By Adam Coventry, executive director at global supply chain and logistics consultancy, SCALA
The most advanced logistics operations are no longer thinking in terms of isolated automation, but orchestrating entire systems that integrate robotics, warehouse automation and software into a single, responsive ecosystem.
For those who have embraced the change, technologies that once operated separately are beginning to merge, with robotics, mobility and manipulation increasingly combined into single solutions. At the same time, commercial models are evolving. Robotics-as-a-Service and more modular deployments are reducing capital barriers and accelerating time to value.
Having said this, a large proportion of organisations remain some distance from meaningful automation adoption across the industry. The risk is not just missing out on efficiency gains but embedding long-term structural disadvantage as competitors move ahead.
Looking back at recent years
Arguably, the biggest shift in AI and automation over recent years has not been technological, but cultural.
The industry has moved from ‘AI excitement’ to ‘show me the value’. A widespread understanding of what AI is capable of now exists, but there is a growing impatience where tangible progress has yet to materialise, with many organisations still waiting for scalable use cases that move beyond the pilot stage.
That said, where AI is working, it is working well. Typically, that is in areas where the data is already clean, structured and reliable. SCALA’s January 2026 client survey, for example, highlighted progress in route optimisation, warehouse slotting and labour planning, alongside measurable gains in transport cost reduction and on-time delivery.
However, the gap between promise and realised value remains significant. That challenge is being sharpened by a more volatile global backdrop, with supply chains now operating in what increasingly feels like a constant state of disruption.
SCALA’s latest report, The Resilience Gap, reinforces this point. Just 33% of businesses have fully implemented the capabilities required to respond effectively to disruption, leaving the majority still only partway there. In this context, AI and automation are not standalone initiatives; they are being pulled into organisations as part of a broader need to build resilience, improve visibility and respond faster to change.
Barriers such as poor data quality, disconnected systems and a lack of skills continue to hold businesses back. In some cases, there are also structural issues, with many supply chains still operating in silos, meaning teams work separately across warehousing, transport and planning. AI delivers the most value when it can connect and optimise the entire operation end-to-end, leaving traditional siloed structures increasingly out of step with where the opportunity lies.
What’s next for logistics technology
The next phase of logistics technology will be defined by integration, accessibility and speed.
Digital twins are rapidly becoming a control tower for logistics, enabling businesses to simulate and validate decisions before execution. At the same time, lower-cost robotics and AI-powered coding are accelerating innovation, resulting in fragmentation and localisation of technological change. This is significantly lowering the barrier to entry, with an explosion of micro-solutions emerging in specialist areas.
As operations become more automated and electrified, physical constraints are also coming into sharper focus. Access to resilient, stable and high-capacity power is set to become a defining factor in how and where logistics networks operate.
A shift in where value sits
Ultimately, AI and automation are moving logistics from isolated improvements to connected, end-to-end optimisation. The technology is advancing quickly, but the real challenge lies in how organisations adopt it, from building the right data foundations to breaking down silos and focusing on practical use cases that deliver value.
As access to technology increases, competitive advantage will shift. AI will make insight more accessible, reducing the premium on knowledge alone. In that environment, the ability to apply judgement, make decisions and build effective relationships across the supply chain will become more important.
For logistics leaders, the challenge now is turning potential into performance.
