A study of the implications of logistics 4.0 in future warehousing: a Sri Lankan perspective

Abstract

An effective combination of highly innovative logistics infrastructure plays a vital role in every business activity as a strategy of achieving competitive advantage. Currently, warehousing has been identified as one of the foremost value adding activities in supply chains. In the warehousing industry, automated intralogistics systems would be an ideal solution to eliminate the inefficiencies in conventional practices as well as to overcome the labour shortage issue. With the emergent trend of technology adaptation in industries, it is evident that Sri Lanka has the capability to apply these technologies up to a certain extent. Therefore, discovering the opportunities of logistics 4.0 implementation in Sri Lankan warehousing industry is highly demanding. This scrutiny has been conducted using a comprehensive and systematic review of literature published in relation to the areas of smart warehousing, smart logistics, intralogistics and Sri Lankan Third Party Logistics (3PL) industry. Through the effective categorization and integrative analysis, this paper intends to identify the ways of warehousing process improvements using the logistics 4.0 technologies while achieving the operational excellence. Further, it is expected to suggest the critical success factors affecting the logistics 4.0 implementation from the perspective of Sri Lankan 3PL warehousing Industry.