Technology has revolutionised the way companies can, and do conduct business.
With the next generation of shopper ordering most of their products online, and expecting to receive them as quickly as possible, there’s pressure on retail businesses, in particular, to be constantly looking at new technology to be one step ahead of the game.
Today, many businesses want to achieve more with less and are taking to new ways of working to carry this out. We take a look at technological revolutions that have been created to assist this demand that we should expect to see a lot more of in the near future.
Drones
With the demand for online orders to be delivered as quickly as possible, companies such as DHL and Royal Mail are now looking at using drones to ship products out faster, rather than using traditional means of delivery by hand. And with the recent news that Domino’s in New Zealand is now delivering Pizza by drone, it shows that it really is possible to use them for business purposes. Although many retail companies are now looking at using drones, they have already been providing many services to numerous industries. They are already highly used in the agricultural sector for farmers to assess conditions; within fire services to gauge situations and to get better video coverage at music festivals.
Proving successful at carrying out these services, companies believe that it’s now time to take the next step by using them to deliver products to customers. The benefits are they avoid traffic congestion, they can fit into small gaps and can be used to get orders sent out within minutes. Studies shows that 586,430 people have already used drones for commercial purposes, and this is set to grow.
3D Printing
3D printing traditionally stemmed from use in the manufacturing industry, but today it has become a vital part of many other industries. In the medical world, it’s an essential part of everyday life – whether it’s assisting in surgery or creating implants for patients. Businesses have picked up that 3D printing has the capacity to create virtually anything instantly, and they want to be involved with it. Amazon are leading the way with plans to be able to use 3D printers in their vans so they can print products on the spot, outside the customer’s home. Their argument for using them is that it saves space in warehouses, it avoid time delays and increases customer satisfaction as they will no longer have to wait for products to arrive.
Driverless Vehicle Software
For many years, there’s been a huge focus on driverless cars, with many companies including Google, creating them to allow the user the freedom to make calls or emails while travelling. This year, UK based technology company, Oxbotica, developed a new software, Selenium, that’s able to be installed across cars and warehouse trucks. They have the ability work work in a human environment and carry out tasks that it is set, while being aware of its surrounding. This new development could mean big businesses for many warehouse based companies as they can set the software to carry out work that needs undertaking without having to rely on manual labour. Production levels will increase, and they will also save money as their will be a reduction in staff numbers.
Despite these revolutionary changes in technology, there have been many objections to them. Some of these include whether the equipment is actually safe around humans, that there will be a reduction of human jobs and worries that drones, in particular, are invading our privacy. Even those some of these new technologies may seem high tech, we have interacted with advanced technology for years in our everyday life – in the supermarket at the self checkout or at the cash machine in the hole in the wall.
This article was produced by The Scanner Shop.
