A.I. Likely to Transform How Supply Chains are Managed

According to transportation industry analysts and insiders, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is likely to transform how supply chains will be managed.

Ravi Shanker, leading a team of analysts at Morgan Stanley, said, “The Freight Transportation space is on the cusp of a generational shift… AI is the latest one of these potentially transformative technologies to emerge – and perhaps the most powerful to-date.”

Analysts at investment firm Jefferies predicted that generative AI will have effects on transportation and logistics including forecasting demand, predicting when trucks need maintenance, working out optimal shipping routes, and tracking shipments in real time.

Navneet Kapoor, chief technology and information officer at shipping giant Maersk, believes that generative AI will become an important part of the company’s operations. He said, “We are using AI to build what we call a predictive cargo arrival model to improve scheduled reliability for our customers … Reliability is a big deal, even post pandemic, so that they can plan their supply chain, their inventories better, and bring their costs down.”

Additionally, Maersk wants to use AI to recommend solutions when shipping routes are congested and to advise on whether goods should be flown or stored.