Artificial intelligence is moving deeper into logistics operations, but the technology will not remove the need for people who understand supply chains and can stand behind critical decisions.
Jan Steenberg, president of the CILT International, says automation could reduce the traditional opportunities through which newcomers learn planning, transport and warehouse operations. That creates a practical risk: employees may become proficient at using digital tools without understanding the commercial and operational conditions behind their recommendations.
Automation needs informed oversight
For industrial companies, accountability remains a human responsibility. AI can propose routes, capacity allocations or other operational actions, but managers must be able to test those proposals against real-world constraints and accept responsibility for the outcome. Professional education and recognised standards therefore become more important as software takes on a larger share of routine decisions.
CILT International, whose network covers about 40 countries, provides training and qualifications from entry-level study to strategic leadership. Up to 10,000 students study across the wider CILT network each year. A membership application is also being developed to improve links between learners and specialist communities, with broader deployment expected in 2027.
Resilience through cooperation
The same workforce challenge is unfolding alongside geopolitical uncertainty, decarbonisation and pressure on logistics costs. Steenberg points to cooperation as one way of using assets more efficiently: manufacturers can combine transport demand, while companies in other sectors may share distribution or field-service capacity. Such models can reduce empty or duplicated journeys, although they require trust and clear commercial arrangements.
Technology choices will remain mixed. Investment in ammonia-based shipping is continuing, while hybrid vehicles may prove more practical than fully electric trucks in the near term because of cost and range limitations. Automated road transport could also alter long-distance operations, particularly on trunk routes.
A broader logistics workforce
Recruitment remains difficult as driver populations age and extended time away from home discourages younger and more diverse applicants. A Turkish CILT programme, supported by Mercedes-Benz Trucks and government, aims to train and recruit 5,000 women into professional driving over five years.
Other technologies will address specific delivery problems. Lockers can consolidate parcels, but home delivery remains important for ageing populations and medical supplies. In Ghana, drones are being used to move urgent items such as blood and medicines to health centres, covering destinations within roughly 100 kilometres in about an hour. The lesson for industrial operators is clear: automation works best when paired with expertise, accountability and solutions designed around actual operating conditions.
