KLU Experts' Predictions for 2024
Embark on a journey into the future of logistics and leadership with KLU experts! Our professors unveil their forecast for 2024, predicting trends, strategies, and innovations that will redefine the logistics landscape and influence our daily life. Stay ahead of the curve with their expert knowledge.
Investing in resilience
"A critical issue for Supply Chain Managers in the upcoming year will be striking a balance between costs and resilience. Economic recovery may not be as swift as anticipated, intensifying cost pressures in many companies. Simultaneously, more businesses are recognizing the imperativeof fortifying their supply chains against risks. Disruptions from cyberattacks, geopolitical events, or other disturbances demand new thinking and strategies, albeit at a cost. Navigating these trade-offs will be a significant challenge for companies in 2024."
High-tech and low living standards
"I anticipate a deepening inequity among countries, potentially exacerbating conflicts such as the Gaza-Israel situation. Apart fom that, I expect advancements in AI and breakthroughs in medicine driving progress and automation."
The Trump scenario
"In my view the dominant topic in 2024, especially in the second half of the year, will be the US presidential election. Depending on the outcome, there could be significant global consequences, particularly for Europe and Germany. A Trump victory would not bode well. Possible consequences would be the dissolution of multilateral structures such as NATO, the WTO or even the UN due to the withdrawal of the USA. This could mean the cessation of military support for Ukraine, the abandonment of American security guarantees for Europe, an increased need for defense spending and a potential impact on climate agreements, conflict between the US and China, tensions with Iran, and last but not least, the taxation and regulation of technologies and global trade."
AI takes over the office
"The elephant in the room for many white-collar workers ranging from regular employees to high-ranking managers , will continue to be the use of AI at work. The change will be tremendous. And the deliberate thought that has to be put into it will have to be even greater - not just how to sensible use and deploy AI, but also what the role of us humans in that new future will be."
Better Workplaces with AI
"The rise of AI powerfully shows that we all need to scale up our digital competencies and keep up with technological changes to remain productive. This will continue to engage us in 2024. From an HR perspective, the question is, how we can best manage and incorporate AI into tasks to achieve better work results as well as create systems that leverage the strengths. We should take the opportunity to work with technology to create better workplaces. We also need emotional intelligence in managing these changes, that is, helping employees do deal with the resulting uncertainty. Further, continuous learning will remain a major HR trend in organizations."
Marketing very personal
"In 2024, we will witness further developments of technologies such as conversational AI and VR/AR that allow immersive, interactive, and personalized marketing approaches."
Sustainable career in sustainability
"In 2024, we will see a continued rise in demand for well-qualified sustainability professionals in the supply chain and logistics field. This demand is driven by the increasing number of regulations and the growing need for meaningful sustainability improvements in operations. Sustainability is a long-term career path that will not become boring any time soon."
Climatic turning point
"In climate terms, 2023 has been a very exceptional year. A succession of broken temperature records, unprecedented levels of ice melt in the Antarctic and a surge in wild-fire devastation have made climate scientists wonder if 2023 is a one-off anomaly or the start of a new phase of more rapid global warming. My suspicion is that it is the latter and that 2024 will bring further evidence of weather systems destabilising at an accelerating rate. When presented with next year’s climate data, country delegations at the COP29 conference in November 2024 will agree to a much more radical package of carbon reduction measures."
Rethinking supply chains
"In 2023, we saw the effect of climate change in more and more places around the world, with weather conditions ranging from extreme heat and drought to extreme rainfall and floods. This trend will likely continue in the coming years, so besides efforts to slow down further global warming, I expect continuous development and research on how to adjust to these extreme conditions. This does not only affect for example the agriculture sector and water management, but we will also need to reconsider our supply chains as natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes can have a large influence on their functioning. Constant monitoring and risk management will be essential in ensuring a resilient supply chain."
New ways for reusable packaging
"On 22 November 2023, the European Parliament voted on a proposal for the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and thus adopted its position on legislation to reduce packaging waste. There were heated discussions in advance, particularly on the topic of strengthening reusable packaging, which unfortunately are now only being applied in a very watered-down version.In my view, it will not be possible to reduce packaging waste sufficiently and sustainably on the basis of these guidelines. In the future, we will not be able to avoid setting up and managing systems, which reuse packaging a sufficient number of times, in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner."
