool for enhancing creativity rather than replacing it," Snyder writes.
Leaders often find it difficult to say no to new projects or requests, but they can develop a nuanced approach that preserves goodwill and still encourages innovation without feeling like they must defend their decisions, writes Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, founder and CEO of People Culture Drive Consulting Group. "The overarching goal is to cultivate an environment where the act of sharing ideas feels not only safe but also encouraged, ensuring that subsequent proposals resonate with creativity and enthusiasm," Cecchi-Dimeglio notes.
When increasing cybersecurity efforts, procurement officials should know that "[d]iverse teams are 87% better at making decisions and 35% more likely to outperform their competitors," but "less than one-quarter (24%) of the entire cybersecurity workforce are gender diverse," Katie Owston of Glocomms writes. Supply chain leaders should promote their field and the cybersecurity subset by working to interest schoolgirls in STEM, "communicating and rewarding the skillsets needed," highlighting career paths, offering free seminars and mentoring employees, says Owston, who details ways to do more.
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