Almost three quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany use or are planning to incorporate digital technology within their logistics processes according to research commissioned by FedEx Express. The study, which surveyed 501 SMEs across Germany, found that almost 6 out of 10 view digital logistics processes – such as automatic product tracking or automatic route planning – as relevant in being able to keep pace with changing market requirements and the demands of their customers. Cloud technology is perceived to be the new technology that is most relevant in driving more efficient logistics chains and service improvements in the coming years, based on feedback received from customers by the SMEs surveyed.
Over a quarter of respondents indicated that they actively monitor the media and use the internet to obtain information on digital trends, demonstrating that small and medium sized enterprises can clearly see the potential benefits that digitalization can bring.
However, there is still a long way to go to full digitalization, with only 4% of SMEs reporting they are fully digitalized. The survey suggests there is significant development potential with the number of SMEs who have fully digitalized logistics processes projected to more than double. Another 18% of the surveyed SMEs anticipate that more than 80% of their logistic processes will be digitalized over the next five years.
These results have been obtained as part of a survey of over 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain about their export and import activities. Among the 501 German companies who participated in the survey, 262 were very small enterprises (1–9 employees), 126 small companies (10–49 employees) as well as 113 medium-sized enterprises (50–249 employees).