The European market for road freight transport is highly fragmented. This puts a strain on retailers and freight forwarders alike - 50 percent of shippers work with more than 30 freight forwarders at the same time. Under the title "The Evolution of Technology + Humanity: Building a Supply Chain for Long-Term Success", the study shows results and data from two retailer and supplier surveys as well as Coyote Logistics' own customer research. In the study, which was developed in collaboration with the research companies MakerStreet (based in Amsterdam) and Martec (based in Frankfurt), Coyote Logistics examined the challenges faced by decision-makers in all European markets in finding the ideal balance between technology and human expertise.

Technology 60%, human expertise 40%
The study found that retailers and freight forwarders largely face similar challenges. Rising costs, increasing complexity, capacity constraints, the need for flexibility and agility, and increased visibility across the supply chain were among the key factors identified. The results also show that retailers and freight forwarders believe that the ideal balance between technology and human expertise in the industry is weighted in the ratio of 60 to 40. This confirms Coyote Logistics' long-standing position that man and machine must work closely together to succeed in an evolving world.

Creativity and strategic thinking irreplaceable
To better understand how retailers and carriers can increase the efficiency of their supply chains, Technology + Humanity analyzed which 13 tasks require human expertise, which functions can be optimized through technology, and which require a combination of both. The study found that human expertise is irreplaceable for creative, decision-making and strategic tasks, such as communicating with customers and solving shipping and delivery problems.

"We achieve the best results when technology and people work together. We focus on keeping up with the changing demands of the market and consumers. To do that, we need to think technology and people together," said Christina Bottis, Chief Marketing Officer, Coyote Logistics. "Technology provides visibility and data that is critical to building supply chain strategy. Human expertise is key to unlocking the data that machines provide to derive actionable supply chain measures and make strategic decisions for the business."

In order to achieve the balance of technology and human support, retailers and freight forwarders should therefore, according to the study, first evaluate their existing supply chains and find out which tasks technology can handle and which are best left to human expertise.