Not without certain fears, artificial intelligence is spreading to the different areas of society. But in logistics, the sector that ensures that all products arrive from production centers to stores or homes, the use of this new technology is already a reality. In fact, it is beginning to revolutionize this key economic activity. It can be seen at the International Logistics Show (SIL), which under the organization of the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (CZFB) started its 25th anniversary edition yesterday.
“The last two years have seen a significant increase in demand for artificial intelligence solutions. It is revolutionizing the market”, says Julio Borrell, operations director of Andsoft, a firm with clients in 18 countries and its own presence in five. “The impact is already real, it is not the future. And the forecast is that it will go even further”, adds Pilu Morante, product director of the same firm. Borrell explains that the main areas of application of artificial intelligence are warehouse management, transport and data analysis. “It allows us to go beyond” what is usual, describes Morante.
After two decades of experience in the logistics sector, Cristina MartÃÂn decided on new technologies five years ago. He founded Usyncro, a start-up company supported by the CZFB incubator. MartÃÂn and his team devised a digital platform that simplifies all bureaucratic operations during logistics transit, which are not exactly few.
Among other technologies, Usyncro also uses artificial intelligence. With their help, they manage to solve problems such as, for example, “detecting anomalies” in documentation or automating customs classification. “Artificial intelligence is not incipient. It’s already being used, although sometimes we don’t realize it”, says Cristina MartÃÂn.
Àngel Batalla also founded Last Mile Team with the help of the CZFB incubator. In this case, artificial intelligence is used to improve last-mile shipments, the last step before reaching customers. Among other things, they manage to calculate the environmental impact of the different transport alternatives before they use them.
During the inauguration of a special edition, the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, defended intermodality as the key to achieving reliable and efficient freight transport. The special delegate of the State to the CZFB, Pere Navarro, pointed out that “for 25 years, the fair has been a space where professionals meet to share knowledge, explore trends and establish commercial relationships”. Until Friday, the Montjuïc exhibition center expects more than 12,000 visitors.
