Sharing economy, tech innovation and sustainability are redefining all sectors across Australian industries.

Logistics, the end-to-end supply chain activity with the estimated annual revenue of A$102.87 billion in 2018 just in Australia alone employs more than half a million people across its major sub-sectors; road transport, logistics, warehousing and stevedoring.

New technologies and opportunities surrounding disruptive new business models are altering the skills needs in logistics and setting new expectations in the sector. Crowdsourced delivery platforms as a prime example, already in practice in the logistics world in most urban environments throughout the globe, are setting the new standards in last mile deliveries.

Increasing in demand with the growth of ecommerce and online retailing, last mile deliveries were once viewed as the most costly and time-consuming part of the shipping process thanks to high-quantity package drop-offs and low-quantity volumes. In an urban environment where delivery drivers often dealt with inefficiencies including fighting traffic, looking for drop-off spots and often waiting on an elevator, this last part of the delivery process often stunted the customer service experience.

New businesses in logistics are exploring disruptive crowdsourced delivery platform models using tech innovation to capitalise on the last mile delivery segment, while addressing some of the key social impacts such as sustainability, noise pollution and carbon footprint.