Numerology: Digging into B.C.’s cargo and warehousing industry

Sources: Statistics Canada, BC Trucking Association, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Supply Chain Management Association

136,100

That’s how many people work in the B.C. transportation and warehousing industry—and judging by the focus of this month’s Cargo Logistics Canada conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre, they need to prepare for a sea change brought on by robotics, big data, instant delivery and extreme transparency. “Amazon is setting the bar for everyone,” says Devlin Fenton, CEO of Go99, a growing Vancouver startup whose enterprise platform connects shippers directly to independent truckers. Fenton, who will talk about the future of the logistics labour force at the conference (February 6 to 8), calls change and disruption in the supply chain the “weakest point and highest risk” for companies today. “Every business needs to look at their supply chain and ask, ‘Is this safe? Do we know where our goods are and where they are coming from?'” he advises. “There isn’t one customer who will say, ‘OK, I’ll wait another week.’ They just go next door.”