‘Ware-bnb’: The rise of on-demand distro

Future of dynamic warehousing

Already, this nascent idea of on-demand distribution is having an effect on the industry. “This model is a disruption,” said Flexe’s Grigg. “Flexe manages space in smaller chunks than conventional 3PLs, but we are seeing more flexibility from the service side of the business to compete with us.”

Stowga also has been looking toward the future since taking part in the Logistics Tech Accelerator program, coordinated earlier this year by the RocketSpace co-working firm. “It was a useful way of shortcutting research into how similar the operation in the U.K. can be to the European and U.S. markets.” said Stowga’s Scully. “Our plans for this year see us begin to look at other E.U. countries as an initial second market with a view to being operational in one ofthem by early 2018.”

The improvements that Stowga’s Scully expects to see in the next few years are service integration with internal business artificial intelligence, as well as other predictive models.

“For example,” he said, “allowing demand prediction models and stock monitoring systems to automatically, via a Stowga API, book and agree warehousing and required services. Right now we are finishing building the automated components of the platform and tuning the algorithms that manage the interaction between the demand and supply sides of the marketplace.”

Still, technological advancements, by themselves, can’t be the only answer. “It’s hubris to imagine tech can solve all the problems of what has been historically a very analog and human industry,” Scully added. “The main competition is the status quo and the user base who is happy with its existing inefficiencies and institutional inertia. The solution needs to flex around the sensitivities of those working within it today, as well as in the future.”

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