Future logistics transport

What is the future transportation means?

Some transportation methods for the future are already demonstrating Verifications for practical use. Let's look at some of them here.

① Sharing · Economy type service

Originally "sharing · economy type service" is a service that mediates the lending of idle assets and skills possessed by individuals and companies.

In other words, it is a mechanism that someone else owns and uses what is left to thank someone else for using it.

For example, in the logistics industry such services are taking place.

① You can see the situation of shipper and driver with smartphone application and can deliver it efficiently.

② Trust the delivery of goods to the general public and reduce the burden on the driver.

The common sense that "carrying goods is a logistics company" is going to collapse and is about to go away.

② Automatic operation to make the transportation unmanned

For the purpose of improving transportation costs and speed, unmanned transportation is steadily being planned.

(1) Practical use of drone

Delivery of baggage by drone has been trialed at various companies.

However, there are problems remaining in terms of technical aspects and law maintenance of Drone, so it seems not to be put into practical use right now.

(2) Practical application of delivery robot

It is also considering the use of a delivery robot that runs automatically on the ground, not from the sky.

There are already cities that are conducting field trials in overseas cities. Particularly in the state of Virginia in the United States, a bill to allow delivery work by automatic delivery robot has been established and it is said that it has been in effect since July 1, 2017.

It may not be long before the delivery supermarkets and delivery robots that are active in the delivery of pizza come to be seen in the streets of the United States.

③ Automation and optimization of logistics by AI

This may well be a familiar story.

AI is expected to be utilized for logistics centers and picking robots in warehouses.

Utilization of AI and machine learning in distribution has expanded not only to "recognition" but also to "prediction" and "optimization". For example, forecasting demand for new products, forecasting the lack of goods sold at stores, forecasting the number of required vehicles, optimizing shift schedules and delivery routes, and optimizing work instructions in the warehouse.

④ New package transportation by railway

Did you know that there was a vehicle called "Newspaper Transportation Train" in the formation of passenger trains long ago. As the name implies, it is the vehicle on which the whole vehicle was carrying the newspaper. There is a movement to revive this.

Both Keifuku Electric Railway and Yamato Transport already started sending parcel delivery by train between Sai and Arashiyama station of Keifuku from May 18, 2011. Transportation is carried out from Sai station garage to Arashiyama station by connecting 1 passenger car for luggage transportation to passenger sales vehicles.

Also, since September 2016, five companies, Tokyo Metro Tobu Railway and Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express and Japan Post, will jointly run cargo exclusive trains on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line and Tobu Higashi-Honbu Main Line, and transportation of parcels etc. We are doing Verifications.

How was that? The future of logistics that we did not imagine may be coming soon.

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