Technology continues to be the main source of innovation in this sector. After the recent growth of some of the main players to accommodate an increasingly large customer base, the focus is on improving clarity and reliability. In the move towards the fully integrated and transparent supply chain, greater visibility of where individual components and packages are as they whiz around the world is a major customer need and so is an opportunity for logistics companies to add extra value. Web-based package tracking was a major move forward for the customer and internal innovation is further improving the speed and accuracy of package registration and monitoring. A key technology in this last area is RFID, which, through its ability to have unique information remotely read and written, is transforming the way in which the whole sector functions. Ultimately on track to replace barcodes globally, this technology has been one which has attracted much attention, both negative in terms of its role in enabling a potential big-brother society where everything from products to people can be tracked, and positive in terms of the associated improvements in supply chain efficiency.

According to McKinsey, global package and freight shipments are expected to more than double over the next decade with an estimated 85 percent of manufactured goods sold across borders by 2020, compared to 20 percent in 2002. As global infrastructures become more sophisticated and mobile computing becomes pervasive in such markets as China and India, the essential building blocks for even more efficient logistics operations are all coming together. Cheaper RFID technology, more intelligent software for both dock and yard management and more transparent web-based tracking are all helping delivery to be more secure and timely and inventories to be minimised. Allied to ever increasing volumes of freight, this ever more accessible technology is going to place more and more emphasis on the leading logistics firms to innovate around their business models as much as the products and services that they provide to their global customers.