DHL is using robotics to support numerous warehousing and logistics tasks. DHL innovates its logistics workflow and the tools and technologies deployed in DHL distribution centers around the world, as the company continually improves its efficiency. Sally Miller, DHL Supply Chain's chief information officer for North America, recently spoke to The Robot Report about the types of robots the company uses and the innovation cycle it employs to find the most effective solutions. Sally Miller will also be a keynote speaker at RoboBusiness, which takes place in Santa Clara on Oct 19-20, 2022. The full interview with Sally was featured on a recent episode of The Robot Report Podcast, which you can listen to here.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Weintek USA. Let Weintek USA help solve your HMI supply headaches! With advanced features, communication drivers for all common PLCs and free software, transitioning to Weintek USA solutions is simple. Welcome to Episode 87 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Our guest this week is Sally Miller, Chief Information Officer of North America Supply Chain at DHL. Steven and Mike talk to Sally about the state of robotics deployed at DHL North America. It's an insightful conversation about the types of robots in use at DHL, the types of workflow that DHL wants to automate and how DHL engages with partners to test innovative, new solutions.

It is one of several efforts in the industry to improve the usefulness of robots in warehouses, where they are increasingly common. The platform is currently online at one location near Madrid, where it has already reduced integration time for new robot systems by 60%, said Markus Voss, DHL Supply Chain's global chief information officer and chief operating officer. "We're at the beginning of the journey," Mr. Voss said. "We are implementing it as we speak at two additional sites, and we think it has applicability across all of our sites." The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team.

There's no other way to describe it: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the world of logistics. That may seem like a cliché, or hype, or buzz, but it is true. The tech is fundamentally changing the way packages move around the world, from predictive analytics to autonomous vehicles and robotics. The capabilities of AI are seriously ramping up company efficiencies in the areas of predictive demand and network planning. Having a tool for accurate demand forecasting and capacity planning allows companies to be more proactive.

As vice president of innovation at logistics company DHL, Gina Chung oversees a 28,000-square-foot innovation facility in Chicago. Fascinated with supply chains since college ("I think it's something to do with the fact that I'm from New Zealand and grew up in a pretty isolated part of the world," she explains), she spearheads AI and robotics projects focused on front-line operations -- like automated pallet inspection and stacking, delivery route optimization, and aircraft utilization. Your reviews are essential to the success of Me, Myself, and AI. For a limited time, we're offering a free download of MIT SMR's best articles on artificial intelligence to listeners who review the show. Send your review screenshot to smrfeedback@mit.edu to receive the download. Gina Chung is vice president, Innovation Americas, at DHL, where she is responsible for DHL's Americas Innovation Center, a purpose-built platform to engage customers, startups, and industries on the future of logistics. She manages a portfolio of projects focused on the rapid testing and adoption of technologies such as collaborative robotics and artificial intelligence across logistics operations. Gina notes that "the first day for AI is the worst day": The technology improves with human input over time, achieving accuracy to a level where people trust and embrace it. She describes how success requires closely collaborating with key stakeholders, integrating change management, bringing teams along when introducing new technology, and designing solutions with the end user in mind.

At some DHL shipping centers, artificial intelligence now helps employees make sure pallets will load safely into cargo planes. A computer vision system captures each pallet, and an algorithm judges whether it can be stacked with other pallets or may be too awkward to fit on the next flight. DHL is one of a growing number of companies using AI. Besides the pallet scanning system, AI helps route deliveries, control robots that ferry packages around warehouses, and control an experimental robot arm that picks and sorts parcels. DHL is also among a small minority of companies using AI--just 11 percent--that say they've reaped a significant return on investment from using the technology, according to a new report.

At some DHL shipping centers, artificial intelligence now helps employees make sure pallets will load safely into cargo planes. A computer vision system captures each pallet, and an algorithm judges whether it can be stacked with other pallets or may be too awkward to fit on the next flight. DHL is one of a growing number of companies using AI. Besides the pallet scanning system, AI helps route deliveries, control robots that ferry packages around warehouses, and control an experimental robot arm that picks and sorts parcels. DHL is also among a small minority of companies using AI--just 11 percent--that say they've reaped a significant return on investment from using the technology, according to a new report.

There's no other way to describe it: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the world of logistics. That may seem like a cliché, or hype, or buzz, but it is true. The tech is fundamentally changing the way packages move around the world, from predictive analytics to autonomous vehicles and robotics. The capabilities of AI are seriously ramping up company efficiencies in the areas of predictive demand and network planning. Having a tool for accurate demand forecasting and capacity planning allows companies to be more proactive.

Bottom line: Machine learning makes it possible to discover patterns in supply chain data by relying on algorithms that quickly pinpoint the most influential factors to a supply networks' success, while constantly learning in the process. Discovering new patterns in supply chain data has the potential to revolutionize any business. Machine learning algorithms are finding these new patterns in supply chain data daily, without needing manual intervention or the definition of taxonomy to guide the analysis. The algorithms iteratively query data with many using constraint-based modeling to find the core set of factors with the greatest predictive accuracy. Key factors influencing inventory levels, supplier quality, demand forecasting, procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, production planning, transportation management and more are becoming known for the first time.

For the past several years, machine learning as evolved by the hyperscalers has been trickling down from on high, through frameworks and services, into enterprises. Machine learning is becoming a regular technique underpinning applications in a growing number of industries like manufacturing, energy, telecommunications and engineering, where companies see it as a way to not only reduce the costs and improve the efficiencies in their operations but also to more quickly detect patterns in and gain insights from the huge amounts of data they are generating. The goal is to making better and faster business decisions, and to make more money. We have talked a lot here at The Next Platform about the growing use of AI in research and business and have touched on its potential in the logistics industry. A report by DHL and IBM released this week indicates that while investment in AI is growing rapidly, numbers from last year showed that adoption among commercial businesses is still slow.