Valuing innovation in the logistics sector

DUE to the recent international crises, the importance of the logistics sector and its critical role in the supply chain has never been more evident. It’s clear that innovative ideas are needed to ensure the stability of the supply chain across all areas in the future.

Ahead of air cargo Europe and transport logistic, BVL International has released a study, exploring the state of innovation management in Germany.

The study sheds light on how companies in the sector are positioned regarding the development of innovations from the perspective of service providers and their customers from industry and trade, summarised in five sections:

Innovative services at the same price

Logistic service providers still allocate a rather low amount of financial and human resources to the development of new service concepts. That development is not always associated with a methodical and structured process. About one third of shippers find it positive to have an innovative service provider but are not willing to pay more for it.

Efficiency and cutting costs

41% of shippers believe that working with an innovative partner will increase their efficiency and cut costs. This is the main motivation for logistics service providers to develop new services. However, the true value of innovation by tapping into new markets and actively differentiating from competition has not yet been widely recognised.

Innovative strength

Asked about their view on the innovative strength of logistics service providers, 42% of the participants from industry and trade revealed that they believe they are only a little or not at all innovative. Around a quarter considered them innovative or very innovative, while a third saw themselves on a par with their service providers.

Be more self-confident

When analysing by sector, it was clear that logistics service providers in the retail sector believe they are significantly more innovative than their customers think. The situation is similar in the automotive sector, while the opposite is true in the electronics, mechanical engineering and chemical sectors. The logistics service providers could therefore be more open about the progress it is making

Cooperation and partnership

Most shippers consider the task of developing new services to be exclusively the responsibility of the logistics service providers. This could explain why only one tenth of the companies in the industry are involved in the innovation processes of their service providers, meaning that practical knowledge is missing. The shippers are, therefore, missing the opportunity to jointly develop innovations that would also enhance their own competitive position.

Transport Logistic 2023

BVL is an active community whose members strive to broaden their professional horizon beyond their defined circles, thus creating effective communication in a globalised economy.

As a non-profit organisation, BVL acts objectively and independently without promoting any particular interests in the political or economic discourse, but strives to actively address any issues of logistics and supply chain management as a whole.

BVL will explicitly address the topic of innovation in the logistics sector during two sessions at transport logistic: Decision makers from logistics service providers and the wider industry will discuss what conclusions can be drawn from the results of the study and how logistics service providers and shippers can work together more effectively in the future.