Moving The World: The Logistics Industry

If you ask someone to tell you what the most important industry in the world is, they would probably say something like, the food industry or healthcare. Of course, we need food to live, and healthcare research and application helps us to live out our lives healthily.

- JORDAN LOW

However, there is another industry that most might not immediately think of, despite it being almost indispensable to our lifestyle today. That industry is that of logistics.

The practice of logistics has been around since early civilisation. Traders from early societies would move goods from one place to another to barter for other desirable items. Eventually, merchants would form guilds o manage trade between cities and early nations; creating the first form of a “logistics company”. Early militaries would need to carefully plan their logistics to ensure that their armies did not overextend themselves.

Fast forward to today, logistics has become a central part of our lives. Governments from nations around the world are scrambling to secure ever more trade lucrative trade deals with each other, exponentially increasing the flow of goods between countries; even more so now with the advent of e-commerce and digitalisation.

According to a report by IMARC Group, the global logistics market size reached a value of US$4,730 billion in 2018. The Asia Pacific region alone accounted for more than 30 percent of the global contract logistics market. With the previous decade being revolutionary for the further development of technology such as AI, automation, biometrics, GPS, etc. organisations and businesses have been aided greatly to work proficiently, thereby spurring the growth of the logistics market across the globe.

With the ever increasing popularity and usage of e-commerce and cross border purchasing, the demand for logistical services will continue to increase. In turn, the logistics industry will continue to invest into the research and development of technologies and innovations that will increase efficiency.

THE POTENTIAL OF THE ASIAN REGION