Imagine generating a warehouse design in milliseconds or timing a beverage delivery to dodge beer-stealing teens. And what if you could gauge a shipment’s cost and view better alternatives or improve productivity and safety in your warehouse using a Google map of the global supply chain?
These resourceful ideas to keep the world’s goods and services moving forward have available or are under development, thanks to cutting-edge technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and visionary leaders breaking new ground in the $7.98 trillion logistics industry. The masterminds recently gathered for Prologis’ annual, and aptly named, GROUNDBREAKERS, where industry leaders celebrated trailblazers, shared perspectives and ideas, and planted seeds for the next transformative innovations.
Here’s how four of the game-changing companies that participated in GROUNDBREAKERS 2023 are using new technology to expedite the global movement of goods and revolutionize the industry.
1. Design a warehouse—in milliseconds
Building warehouses is complicated. Sure, it starts with a parcel of land, but there are a multitude of questions, considerations and possibilities. For example, how can you be sure you picked the best location, and are there easements, zoning or traffic restrictions? What’s the best way to build an efficient warehouse that respects the community and nearby neighbors? And what could go wrong during construction, including possible weather interruptions? You also have to assess the number of loading docks that would fit in the space and potential parking stalls per dock. And don’t forget about employees: How will you help them walk less, lift less and do more work with their brains than their backs?
Using data parameters powered by AI, TestFit—a company whose mission is to make real estate development easier and less risky—can generate a building design in milliseconds, taking into account all those complex considerations, according to Kyle Bernhardt, the company’s chief product officer. But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution: “It’s not just the algorithm of the platform,” he says. “It’s how you couple that into a product experience that people want to use and don’t feel threatened by. Technology can take on the stuff that you don’t necessarily want to deal with. You want to think about your design goals and your constraints, and then have AI help you get there,” he says.
That means client customization. “Our clients can generate an AI design and then edit and manipulate it to make it better. So, AI is doing the heavy lifting based on your choices,” Bernhardt says.
2. Drag and drop a shipment from Bangladesh to Berkeley
In logistics, who wouldn’t love a Google map of the global supply chain—a map underpinned by dynamic intelligence and populated with key factors, such as local customs points, duties, taxes and compliance regulations? It would also allow you to drag and drop shipments from one point to another on the map, then instantly understand the real-time costs and alternatives.
That’s the promise of Altana Technologies, which built a federated learning platform that connects to sensitive public and nonpublic data from governments and logistics providers worldwide. The platform is possible because it doesn’t centralize or pool sensitive data. “We share intelligence from the data but not the underlying data itself,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO Evan Smith. Take compliance, for example: “There’s a wave of regulation in the U.S. and Europe that now requires organizations be accountable for compliance across their extended supply chain—all the way back to raw materials. There’s no way you can get through all that data manually. You need AI,” Smith says.
And when it’s time to move goods across borders, Altana Technologies uses generative AI to provide legal attestation for every customs filing in every jurisdiction. “We’re increasing supply chain visibility by orders of magnitude,” says Smith. “And we’re saving hundreds of hours of time.”
3. Crowdsource drivers for last-mile logistics
As global players, logistics companies think big. But the last mile—where the supply chain meets the consumer—is where small details matter even more.
Wise Systems sweats the details with an AI-driven optimization engine for last-mile dispatch and routing. “We focus on a really specific part of the delivery process, which is ‘how long does it actually take to deliver a specific product to a specific customer?’” says Layla Shaikley, co-founder of Wise, which created an intuitive, modular and easily integrated system to optimize last-mile logistics with every load. That said, “Our platform doesn’t just focus on efficiency. Our job is not to replace the driver but to use their insights and knowledge to deliver better,” she adds.
For example, she once rode with a beverage company driver who went past a convenience store where he had a scheduled drop-off. “He told me there are three girls on that block who get out of school then and steal beer off his truck while he’s inside delivering, so he circles back there later,” she says, noting that traditional delivery information doesn’t provide the kind of data the driver used to make that decision.
AI is changing this, Shaikley says. “The reality of last-mile delivery is that there are breadcrumbs of data everywhere. And that's why we use AI to grab driver experience to make sure that last mile is as optimal as possible.”
4. Retain warehouse workers with robots
Anyone concerned that robots will someday replace warehouse workers should meet Gina Chung, VP of corporate development at Locus Robotics. Chung took the stage at GROUNDBREAKERS with a companion: a human-size robot named Sineesh, Jr. Because Sineesh communicates only through an integrated iPad, Chung did the talking, explaining how Locus robots, like Sineesh, employ AI to triple the productivity of human workers.
“Warehouse picking is an incredibly tough job,” says Chung. “You’re pushing a manual cart that can weigh 400 pounds, 10 to 15 miles a day.” With a robot, workers can stay in one or two aisles all day—spending their time getting orders right, not straining their backs. “The workers are thinking, and the robots are lifting,” she says.
Of course, the robots are also “thinking,” thanks to AI, Chung says. “Sineesh Jr. is basically zooming around the warehouse navigating a dynamic environment with obstacles and a constantly changing landscape while interacting safely with humans.”
With 13,000 robots currently operating in 700 sites around the world, Locus reports strong worker satisfaction and job retention. And the company’s full-service subscription model means its clients don’t need major capital investments to get robots cruising the warehouse floor. Happy workers, happy employers—if a Locus robot could talk, it would probably say “you’re welcome”.
