How Are Drones And Other ‘Tradetech’ Transforming International Trade

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected many industries, it has also spurred several innovative tech solutions. Services like remote clinical services have rapidly gained popularity. Likewise, online retailers and e-commerce sites may acquire about 18% more sales soon.

This innovation is mainly due to the lockdown measures that have forced more people to rely on delivery services. Consequently, this has skyrocketed B2C parcel volume at companies like UPS and FedEx as well. The barriers to tech in many industries are slowly crumbling, with international trade being no exception. Although most international trade operations are paper-based, the current digital revolution has increased global GDP by 10.1% over the last decade. Thanks to the emerging “trade tech”’, there has also been a reduction in trade costs between 1996 to 2014, and it will continue to cause further decline in trade costs worldwide.

Overall, technology in the trade industry, specifically in exports and international trade, can help make business more efficient, equitable, safer, and inclusive. Here are some of the ways trade tech like drones are assisting exporters in improving their operations.

The Impact of Drones

The collective effects of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning have supported the developments in unmanned aircraft like drones. These have had a tremendous impact on logistics and transport and helped exporters meet the growing demand for goods.

The primary goal of these technologies is to promote contactless trade and slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, aerial drones, warehouse drones, and emerging warehouse stock counting technologies are only beginning to change the trajectory of effective logistics, transport, and delivery service.

Challenges to Trade Tech Adoption

In fact, drones are only part of the first chapter in the trade tech success story. There are still several other trade-enabling technologies like automation, robotics, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 5G connectivity. However, the barriers to their adoption in the exporting sector still prevent many businesses from fully benefiting from these innovations. Issues of regulations, policymaking, taxation, and management are still coming along. Therefore, it might be a while before exporters can make full use of these complementary technologies.

Undoubtedly, the increased adoption of emerging technologies in exports will affect other aspects of the industry, such as labor and customer satisfaction, in the near future. Individuals and stakeholders in the world’s exporting sectors will have to upskill or retrain their employees to make the most out of these technologies.

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