The only constant in life is change, which is frequently unexpected and sharp. Even if it refers to social shifts and massive transformations, this can hardly be foreseen, even if we only look at the recent past. There is no need to go back a long time, but just a few years are enough to see the tremendous differences between the future that we humans expect and the one we finally need to handle ourselves in.

However, for those who have the ability to look and think ahead, the reward is great. There is nothing but anticipating the features, risks, and opportunities of the future, so as to move on in the right direction and get fully prepared to keep on succeeding over the new times.

Today, nobody questions that 5G technology will progressively have a great impact on human life in just a few years. The extent to which our society is already deep-rooted in the era of the Internet and the progress to come in terms of velocity, latency, and density in the transmission of data between millions of devices connected to the 5G network, leaves no room for doubts. Some critical businesses, amongst which Transport and Logistics hold a prominent position will be highly affected by these trends, so keeping aware, learning, and getting ready for the era of the 5G technology becomes a must for all players in the Logistics business.

Just imagine a fully integrated communications system between people, cargo, and devices. Thousands of items permanently exchanging data in a smart way and 50 times faster than today, under a powerful setup of interfaces and automated processes for the logistics and customs operations to run in a much more efficient manner than today. Think about all this massive data, being delivered as predictive analytics via artificial intelligence, for you to anticipate future scenarios impacting your business and make decisions accordingly. It’s real, it’s coming, and here is how this will take shape:

• As a professional in logistics and transport, you will see the integration of all items in the supply chain process (people, cargo, and devices), constantly interlinked to guarantee the full traceability of the freight. This great alignment, along with the huge gain on data transmission speed will also lead to higher rates of productivity (eg: the lower latency for RF terminals will bring a higher number of picks/hour in warehousing activities), as well as lower rates of operational issues and labor risks.

• The much higher bandwidth in the 5G network will definitely lead to more efficient communication, to the extent that for a number of activities in Logistics will not be even necessary the presence of an expert, but remote work will be enough to ensure the success of the operations. We already saw in Barcelona (2019) the first surgery conducted remotely with 5G. Soon, we will see how our industry consolidates a new way of working, following those very same standards.

• The great improvement in communication between all means of transport and its infrastructure will surely produce a decrease in the number of claims in the marine/cargo insurance business and a more reliable delivery. The extraordinary low latency in the transmission of data will prevent a number of casualties and losses for the parties involved and, beyond… who knows whether we see trucks without drivers, planes without pilot,s or vessels without captains in just a few years.

• Closer tracking of the freight and real-time information delivery on weight, temperature, location, pressure, humidity, and general conditions of the cargo will lead to prompt detection of operational issues within the supply chain process and quick action so as to minimize the costs.

• The more efficient bandwidth will also bring new capabilities for measurement and data analysis when it comes to route optimization, which will increase the chances for the logistics specialist to find out the best solution for each particular case.

• But it’s inaccurate to talk about 5G and its impact on the logistics and transport business not referring to other close related concepts like Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. It certainly seems that better conditions on data transmission and processing will be the key to upgrade the decision-making process on potential scenarios, in the benefit of your business continuity.