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‘Sharing economy’ shaking up logistics, says DHL

Digital platforms and business models built around sharing not owning assets presents a significant future opportunity for the logistics industry according to the findings of the new Trend Report released by DHL.
The report, ‘Sharing Economy Logistics – Rethinking logistics with access over ownership’ provides insights into understanding the ‘sharing economy’, best practices in the sharing economy from other industries, and practical applications of the sharing economy within the logistics value chain.
“The concept of sharing is nothing new, but today people can share assets and use sharing services at the speed and scale of three billion smartphone users worldwide, said Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation. “Naturally this started with high-value assets like rooms and cars, but the underlying concept can be applied to almost anything now.
“Logistics providers can really benefit from sharing their own assets, as well as facilitate the sharing of goods that are a hassle to transport. Digital sharing platforms give instant access to what’s available from online networks of users, including but not limited to hotel rooms, taxis, construction equipment household items and even people’s personal time or skills. Logistics providers can leverage these developments via more cost-effective usage of warehouse space, more efficient transportation and delivery methods, or flexible staffing models.”
In a sharing economy, individual or organisation users get temporary access to an asset, service or skill owned by someone else and which would otherwise be underused. Not only does this maximise Return on Investment through greater utilisation, it also produces a new revenue stream in the form of rental fees for the asset owner. DHL asserts that sharing is good for the environment as it leads to fewer new assets being produced, and existing ones are being used more often.
In its early days, DHL employed an early form of crowd sourcing, offering free plane tickets to private travellers in exchange for giving up their baggage allowance to transport critical shipping documents. By delivering the original bill of lading by plane before the containers arrived by ship, DHL sped up the customs clearance process and paved the way for the express delivery industry, the company wrote in a press release.
“Today, the tremendous scale of digital sharing platforms and crowd-based access to already existing assets is redefining the concept of ‘sharing’ and reshaping the future of the logistics,” the release continued. “Sharing of warehousing space, transport capacities, operational data, and staffing are just some of the examples where the Sharing Economy could be effectively employed in logistics.
“According to research, one in four trucks on US and EU roads are driving empty or typically only half-loaded. Digital platforms provide an instant snapshot of availability and the ability to access spare capacity in almost any truck, including smaller delivery vehicles or even privately owned cars on a day-to-day basis.
DHL’s recently launched real-time freight brokerage platform Saloodo! uses the global network of smartphone users and real-time communications to reach a greater audience of shippers to take advantage of excess capacity.
Multi-customer warehouses could help third-party logistics providers achieve greater economies of scale by consolidating fulfilment, demand and know-how between several customers within a single site. Taking the concept of space sharing from the hospitality sector as a role model, sharing excess warehouse capacity would bring great financial and productivity benefits.
This opportunity for new business creation does not come without challenges – risk liability, transparency, insurance and workforce protection must all be considered. Also, the pace of technological innovation and social change often outpace regulatory frameworks.
“Collaboration between companies and policy makers is necessary to ensure development happens in a positive and productive way,” added Heutger. “With logistics perfectly placed to enable and benefit from this trend, it will play a key role in shaping the sharing economy and rewriting the rules of value creation.”

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