回复@hdttyson9000: Yet, the logistics infrastructure in China was basically set up and built out in an era before real-time information was readily available. Crucially, computing power has advanced in the past decade to the point where making sense of the tidal wave of information is now possible. That has laid the foundations upon which to build a more responsive and adaptive system of moving goods and merchandise, Chen said.
“If you think about it, we have a hub-and-spoke system that was created over the past decade to concentrate parcel flows into centralized hubs, which was the right thing to do 10 years ago because China is just too large a country and the e-commerce order volume was still low,” said Chen. “But what about 10 years from now? The future of logistics should not be burdened by legacy considerations that have already changed.”
With rising parcel volumes, it is now possible to develop a more flexible logistics infosystem and agri-focused infrastructure that reduces the need for multiple transshipments and enables more point-to-point deliveries. This can be achieved through the use of advanced calculations that take into consideration multiple factors such as the timing of truck deliveries, warehouse location, route planning, he said.
And much like the smartphone and broadband heralded the mobile era, Chen believes that fast-maturing technologies like automated vehicles and robots, and advanced computing could usher in a new age for logistics. Creating such a logistics infosystem would require a brand-new technology architecture, he said.