Supply chain enters a new phase: Logistics 5.0

After a decade of familiarising ourselves with all the technologies associated with Logistics 4.0, some experts are already beginning to announce the start of a new phase: Logistics 5.0. If the previous period was marked by the incorporation of digitalisation, massive data management and the robotisation of industrial activity, the 5.0 paradigm does not forget all these technologies, but moves the focus towards the human being, placing the customer at the centre and promoting a fully integrated virtual and physical reality.

It is a term that is still in its infancy, but will undoubtedly become commonplace in a short period of time. But what are the fundamental differences between Logistics 4.0 and 5.0? Supply chain expert Juan Antonio Marco highlights two defining characteristics. Firstly, Logistics 5.0 places the value of human talent in supply chains at the heart of any digital transformation. Beyond current or future technologies, the maxim that “without cultural and organisational change, a digital transformation of supply chains will not be possible” is followed. The second aspect is the clear commitment to value chains 5.0, designed, directed and managed by data. In this sense, data becomes, even more, a fundamental part of the strategy and operations of supply chains, “making them act proactively in the face of any disruption that affects them and not reactively as they have been doing until now”.

Ignasi Sayol, another great connoisseur of logistics and new technologies, agrees that it makes sense to start talking about Logistics 5.0, although he believes that we will still have to wait a while to assess its real implementation. For Sayol, the transition to Industry 5.0 is fundamentally marked by the introduction of the metaverse in the industrial environment, which will entail numerous applications for the understanding and enrichment of data in virtual environments, the creation of more sustainable processes and the optimisation of costs. “Logistics 5.0, by analogy to Industry 5.0, is an extensive use of artificial intelligence, putting it – in theory – at the service of people and trying to break down the barrier between people and machines”.

Fernando Orozco, director of logistics in EMEA at Softtek, also puts the focus on the human side when talking about Logistics 5.0: “The customer is placed at the centre of the business policy, understanding that he is the next link in the supply chain. Therefore, omni-channeling, visibility and sharing of the business model are the protagonists. The axes of the birth of logistics 5.0 are the digital transformation of processes and the empowerment of human talent when executing logistics activities”.

All these opinions have been collected in the report on Logistics 4.0 that Alimarket magazine published last May, in which, in addition to pointing out the future trends of the sector, it extensively reviews the technological innovations related to the supply chain that are already in real use today.