How technology – including AI – is transforming the future of logistics
Cutting-edge tech is transforming logistics by automating routine tasks, improving forecasting and helping teams deliver faster, smarter and more personalised service to customers
Successful logistics businesses are always laser-focused on delivering for their customers – literally and metaphorically. That involves employing the best people, but it also means deploying cutting-edge technology.
The right tech innovations can drive efficiencies, detect supply chain bottlenecks, improve planning, optimise operations and speed up fulfilment. Ultimately, this empowers colleagues and boosts customer experience.
These days, advances in AI are supercharging the logistics landscape, says Samantha van Putten, head of billing and payments and strategic programmes. “Technology has always been a core part of our vision for customer delivery,” she says. “AI has long been integral to how we operate; what I’m most excited about now is the rapidly evolving possibilities with generative AI.”
Gen AI is changing the logistics business in many ways. “For example, it’s automating mundane but time-consuming administrative tasks,” says van Putten. “That’s particularly useful for our customer-facing teams who can spend more time on value-added activities such as speaking to and engaging with shippers. We also leverage AI to analyse the vast amount of data we have to deliver personalised insights and recommendations for customers. That’s an area I’m really excited about.”
AI for prediction, planning and better customer service
In the future, AI-powered companions will be able to guide customers through Amazon Freight’s booking experience. “These assistants will be able to reduce friction by giving shippers an answer to their questions more quickly,” says van Putten. “Or, if something is more complex and requires extra attention, they’ll make sure they’re routed to the right team member.”
Internally, AI is being used for prediction and planning purposes. “For example, our intelligent pricing capabilities are driven by machine learning,” says van Putten. “Multiple different signals are analysed – including supply availability and market conditions – to identify the price we offer to shippers. We’re also investing heavily in demand forecasting – using machine learning to ensure we have enough supply positioned in the right locations to even better meet customer demand.” This is especially useful during peak periods when additional trucks, drivers and operations associates are needed to manage increased volumes.
Van Putten is also Amazon Freight’s generative AI lead – an area which, she says, “has opened up a whole new world for us.” Now, even non-technical colleagues can create solutions for routine business activities, which can potentially be shared across the entire group.
“The way product development works has completely changed,” she says. “Previously, you’d have an idea, write a document, socialise it with stakeholders to get signoff and then hand it to the tech team to build. Now you can build a working prototype yourself with GenAI [generative AI] – and do it in a matter of hours.”
GenAI:democratising technology to benefit the entire business
Naturally, the organisation advocates responsible use of GenAI and has the proper safety guardrails in place. It also wants everyone, regardless of job type, to experiment with it and use it to help them work more efficiently.
“GenAI can be intimidating,” says van Putten. “So, we’ve been very intentional about democratising it and making it accessible to everyone. We’ve also been intentional about saying that it’s not ‘one-size-fits-all’, because someone in sales or account management will use GenAI in a very different way from someone in operations or product management. So, we tailor trainings and tools to each person’s job family.”
Thanks to GenAI, technology is moving so rapidly that it can be difficult to keep up. But that just makes the future of logistics even more thrilling. “When I think about what we’re able to do now versus a year ago, it’s just incredible,” says van Putten. “The possibilities are endless.”
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