How artificial intelligence is shaping the future of logistics and freight

IBM has evaluated the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and found that it can transform the freight and logistics industry, giving rise to a new class of intelligent logistics assets and operational paradigms.

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, the experts believe. Many industries, such as engineering and manufacturing have already successfully adopted AI. AI is being used in production lines to help streamline production and maintenance through image recognition and “conversational interfaces”. With the help of AI in logistics, the industry will generate better insights at favourable costs in back-office, operational and customer-facing activities.

Leveraging big data and AI for rapid demand

Big Data, AI enabled self-learning systems and the monitoring of social media will enable logistics providers to be better prepared for rapid consumer demand, such as that which saw an estimated 38,000 tonnes of fidget spinners transported by air last year. While AI is already established in the consumer arena, with everyday devices like voice assistant applications, the technologies are “maturing at a great pace,” allowing for additional applications in the freight and logistics industry.

AI in logistics: from tracking to transformation

AI in logistics technologies can use advanced image recognition to track the condition of shipments and assets, bring end-to-end autonomy to transportation, or predict fluctuations in global shipment volumes before they occur. By leveraging AI into core processes, IBM believes that companies can invest more in strategic growth imperatives to modernise or eliminate legacy application systems. IBM concludes that AI will develop to become as” omnipresent” in the industrial sector as it currently is in the consumer world.