24 WESTERN PALLET
Dave Brajkovich, CTO for Polaris Transport, believes that one thing that will revolutionize transportation will be the communication between vehicles and the infrastructure, right to pedestrian. This network includes vehicle to vehicle communication, vehicle to pedestrian, and vehicle to infrastructure, which will create efficiencies, accuracy and quality for deliveries, especially for inner city. "There are a lot of the intelligent transportation systems that are going to revolutionize the industry," he said.
He doesn’t see the physical aspect of trucking changing much. "We still need a vehicle to move things," he noted.
Blockchain and Visibility
One of the barriers to the adoption of visibility technologies has been privacy concerns, according to Nick Davies of Fleet Complete. "Carriers are concerned about the privacy of data," he said. "Having other people knowing in real time where their vehicles are and what kind of data might be associated with that. I think it is a massive concern."
"We are seeing a technology hangover from the ELD (electronic logging device) mandate," he continued. "Companies had to shift how they operated when it went into effect in the U.S. They are just starting to get their feet back under them in terms of understanding what that technology can do in terms of introducing real time transportation. So, that visibility exists in most software today, it is just a matter of getting companies to feel comfortable that their data is encrypted and secured and only certain people are accessing that data."
Brajkovich sees Blockchain technology as having transformational value in terms of streamlining
"If there is a way we can eliminate disputes (through the use of blockchain) and get paid faster, and if the ROI is there, then you’d look at it the same way you look at any piece of technology,"
back office operations. Blockchain is a difficult to explain digital technology made famous by Bitcoin. It enables highly secure and rapid transactions. It is being used by Walmart, for example, to greatly increase the speed and accuracy of product recalls.
Blockchain is described as a technology that will be eventually as important as the Internet.
In logistics, he said, it can seem like you are moving more documentation than freight with emails laden with attachments. He describes administrative activities as arduous, labor intensive, and requiring multiple systems. He sees the use of Blockchain as a way to increase the quality, accuracy and speed of transactions.