Artificial intelligence is set to thrive in the logistics market according to a new joint report from DHL and IBM.
The duo have collaborated on a new market report that they claim shows that the market will shift significantly due to the benefits that AI can bring – such as helping logistics providers enrich customer experiences through conversational engagement as well as predictive delivery – delivering products before the customer has even ordered them.
“Today’s current technology, business, and societal conditions favour a paradigm shift to proactive and predictive logistics operations more than any previous time in history,” said Matthias Heutger, senior vice president and global head of Innovation DHL. “As the technological progress in the field of AI is proceeding at great pace, we see it as our duty to explore, together with our customers and employees, how AI will shape the logistics industry’s future.”
The report predicts that AI will help the logistics industry shift its operating model from reactive actions to a proactive and predictive paradigm, which will generate better insights at favourable costs in back office, operational and customer-facing activities.
For instance, AI technologies can use advanced image recognition to track condition of shipments and assets, bring end-to-end autonomy to transportation, or predict fluctuations in global shipment volumes before they occur. Such benefits will allow logistics teams to concentrate on more meaningful and value-added work as a result.
“Technology is changing the logistics industry’s traditional value chains, and ecosystems are reshaping enterprises, industries and economies,” says Keith Dierkx, IBM global industry leader for freight, logistics, and rail. “By leveraging AI into core processes, companies can invest more in strategic growth imperatives to modernize or eliminate legacy application systems. This can make existing assets and infrastructure more efficient, while providing the workforce with time to enhance their skills and capabilities.
The report “Artificial Intelligence in Logistics” is available at http://www.dhl.com/ai.
Image credit: IBM and DHL
