AI in Logistics Industry: Key Benefits and Use Cases

Globalization is breaking all barriers and boundaries, enabling businesses to flourish. The industry that has benefitted and also been affected the most is logistics and supply chain management. For it to operate seamlessly across the nations, it is important to keep up with the pace of technological advancements. Contributing greatly to the economy and increasing bilateral trade, the logistics industry must be efficient enough to transport products so they are smoothly and quickly sent across.

The role of AI has become so prominent that it is almost indispensable to specific industries. According to Gartner, supply chain firms are expected to witness a two-fold increase in machine automation in their supply chain activities over the next five years. Building on the same principles of AI and analytics, IoT in supply chains is also booming as an industry.

The logistics industry entails the whole process of supply chain management, right from procuring raw materials to transporting and distributing them. With the incorporation of AI in logistics, the operations costs can be notably lowered with increased productivity and seamless operations. It would not be an exaggeration to state that user experience is not limited to the internet but is equally important in logistics and supply chain management. This can be achieved only with digital transformation. Automating the processes reduces the possibility of error and delays and helps in predictive analysis to improve the processes.

How is AI impacting the Logistic Industry?

With changing consumer demands, digitization of processes has become necessary for smooth logistic operations. Machine intelligence or AI-driven supply chain management can fill in the gaps and expedite error-free supply chain management from sourcing the raw material to delivering the end product.

Predictive Analysis

Predicting the demand based on historical data can help maintain the inventory and optimize operations which can change the logistics industry. AI can perform this data analysis on multiple levels and intervals. Also, processing a large amount of data through machine learning and other techniques ensures that errors are less than 1%, and human labor can be used better. Optimizing supply chains with AI and analytics can also help in averting risks and making forecasts for better profitability.

With predictive analysis in place, it is possible to strategically plan shipments through optimized routes making the whole process easier and simpler. Different modes of transportation can also be considered and optimized for better end results by making informed decisions.

Computer Vision

An AI-based computer vision is a machine learning algorithm that allows the AI to sort and segregate the packages for damages, faults, categories, and more. Integrating cameras with computers and processing as the human and brain coordinate for processing is the basis of this technique. It can also segregate and label the inventories based on their dimensions, weight, and other parameters. It also aids in quickly loading and offloading packages with the help of robots in warehouses. Not to mention, when done with the help of AI automation, all these tasks save time and costly human labor.

Autonomous Vehicles

With AI systems in the trucking industry, deliveries can be done in minimum time as the system can help identify the best and fastest routes to destinations. The possibility of package damage is also reduced as the system can analyze the data quickly and intelligently process actions, thus enhancing the experience and profitability. The safety features are still being designed and tested.

Big Data

Data is gold in every industry. It stands true for logistics too. Having said that, the large volume of data can only be handled effectively and meaningfully with AI in logistics. Thorough analytics can help you stay ahead of the curve by being ready with the predicted risks, like bad weather forecasts. All this can only be achieved and processed with big data analytics.

How can AI be used to regulate supply chain management in logistics?

AI has the potential to fully regulate and revolutionize the supply chain of a product. Doing so would help accelerate work in a company and ensure the product in demand is manufactured and distributed efficiently.

Predicting product demand and planning logistics can improve service, decrease transportation costs, and save money. AI predicts the market, modifies orders and reroutes products in warehousing. These estimates help your enterprises alter orders and deliver in-demand commodities to local warehouses. AI can connect warehouses to discover the optimal inventory transfer solution. Let us see some use cases of AI in logistics and find out where it can be used.

Also Read: How is AI Transforming the Future of the Automotive Industry? Benefits and Use Cases

Automated Warehouses

Global e-commerce stores such as Amazon that require quick and intricate logistics solutions are spending their own money to support advancements in AI and robotics to make automated warehousing possible. For a decade now, Amazon has invested significantly in warehouse automation, buying businesses, recruiting top experts, and supporting contests to uncover cutting-edge solutions. Depending on your business type and size, you can adopt similar strategies to integrate AI in the logistics industry, like your company’s warehouse, and use it to manage it efficiently.

