The Future of Transportation & Logistics

The Transportation & Logistics sector has undergone significant changes during the previous years and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Our updated Future of Transportation & Logistics research: 

• Explores the evolution of sector’s structure and size, the main financial trends and the changes in services offered
• investigates the sector’s level of preparedness to address the market changes imposed by the pandemic
• provides an updated overview and comparative analysis of the key 3PL market players
• provides insights on the key challenges businesses face when contemplating warehouse automation projects to increase capacity and operational efficiency of existing facilities – as well as a proposed approach to address these challenges through our Modular Warehouse Automation (MWA) methodology. 

Key points

1. The 3PL sector while was showing significant growth from 2016 to 2019, took a hit in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, only to quickly recover with an average 21% CAGR from 2020 to 2021. 
2. The pandemic imposed a spike in demand for transportation services that caught many 3PL companies off guard and highlighted the need for increase in operational effectiveness. The Greek sector ‘s performance was ranked lower than other counties and showcased a high level of unpreparedness.
3. The Greek 3PL market consists of small-medium players. The market remains competitive with high levels of fragmentation. The top 15 companies control 26.1% of the total market (EUR 706.7 million). There is an upward trend in Net sales, with an EBITDA % showcasing a negative trend indicating the tradeoff between sustainable profitability and gaining market share. The decrease in Gross Profit Margin in the majority of companies depicts the increase of costs for the last 3 years and the intense competition. 

Some of the prevalent trends are the following:

• A focus on sustainability
• Growth in e- commerce
• Increased adoption of technology

Main points of our case study are the following:

• A large part of the existing logistics facilities in Greece is rather unsuitable to support modern market needs. The majority of fulfilment centers are of small size with outdated technical specifications and systems. 
• A Modular Warehouse Automation (MWA) methodology has been developed by KPMG to overcome identified obstacles and offer a viable scenario to automating existing warehouses using robotics technology. Our approach offers gradual transformation, no disruption to daily operations and is based on a custom detailed design tailored to the business needs.
• By taking into consideration multiple parameters, the most appropriate degree of automation can be identified for a company to invest in. The solution is scalable, offering the opportunity for future expansion of automation – resulting to a fully automated warehouse. 

Conclusions

The Transport & Logistics sector in Greece showcases growth after taking a hit during the pandemic. The Greek market is fragmented, with mainly small and medium sized 3PL providers. For the key 3PL players, there is an upward trend in Net sales, with companies trying to find the tradeoff between sustainable profitability and gaining market share. There is an increase of costs for the last 3 years as well as intense competition. Organisations are focusing on increasing operational effectiveness and are steering their attention towards advanced technology. In addition, logistics key players are implementing solutions that promote their sustainability and contribute to end-to-end sustainable supply chains.