Mar 9, 2021 One thing is certain, 2020 was a turning point for supply chains. Never before have market forces shifted so dramatically, so quickly. By Simon Nicholson, senior director: product management for IoT at Oracle Enterprises and customers around the world have had a tough and challenging year dealing with the rapidly changing market conditions. Online purchasing increased approximately 30% during 2020. That’s a massive amount of growth compared to the typical e-commerce growth rate of 12-16% per year and is driving changes in how we think about the priorities for logistics processes. Great expectations With timeframes from order to delivery now measured in days or hours customers have become accustomed to the “magic” of fast turnaround with a sense of engagement as they track the progress of the shipment. However, questions regarding the contents and their condition remain until the package is inspected on arrival. Will I enjoy “perfect delivery” – or to use a key business metric for logistics: Will the shipment arrive “on time, in full” (OTIF)? That is, I received the correct quantity and 100% of it is good to use.