Optimizing Shipping Process

The use of AI in transportation and logistics has been predominant. The most efficient shipping route can be traced and forecasted using AI. The enterprise’s fastest and most cost-effective shipping routes can be predicted by machines using graph theory. This is especially helpful for businesses that serve various clients because shipping routes are projected to have the lowest cost while having the maximum reach to clients.

Several variables impact the shipment time of a corporation. Companies may ensure that their delivery executives spend less time waiting on roads and more time delivering to even more customers by avoiding peak hour traffic and scheduling delivery during the lightest traffic hours. Moreover, AI is capable of forecasting traffic patterns and busy periods. As a result, the effectiveness and revenue of your enterprise will be increased.

Inventory Management

A company may devote full attention to selling its goods rather than managing its storage with a capable inventory management system. That is the power of a good AI and its impact on logistics. In addition to ensuring the maintenance of supply, AI in inventory management also needs to be able to foresee demand. Nowadays, algorithms can analyze huge amounts of data to analyze client preferences and determine which products will soon be in demand and which may not be able to generate enough buzz.

The term “demand forecasting” is used frequently by companies and internet platforms worldwide. As a result, a business can be ready in advance and take stock appropriately rather than depending on real-time demand. The most revolutionary feature of AI in logistics is this one.

Workforce Management

Presumably, your supply chain will require less administrative support if an effective AI handles it. Yet there are other implications of AI in workforce management. Artificial intelligence is now utilized to recruit employees efficiently, train them on the job, monitor their day-to-day performance, rate it, and separate their strengths and shortcomings to guarantee that each person is given a work that best suits them.

AI can assist a company in more efficiently planning its hiring and training processes. It will be useful if you are a startup company looking to hire employees. Even established businesses can use it to hire suitable employees effectively. This enables efficient day-to-day operations on the organization’s floors. Also, it results in better-suited work assignments, which makes employees happier. Thus, it becomes a win-win situation for both.

ADVANTAGES OF USING AI IN LOGISTICS

AI has witnessed rapid growth and has made itself integral and indispensable to companies. They help boost management capabilities and organize work in the enterprise or startup. Here are some of its advantages in the logistics industry:

Enriching Data Quality

The quality of the data that AI helps to ascertain will always be the main advantage of its use in logistics. AI capabilities like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) in logistics assist in accurately gathering and organizing the enormous amounts of information that go into logistics organizations daily. NLP can understand commonly used words, phrases, and even jargon, and ML can connect these essential ideas to build context and learn as these words change.

AI is now more accurate than ever, thanks to faster and better global connections. When it is used in logistics, it will allow for the best possible data utilization in shipping. AI maximizes resources and reduces costs by preventing dangers and developing more effective solutions.

Enhanced Safety

Intelligent planning and effective warehouse management are made possible by AI-based automated technologies, which can improve worker and material safety. AI may also examine data on workplace safety and alert manufacturers to potential dangers. It can update operations, record stocking parameters, and perform essential feedback loops and preventative maintenance. This enables manufacturers to respond quickly and forcefully to maintain the safety and compliance of warehouses.

Timeless Delivery

AI systems can assist in reducing reliance on manual efforts, resulting in a faster, safer, and more intelligent overall process. This makes it easier to fulfill the promise of prompt delivery to the consumer. Traditional warehouse processes are accelerated by automated technologies with the least amount of effort to meet delivery deadlines.

Reduced Operation Costs

The supply chain can significantly benefit from AI systems to reduce operational expenditure. Automated intelligent processes can operate without errors for extended periods, decreasing the number of mistakes and workplace incidents from customer service to the warehouse. With their increased speed and accuracy, warehouse robots are more productive.

