The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has been making inroads over the years in various sectors. But a joint report issued this week by global express and logistics services provider DHL and technology powerhouse IBM takes an in-depth look into the impact of AI within logistics. The report, entitled "Artificial Intelligence in Logistics: A collaborative report by DHL and IBM on implications and use cases for the logistics industry," examines different ways in which AI can be used for augmenting logistics operations, especially now at a time when leveraging AI is more accessible and affordable than it has been in the past. "Everything can be enhanced through modern technology, and I think AI is at the beginning of really big usefulness," said Ken Allen, CEO of DHL Express, in an interview. "We already have big data and IoT and this is another part of that. This type of digitalization proposes the next'S-curve' after globalization that is really driving our business in this fast-growing world of e-commerce. Now…for the first time through broadband and mobile devices everyone can be connected, and the possibilities are endless. It creates massive opportunities, as well as massive complexities in that everyone in the world is a potential customer now. And we need to use AI, big data, and other forms of digital marketing to reach all of our customers."

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.