The use of artificial intelligence in logistics
Logistics, with its widespread networks, is an ideal application area for artificial intelligence. Future production and transportation volumes, for example, can be forecast using intelligently evaluated data—for companies to use their resources more efficiently. These kinds of tasks are increasingly being supported or taken over by self-learning digital systems.
AI in logistics: the status quo
Logistics is another sector where the importance of this technology is growing rapidly. More than 70 percent of participants in the 2019 Bitkom study “Digitalization in logistics” believed that AI will be indispensable for logistics in ten years’ time. Yet, only just under 15 percent of companies were involved with AI. Just three years later, in October 2022, the association surveyed around 400 logistics companies:
- One in five logistics companies in Germany (22 percent) are already using artificial intelligence, while a further 26 percent are planning or discussing its use—from demand forecasting and sales planning to transport optimization.
- More than half of logistics companies (58 percent) expect AI to become widely used and take over many tasks in logistics, such as route planning or avoiding empty runs.
- 56 percent of logistics companies see the industry as a pioneer in digitalization—compared to only 32 percent in the economy as a whole.
“The logistics industry has recognized the potential that AI offers in both warehousing and transport and is making targeted use of the technology to increase efficiency, quality and productivity,” comments Bitkom CEO Dr. Bernhard Rohleder. “The logistics sector is open to and positive about digitalization, and many companies are pioneers in implementing digital technologies. By consistently using these, logistics makes a major contribution to sustainable and climate-friendly production and mobility.”
Compared to other German companies, the logistics sector plays a pioneering role. The latest figures from the ifo Institute from August 2023 confirm this: 13.3 percent of companies in Germany use AI, 9.2 percent are planning to use it and a further 36.7 percent are discussing possible application scenarios.
AI in logistics: Where are the greatest potentials?
Forecasts from data and algorithms influenced by a wide range of parameters: What are the specific benefits of AI in logistics? A survey conducted by Inform with the trade publication Logistik heute revealed that logistics companies see the greatest potential in the following areas: ´
- demand forecast and sales planning (62 percent)
- production optimization (51 percent)
- transport optimization (50 percent)
Fraunhofer IML uses a matrix to categorize the application of AI in logistics. In procurement & purchasing, production as well as sales & distribution, the focus is on the skills of recognizing, analyzing, planning, deciding and executing. The white paper uses practical examples to show what is already possible with “AI in logistics”:
- recognize different dangerous goods labels
- distinguish objects without e. g. serial number or label
- evaluate data on activities and movements recorded by sensors
- predict transportation arrival times with data from many sources
- make sales forecasts with multivariate data from supply chains and public sources
- plan breaks for employees with the help of vital, movement and machine operating data
- plan loads automatically with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN)
- monitor the choice of means of transportation and identify better solutions step by step
- improve human-machine interaction with trained talking robots
- transport robots that use optical patterns to position and orient themselves.