Mobility, transportation and logistics are facing more changes now than the previous 100 years combined. Backed by the Biden administration’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, policy and technology are primed to undergo significant change and industry-wide transformation.
Last month, Andrew Bruce, Data Gumbo’s Founder and CEO, had the opportunity to participate in a virtual panel at The Frontier Conference 2021, an emerging technologies conference focused on the future of industrials and subsectors.
Moderated by Mark Bünger, Director at Innovation Lab, Andrew, as well as other thought leaders: Justin Fishkin, Managing Partner at Fishkin & Co.; and Samir Saini, Chief Business Officer at Mobility Insight (Mobi), gathered to discuss the critical technologies leading the transportation and logistics sectors.
Looking Forward
The panelists discussed the importance of understanding new demands that emerged from COVID-19 and how revelatory insights from this global event will support near-term actions and long-term planning perspectives, patterns necessary to understand transit and capital planning projects as priorities. Also key for parsing the roles of innovative technologies are that of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud computing and others.
With much to overcome moving out of the pandemic, the months ahead will witness a close examination of interesting data — work habits, consumer delivery behaviors, commercial transit and traffic patterns — that will in turn drive change and forge innovative applications of technology.
Figuring it Out
A critical discussion point among the speakers revolved around the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG), particularly requirements adopted by multinational companies for proving and reporting on carbon impact. Currently, the large industrial companies responsible for moving the world’s goods and services are trying to figure out how to digest sustainability impact data like that of carbon emissions. To find a way forward, companies must measure and optimize to minimize pollution and get closer to aspirational sustainability goals.
The heightened focus on climate, safety, resiliency and economics is rife with challenges but also the potential exists to address major issues with creative solutions. A good mantra moving forward is “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” This is some of the imperative behind our GumboNet ESG solution, among other innovative applications of GumboNet.
