Technological solutions aimed at the logistics sector are not always grounded in real operational needs and can be “solutions looking for a problem”. So says business group Logistics UK as it publishes its Logistics Innovation Opportunities Map (LIOM). Launched today (21 October) at Logistics UK’s Digital Transformation in Logistics conference in Birmingham, the roadmap challenges innovators to develop creative and technological solutions to real world problems that will have material benefits for the logistics sector and wider UK economy.
Speaking after the conference, Logistics UK Acting Chief Executive Kevin Green said, “We call our report an Innovation Opportunities Map, but we could equally call it a Treasure Map: the challenges identified represent significant financial opportunities for the developers and entrepreneurs that can solve them.”
The LIOM is designed as a resource for technology developers, infrastructure providers, investors, policymakers and logistics businesses and rather than prescribing specific solutions it identifies practical logistics problems that innovation can help solve. Green continues, “We want to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that businesses thrive on to find solutions. There will be approaches that we are not aware of which is why the report does not seek to specify solutions, rather it acts as an invitation to innovators to share their wisdom.”
The LIOM captures operational challenges looking at three use cases from across logistics: long-distance and depot-to-depot trunking; urban logistics and last mile; and off-road, site-based and private-network operations.
For each challenge, the LIOM identifies whether a solution would generate a direct commercial benefit such as better asset utilisation, a public benefit such as emissions reduction or a shared benefit such as workforce retention. The report also identifies strategic insights to guide efforts to enhance the adoption of innovation in the logistics sector, and groups them into three themes: focus on foundations, system thinking and understanding shared value and responsibility.
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