Artificial intelligence, in the larger sense of a software system taking over human work, represents a revolution as important as the mechanization of manufacturing in the Industrial Revolution. This revolution will come from integrating the business process with sales driving operations and accounting, combined with rules-based logic that automates the administrative process.
AI does not mean that the software system will come up with a poetic solution for the customer. Large language models are not the answer to the logistics service model. Giving the customer exactly what they negotiated with the salesperson, regardless of where the shipment originates, from booking to delivery, will be the bedrock of the next generation of digitalization.
The service environment will be fully digital. Rates will be available on demand. Ordering a shipment will be as easy as ordering a pizza home delivery online. Payments will be automatically calculated and often transacted electronically. Customs entry, after an item has been imported once before and classified by a qualified human customs broker, will be automated and conducted while the shipment is in transit prior to arrival. Port terminal efficiency will be hugely impacted by those that are digital and, thus, ready to schedule with the terminal for the cargo pick up prior to arrival.
Digital providers will have enormous efficiency, and the service they provide to their customers will be at the same level of consistency and predictability that machines brought to manufacturing. This will be where the commercial strategic advantage comes to those who lead. Those that don’t will be at risk.
Humans will still be involved doing the real thinking needed to manage the supply chain, but the administrative process will be mechanized in much the same way that machines replaced human energy in manufacturing 100 years ago.