Better Transportation Prediction

Transportation forecasting is one of the technologies CEOs find most exciting right now. It involves using AI and machine learning algorithms to forecast the price variations in the current logistics market and how much capacity will be available in the future for carriers, modes, and lanes. So it basically helps in addressing your own future shipping capacity needs. Simply put, you may become proactive about reserving accommodation at a fair price by gathering enormous caches of market data from every available touchpoint on the value chain (a task that gets easier and easier to perform the more you focus on supply chain integration). The time frame for finding the best transportation choices in conventional transportation planning workflows is just a few days after an order is made.

How Can AI Be Used By Your Business For Logistics?

The AI and logistics industry have become tightly knitted. Multiple ways and steps are involved in planning and implementing AI in logistics. Let us take a look at how AI can be used for your logistical business.

Locate Major Issues

The first thing you need to do before integrating AI into your logistics is identifying the supply chain gaps. They may involve supply chain management, warehouse efficiency, or equipment maintenance. Once you know which department requires assistance, you can use AI to equip it with better efficiency and hassle-free functioning. You may focus your efforts and resources by recognizing AI’s most significant impacts.

Compare And Choose

Before making a choice, it is essential to compare all the available options to find the right one that fits your requirements. It would be best to choose an AI solution for your manufacturing needs to meet your needs and ambitions. For instance, you should consider features such as technical capabilities, integration with existing systems, and vendor support and training. Another critical aspect is to choose the development partner wisely. Look for a partner that can understand your pain areas and innovate AI solutions as per your needs, as Appinventiv does.

Plan AI Implementation

With a clear ambition and the right partner, you should plan its implementation in your supply chains. This plan should include a technology implementation schedule, an investment budget, and a training and onboarding strategy. Consider how you will quantify AI implementation success and what metrics you will use to track progress. A clear vision will make your implementation path more straightforward and effective.

Start Small, Grow

As tempting as it is to adopt AI throughout all your logistical operations, there are some chances it may not function as planned. It is generally more beneficial to take it slowly with a pilot project or small-scale implementation. Before rolling out the technology company-wide, test it. Once the test results are positive, you may implement it at a gradually large scale.

Train And Support Staff

AI can automate many logistics activities after implementation, but your staff must be ready to work with it. There will be multiple challenges initially, but such issues can be omitted with appropriate guidance to the team. It is essential for enterprises and startups to offer AI systems and general AI training for all their employees to bridge such gaps.

How can Appinventiv Provide AI Assistance to Strengthen Your Logistics Management?

Whether you are a startup or a well-established company in logistic management, the essentials you need to integrate and implement the right AI tool to take your organization to the next level can be achieved by partnering with

• A company that you can rely on
• A company with the right technology resources
• A company with experience in what they are doing

We at Appinventiv have worked with multiple companies providing them with diverse digital solutions for all their problems, and we can happily do the same for you. We love listening carefully to each problem and curbing them with the help of innovative technologies combined with our team’s expertise.

For instance, we have created a digital solution with AI and analytics for one of our clients, a global construction and mining equipment manufacturer. Our solution helped them improve their supply chain visibility by 60% while increasing the operation efficiency by 30%.

As a leading logistics software development company, we excel in what we do. Try our AI development services and streamline your organisation’s supply chains.

FAQs

Q. How can AI be leveraged to optimize supply chain management in logistics?

A. By making recommendations for the best course of action based on cognitive predictions, AI-driven supply chain optimization software magnifies crucial decisions. This could improve the efficiency of the entire supply chain. Additionally, it assists manufacturers with potential time, cost, and revenue implications across various scenarios.

Q. What are the most promising AI use cases in logistics?

A. The role of AI in logistics expands from monitoring carrier contracts, negotiating shipping and procurement rates, and further pinpointing precisely which processes in a supply chain can be improved to increase profits. Global supply chains will perform better as more companies embrace an AI/machine learning-based approach to logistics and supply chain management.

Q. What is the impact of artificial intelligence on logistics operations?

A. Demand forecasting has become simpler, all thanks to AI’s predictive capabilities. Businesses lose money when inventory is out of sync with demand. AI has increased network and demand planning effectiveness, allowing merchandisers to be more proactive.

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director