Logistics has entered the era of intelligent orchestration, powered by AI, IoT, and workflow automation. The smart shift is redefining supply chains to be faster, resilient, and sustainable.
Intelligent orchestration and workflow automation
Yash Radia, Director, MPRS, describes the shift from isolated modes to integrated orchestration: “Operations are no longer mode-specific; they are integrated end-to-end. AI-driven engines balance speed and cost across road, rail, sea, and air. Rail and sea handle long haul, road provides flexibility, and air is deployed for time-sensitive shipments. Shifting long-haul from road to rail/sea can cut costs by up to 15 percent and improve network reliability.”
Radia continues, “IoT sensors and real-time platforms connect the journey. Container-level visibility and automated documentation reduce discrepancies by over 20 percent. Digital twins in ports like VOC Port (Tuticorin) simulate operations to correct delays before they cascade. Multimodal planning is now carbon-aware, reducing emissions up to 30 percent, while inland rail-linked parks and dedicated freight corridors enable resilient routing.”
The future is intelligent multimodality: speed, cost, sustainability
Automation as margin protector
Tamim Fannoush, Founder & CEO, Deep Current, explains how workflow automation eliminates blind spots, frees senior staff for strategic work, and improves quality. “The best return comes when automation removes repeatable, cross-system friction, document validation, rate lookups, milestone reconciliation, and re-keying. It eliminates blind spots, frees senior staff for strategic work, and improves quality. RPA reduces up to 60 percent of repetitive tasks; AI-driven optimisation boosts warehouse and distribution capacity by 7–15 percent. Early adopters see ROI within months. By 2026, forwarders integrating intelligent workflows with real-time exception management will not just move shipments; they’ll protect margins and maximise operational efficiency.”
The combination of AI, IoT, workflow automation, and predictive analytics is shifting logistics from a reactive model to one of proactive intelligence. Operations are faster, margins are protected, sustainability is embedded, and decision-making is increasingly evidence-driven.
Automation replaces cost-per-file labour with fixed-cost software
Conclusion: The smart shift in motion
Looking back at the achievements of the past year, it is clear that logistics is no longer just about speed or cost; it is about intelligence, resilience, and purpose. AI-led planning, predictive multimodal networks, workflow automation, and sustainable practices are now shaping how goods move, how risks are managed, and how value is created.
Across air, road, rail, sea, and multimodal corridors, the industry is redefining itself. AI, automation, sustainability, and collaboration are no longer optional; they are the foundation of resilience and competitiveness in 2026 and beyond.
The Smart Shift is here: logistics is no longer about moving goods alone but about moving intelligence, purpose, and trust across every link of the supply chain. As we step into the year ahead, these breakthroughs are laying the foundation for smarter, faster, and greener supply chains. The path is clear: embrace technology, collaborate, and innovate; this is how the logistics ecosystem will thrive in 2026 and beyond.
