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TomTom’s new Mapcodes to replace zipcodes; 3D Printing reality or Hype?; Changes in the southern African economy

Technology is the theme for this week’s newsletter.

In his newest column for eft, Dr Walther Ploos van Amstel examines TomTom’s new Mapcode technology - a system ‘that should eliminate the need for the existing postal zip-code systems.’ Dr van Amstel continues to highlight the benefits that this system could bring to ‘rapidly emerging e-commerce regions such as China, Russia, South America, the Middle East and Africa’ and concludes with his views on the short term future of Mapcodes. Continuing the theme of technology, Boryana Gramatikova has written an interesting article on the advantages of mobile apps to fleet owners, and suggests 4 apps that ‘keep all of their tasks organized and their workflow operating smoothly’.

Making his writing debut, Haley Garner, a Research Director here at eft, has written an article about technology in the future of logistics. Looking at start-ups, Uber and commoditization, he looks at where technology could take the industry in the future and how it might influence the development of logistics businesses in years to come. 

eft has produced its latest piece of content on the thought provoking topic of 3D Printing and tries to distinguish if it is real opportunity or just gross exaggeration. Sophie Farrow, Research Director at eft commented; “Our latest results show that over 20% of the retailers and manufacturers we surveyed are currently using 3D printing to some degree. There’s no doubt in my mind that 3D printing is an industry game changer .” You can find the report here.

Finally, David Binks, President EMEA, FedEx Express, has observed the changes in the economy of southern Africa, and written a short piece with his views on a number of topics including the growing south Africa economy, the bright future of commerce in Africa and logistics opportunities and challenges in Africa & Europe.  

Kind Regards,

Chris Saynor  
CEO, eft 

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New This Week: 

Will TomTom's Mapcode Replace the Zip Code?
Dutch online business daily NRC Q opened with a report on how TomTom hopes its Mapcode will make the postal zip-code systems obsolete 

3D Printing: Hype or Opportunity?
A new resource pack from eft examines the impact of 3D printing on the logistics and supply chain industry 

1999 vs. 2014 vs. 2025 – How Critical is Technology for the Future of Logistics?
Technology has become one of the most exciting elements of the logistics industry in recent years with tech start-ups, the app boom and mobile infrastructure. eft Research Director Haley Garner weighs in with some thoughts on tech, and its implications on the future of Logistics 

4 Great Apps That Can Help Your Fleet Management Business 
Boryana Gramatikova illustrates mobile app opportunities and shares her thoughts on the 4 particularly useful ones to the logistics industry 

How Southern African Small Businesses are Making the World Rethink the Region 
After global logistics company FedEx Express acquired Supaswift businesses in southern Africa earlier this year, David Binks, President for Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, visited the region to gain an on-the-ground view of the local market 

UPS Opens Six New UPS Express Centers Across Mexico
UPS a global leader in shipping services and logistics has announced the opening of six new UPS Express® centers strategically located across Mexico 

Track and Monitor Shipments at a Higher Altitude with AT&T Cargo View with Flightsafe® 
AT&T outlines the key features of its FlightSafe software and explains how it can benefit logistics companies with locating deliveries and monitoring the condition of valuable goods 

SEKO Logistics Worldwide Finishes Implementing CargoSphere Systems
CargoSphere today announces SEKO Logistics has completed implementation of CargoSphere’s contract and rate management system and Rate Mesh.