When it comes to using artificial intelligence (AI) in road transport, it no longer falls into the category of “too new to try”. Instead, it is a market-tested technology that is driving results across the supply chain, particularly the logistics sector.
In fact, advancements in AI have ushered in a new era of transformative technology, as well as speculation about how it will revolutionise the world — not least in the world of transport and logistics.
While AI’s potential might not be immediately obvious to everyone, its impact in this sector is already profound. From enhancing safety to reducing costs, AI is driving significant improvements across the board and streamlining workflows for fleet managers and drivers alike.
Driving safety forward
AI’s integration into existing technologies opens the door for significant improvements in driver safety, and dashcams are an excellent example of this. When enhanced with AI, dashcams can monitor driver behaviour in real-time, helping to prevent incidents and save lives.
For instance, AI can detect distractions such as a driver picking up their phone or signs of fatigue, automatically issuing alerts that prompt drivers to refocus or take necessary breaks. These interventions go beyond passive observation and instead, actively contribute to preventing accidents.
Wholesale food distribution giant, Sysco, reported significant results since implementing Samsara’s AI safety system, including a 40% decrease in on-road accidents within just three months. In addition, it also witnessed a 17% reduction in harsh driving events and a 15% reduction in insured costs year-on-year – and they’re not alone.
M Group Services, which equipped over 8,500 of its vehicles with dual-facing AI dashcams, saw an almost 30% reduction in incidents per million miles.
AI is facilitating never-before-seen levels of safety, and its potential for growth in this area is exponential. As more businesses integrate these technologies into their logistics functions, our roads will become safer, meaning that all drivers will reap the benefits of this new standard of road safety.
Returns on AI investment
Not only does AI save lives, it also helps to mitigate risk and reduce costs. By minimising accidents and monitoring driving behaviours, AI can save businesses money in terms of repairs, replacing damaged vehicles and hefty insurance premiums.
Moreover, by crunching much larger amounts of data than humans can, AI can spot anomalies such as excessive fuel use among particular drivers, vehicles, or routes, and identify changes that can lead to greater efficiency.
Beyond cutting costs out on the roads, AI is saving time and money in the back offices too. By automating workflows and removing the need for human intervention on more menial, time-consuming tasks, AI has become a real game changer for an industry where many are often still reliant on manual, pen-and-paper based processes.
Another impactful application of AI is predictive maintenance. By using real-time data and performance history, AI allows businesses to forecast when a vehicle is likely to need maintenance. As a result, fleet managers can get the most value for their money as AI allows them to carry out maintenance exactly when needed.
A glimpse into the future
The benefits of AI are constantly evolving and embracing this technology early on will provide significant long-term benefits to businesses. In the next five years, AI is poised to seamlessly connect all parts of the supply chain, as fleet leaders increasingly turn to AI not only to cut costs and improve safety in logistics, but ultimately to remain competitive.
Samsara’s new State of Connected Operations report found that, of the 1,500 operations leaders surveyed, more than half (51%) reported that their organisation is already using AI in some capacity. Of those leaders, 90% also said that their employees feel positive about the technology. While this is a promising start, there’s still a great deal of progress to be made to ensure fleet organisations are fully realising AI’s potential across all operations.
Trust and AI
However, with so much happening at pace, it’s crucial to make the right preparations and to stay focused on deploying AI responsibly. Issues such as privacy, data quality, and data protection are all potential obstacles to the implementation of AI, which could undermine trust if left unaddressed.
In fact, the top three barriers to implementing AI technology solutions are data quality and availability (41%), privacy and security concerns (40%) and integration with existing infrastructure (39%).
Of those already using AI, our research shows that the majority report that their organisation is currently deploying privacy and data protection measures (58%), establishing AI ethics and principles (57%) and making efforts to mitigate bias in AI (54%).
These priorities indicate that organisations are taking a measured and thoughtful approach to AI implementation, focusing on addressing legal and ethical risk before tackling logistics and rollout.
Data fuels AI
Ultimately, one thing has to be understood from the outset: AI is fuelled by data. The better the data, the better the outcomes. So investing in AI also means fleets also need to invest in digital management platforms capable of providing accurate real-time data.
For those already on the digital transformation journey, AI is opening up a world of possibilities. For those yet to start, AI will increasingly be built into applications as standard.
- AI in Supply Chain
