Enhanced Observability With Cloudwatch Insights and Lambda Advanced Logging
Online shopping has become the new norm, resulting in more freight on the road. An estimated 2.14 billion people worldwide bought goods online in 2021, and global e-commerce sales were around $4.89 trillion. E-commerce sales worldwide are expected to grow to $6.4 trillion by 2024.
This has resulted in pressure on freight transportation companies and logistics service providers due to spikes in e-commerce volume and the vast amounts of data associated with it. Global supply chains were required to shorten planning cycles from weeks to hours, which required faster IT workloads and quicker access to data.
Existing IT systems had to be adjusted to process real-time data, handle dynamic readjustment, and transition from manual systems. Serverless providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) can help logistics providers receive the elasticity and agility required to meet demands reliably and predictably.
Until recently, many logistics providers were primarily focused on implementing software solutions for transportation within their domain of operations. While this has worked out for many, switching to serverless providers can have more advantages for the transportation sector.
Cost Optimization of Upto 50%
Serverless architecture is a cost-effective alternative in the logistics sector, especially when it comes to management and data systems. Supply chains do not have to deal with the server infrastructure management involved in managing operations and collecting, sharing, and analyzing data.
The serverless model eliminates the expenses for procurement, infrastructure, server maintenance, and regular hardware upgrades since the cloud provider handles all this. It also reduces human error, which contributes heavily to operating expenses since many controls are automated.
Many transportation companies found that their average cost of IT infrastructure ownership turned out to be 83% cheaper when they migrated to serverless models, like the AWS cloud.
Yamato HK, a member of Japan’s largest delivery company, reduced operating costs by a whopping 83.3% by switching to Serverless with AntStack for all their logistical requirements. They could meet their customer’s requirements for real-time data integration and quicker turnaround times!
Samson Yu Chun Pong, from Yamato HK, stated, “With AntStack, we are upgrading to faster, cost-efficient servers offering very high-speed service. The overall performance gain is huge.”
Reliable Growth with Flexibility to Scale
Processing and handling data from multiple sites can be challenging without the right tools. By switching to the cloud, multi-site suppliers and businesses with sporadic demands can balance data properly and handle peak loads. The elasticity of the serverless computing allows automatic scaling to meet demands. Peaks and valleys are especially common in delivery logistics demand, and serverless architecture will enable them to scale up and down without hardware and server management worries.
Cloud computing can process tasks such as tracking inventory and supplies across locations more efficiently. It also makes it easier to locate products at any stage of shipping, making it easier to identify delays or bottlenecks so that they can be dealt with.
Consider the food delivery organization, Deliveroo, with over 80,000 restaurants across Europe and Asia. Deliveroo’s demands, like most other food delivery systems, fluctuate, with order volumes spiking at meal times and on holidays and special occasions. Since Deliveroo operates in multiple countries, the peaks can also overlap across regions.
With AWS, Deliveroo was able to build a scalable solution to meet this varying demand. Algorithms were designed to predict meal preparation times, driver pickup and delivery times, and predict future order volume. Deliveroo also built a food dispatch system that allowed drivers to deliver more orders per hour.
Improved Efficiency
Serverless computing allows systems to integrate automation into the supply chain. The serverless framework allows you to set up reminders and authorizations more efficiently. With serverless functions, it is possible to obtain real-time information, including customer information, vehicle details, payment information, and customer behavior. This visibility makes it possible to eliminate inefficiencies and redundancies.
Hong Kong-based Yamato Logistics was able to boost the performance of its information systems and enhance integrated logistics that incorporated warehousing, order processing, tracking, and transport. This was not possible with their pre-transition system with physical servers and manual processes. They were able to enhance their critical business processes and were able to process thousands of orders per day.
Creating Actionable Insights from Data
Large volumes of untapped data can be analyzed to improve functionality and security, reduce costs, and bring predictability. The volume of data has increased due to connected vehicles and the advancement of IoT, which has added sensors, imaging, and video systems. This data can be further used to improve road safety and overall driver experience.
Data Protection
Traditional systems have vulnerabilities such as power outages, which are beyond the control of the supply chain. Switching to serverless functions prevents the loss of data. Serverless providers are powered by multiple redundant servers that can be used as a fallback in cases of outages or other sudden changes.
Additionally, using the API Gateway security mechanism secures communication and reduces data exposure possibilities.
Multiple business sectors have moved their applications to the cloud. It is clear from these use cases that the transport sector, too, has much to benefit from switching to a serverless structure. AntStack has been offering a helping hand to businesses across the globe to create applications and services that are scalable, efficient, and reliable.
Check out Antstack to receive access to a team of serverless connoisseurs who can help you seamlessly make the switch to serverless frameworks.
We offer development plans that can help you set up the base system architecture design. AntStack can provide you with whatever assistance you require to build serverless functions on your website. We will also assist in deploying the functions by helping businesses set up data storage environments on the Amazon AWS environment.
