Engineering, Procurement and Construction Breakbulk & Project Cargo provider or even our own project management,” Young said.“ By tracking [ key performance indicators ], we can see early on if there is a problem and take action to fix it.”
Aurich said visibility and transparency have been the primary focus for most shippers and forwarders to date, but there are many opportunities to move beyond this. She said the next step is using real-time insights to make better, faster decisions and to automate traditionally manual processes while optimizing costs.
“ That’ s a huge benefit to shippers, but it only works if we approach it as partners,” she said.
Untapped potential
Aurich said she is optimistic, having seen a significant shift toward digital transformation by both shippers and forwarders. Digitalization, data analysis and AI specialists are being brought more into the sector than in the past.
“ However, it’ s still a work in progress,” she said.“ We still need to move that needle forward and make sure they are involved in the early stages of developing projects.”
In a perfect world, Aurich said, all partners across the supply chain would share interconnected data.
“ Nothing that’ s proprietary or confidential in nature,
but common information that everyone can trust,” she said.“ That level of visibility would be a powerful thing for all parties and open up a whole new world of possibilities.”
When it comes to the untapped potential of AI,“ the sky is the limit,” Aurich said.
“ We are working with DHL’ s AI and data analytics teams, who are helping to shape where we go next,” she said.“ If we are not proactive and staying on top of this, we will fall behind.”
Young described the industry as“ super cautious,” not just around data but also innovation.
“ It’ s an industry with a traditional mindset, which means it doesn’ t exercise digitalization and data as much as it should.” he said.
Even generational change will take time, Young said. The younger generations of workers may embrace digitization,“ but they have to get to a place of authority to change things.”
In Young’ s perfect world, spotting trends and leading indicators can highlight problems and lead to greater efficiency. However, he said, even with the best data analytics, decisions can still be subjective.
“ There is still almost an element of‘ gut feeling,’ even with the performance data,” he said.
email: felicity @ felicitylandon. com
www. joc. com September 2025 | Journal of Commerce 15