The long-term concerns shaping supply change management: the emergence of AI

Respondents to this survey named AI (60%), sustainability initiatives/regulations (59%) and labour constraints (50%) as the top three factors that would shape supply chain management in five years. The emergence of AI as a top concern is new in this year’s Report, demonstrating the seismic impact of the current generative AI boom.

Other factors respondents said would shape supply chain management in five years include geopolitical risks (43%), warehouse robots/automation (41%) and cybersecurity (40%).

Pressing priorities – digitisation and collaboration

When asked about solutions that would position their company for success in the next five years, respondents’ responses centred around two main priorities – digitalisation and collaboration:

• Becoming more data-driven in our decision-making (74%)
• Investing in supply chain visibility technology (55%)
• Accelerating digital transformation efforts (52%)
• Expanding/diversifying our supplier base (50%)
• Developing more collaborative/transparent relationships with suppliers and customers (48%)

Given respondents’ long-term priorities, Transporeon’s data suggests that process automation is necessary today. Respondents said the greatest opportunities for automation today are “carrier selection and booking” (39%), “shipment delivery/status notifications” (32%), “route optimisation” (29), “load optimisation” (26%) and “CO2 emissions calculation” (25%).

Many of the above opportunities relate to companies’ long-term sustainability priorities. Most respondents (60%) said it was either “extremely important” (22%) or “very important” (38%) for transportation management solutions to integrate sustainability-related capabilities going forward.

However, sustainability is just one factor in companies’ desire for real-time insights. When asked about the business benefits of real-time data/insights, the top three responses were improved decision-making (54%), improved customer service (49%) and cost reduction (38%).

Nikolay Pargov, Chief Revenue Officer at Transporeon, concluded: “This report reveals both challenges and opportunities for the logistics transportation industry. Navigating these hinges on digitalisation – becoming more data-driven, accelerating digital transformation and replacing manual processes with automated ones. But it’s also about collaboration – expanding supply chain visibility to include carbon emissions and forced labour, transforming business relationships to be truly collaborative and training employees on new technologies like AI.”

Access the full Transportation Pulse Report 2024 here: Transporeon Pulse Report 2024