Future trends in supply chain management and logistics

With inloop you have founded a new company. What sets it apart from the competition?  

At inloop, my colleagues and I support companies in supply chain transformation. This means that in addition to supply chain resilience, decarbonisation of the supply chain and compliance with international legislation are incorporated into the supply chain strategy and implemented in corporate action. The Supply Chain Act, the EU taxonomy, the EU framework for disclosure of ESG factors or circular economy regulations and further legislation have a direct impact on supply chains.  

So, as the sole purchasing criteria, price and quality have had their day. Instead, suppliers' environmental and social standards play a role. For instance, how much CO2 is contained in an end product and what sustainability commitments have been made by companies? 90% of emissions in customer-oriented sectors such as electronics, construction, food or fashion come from the supply chain. This includes emissions from procurement and transport, from the use of products as well as from their disposal. We help companies to establish systems and processes to influence these upstream and downstream areas of the organisation. The experts at inloop do not see the new regulations and sustainability requirements as a barrier, but rather as an opportunity for the successful transformation of your supply chain management. Together with our customers, we want to take the climate-friendly path for the future.  

What does the name inloop stand for?  

Our name stands for cohesion in resilient and sustainable supply chains. inloop combines supply chain strategy, circular economy, and logistics as well as digitalisation.  

What future trends do you see for supply chain management and logistics? 

The last few years have clearly shown us that the functioning of supply chains and logistics is indispensable as a basis for economic activity. New fields of activity are arising not only as a result of recent crises, but also from social responsibility. Rethinking processes must be taken into account in corporate strategies. Supply risks require active, forward-looking management. Increased stockholding is not a satisfactory and sustainable answer to supply shortages. Companies must divide their primary products into critical and non-critical ones, enter into cooperation with alternative suppliers and open up new supply channels. And yes, regionalisation in the form of near-shoring, also known as next-shoring, will also play a role. Flexibility problems and quality losses might be reasons for bringing production back. In some sectors, additive manufacturing in the form of 3D printing enables customer-oriented and flexible production. Or let's think about the area of logistics service providers: in the future, they will no longer rely solely on long-term contracts, as the linear economy is moving in the direction of the circular economy. Circular flows of goods are opening up new fields of activity. 

Can you name these new business areas in supply chain management and logistics?  

Let's stay with the new business fields for logistics. We see enormous changes through the circular economy, which involves keeping a product in circulation for as long as possible. Reuse through pay-per-use models, which are used for printing machines for example, or the disassembly of products into individual parts contribute to the move away from the linear economy. This reduces the primary raw material requirement while at the same time shortening the procurement route. For logistics service providers, additional business fields arise in disassembly, reprocessing and repair. Bundling concepts enable the sharing of freight space and loading areas. The packaging of the future will have to meet new requirements in order to fit into the cycles of a regenerative economy. In addition to cost efficiency, sustainability will be a driving factor in the utilisation of transport capacity.  

You talk about new requirements for packaging systems. What do you mean by that? 

Packaging must fulfil a variety of requirements. For instance, it must guarantee the integrity of the transported product. In the retail sector, it has to meet individual product requirements – and it should inspire consumers. It also functions as an information carrier to ensure smooth processes. The packaging of the future not only enables transport and storage – but must also be recycled. Working with one of our partner companies, we calculate the recyclability of packaging. In retail, for example, the complete calculation of the recyclability of the packaging portfolio for own brands is possible. Through appropriate data management, comparisons can be made, and packaging optimised in terms of recyclability. 

What role does digital supply chain transformation play in this?  

Digitalisation is not only used to enable circular loops, as in the example of the packaging industry just mentioned. In supply chains, many participants meet at the nodes and have to act together. This creates complexity. Keeping track of such networks requires a high degree of agility and transparency. Therefore, we can’t do without technological transformation. Collaborative solutions enable low-threshold access to information. The number of systems must be reduced through shared access to the digital supply chain by authorised actors. In my previous consulting work, we mainly focused on collecting and evaluating data using technological possibilities. Today, we provide additional support in predictive analysis, creating simulations and making predictions based on real-time data.  

What impact does digitalisation have on jobs?  

To a certain extent, jobs with a high proportion of repetitive activities are being replaced by systems. New positions are being created in the area of data analysis and interpretation of evaluations. What stands out here is that these jobs may require a higher level of education. Rapid innovation cycles mean that we’re constantly learning. Today, we’re also confronted with a labour shortage in supply chain expertise. Education plays an important role. That’s why we at inloop collaborate with universities and schools and can help companies to recruit. In addition, we support the qualification and further training of proven employees to prepare them for the complexity of their tasks.