FUTURE OF LOGISTICS: AI-DRIVEN TRANSFORMATION IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

Abstract

The current work explores how multinational companies (MNCs) utilize artificial intelligence (AI) in logistics processes while ensuring the value-added contribution of human expertise cannot be substituted. A systematic literature review combined with a comparative case study approach that analyzes six MNCs provides an assessment of how different AI capabilities and human contributions are employed in four key logistics sectors: demand forecasting, transport optimization, warehouse operation, and risk management within the supply chain. It is shown that there are tangible benefits from using artificial intelligence, such as cost savings estimated at 100 million miles a year achieved by UPS ORION as well as over 750 thousand autonomous robots used by Amazon without reducing the number of employees. Still, artificial intelligence performs poorly when dealing with non-stationary situations and new risks, thus requiring human expertise for efficient performance. The major conclusion made in this work is that the most successful logistics operations treat artificial intelligence and human contribution as complements rather than substitutes.