The future of job profiles in logistics 4.0

With the consolidation of the Industry 4.0 paradigm and the constant evolution of technologies in manufacturing, logistics has undergone a profound transformation in recent years. The term Logistics 4.0 is currently used to identify supply chains characterized by higher levels of transparency, integration, dynamism, and reactivity in order to respond to an increasingly fragmented demand, with even higher delivery frequencies and reduced lead times. To cope with this complexity, new technologies have been implemented in the Logistics 4.0 area, borne and developed to support different stakeholders to improve logistics processes management and operations, both in internal and external logistics, also including the potentialities offered by the use of data. The large-scale diffusion of these technologies has, in turn, profoundly changed operational processes in logistics, affecting the specific tasks of operators and managers by changing the company roles. Indeed, the use of increasingly digitalized systems demands professionals, both at management and operational level, with specific knowledge and adequately trained to transform technological advances into new business opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of the roles of operators and managers in Logistics 4.0. In particular, based on the analysis of academic and industrial literature, along with the collection of data from manufacturing and logistics companies through a survey, this research aims at identifying which job profiles will become soon obsolete and which will gain importance to support the implementation of Logistics 4.0 processes.