To unlock the full potential of the logistics industry, businesses must embrace cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. Sean Tinney, Vice President of Global Enterprise Computing Solutions at Unisys, sat down with Air Cargo Week to offer insights into how these innovations are reshaping the landscape.
“The biggest challenge we face is just the pace at which technology is changing. Indeed, the rapid evolution of technology requires organisations to adapt quickly to remain competitive,” Sean Tinney explained.
“It seems like it takes so long to build up a skill set, capability, and competency. Once you’re getting proficient at a certain technology or even a certain skill set, it seems like the market is beginning to reset again.
“When you get these AI competencies, you’re on to Gen AI and quantum, so now you’re catching these new skill sets that you’ve now got to start building upon and iterating upon. “However, the strategy lies in balancing AI’s accuracy with speed. With traditional computing approaches, you can run different potential scenarios, but it may take you a day, two days, a week just to run that amount of information.” This is where quantum computing emerges as a game-changer, offering unparalleled processing power and accelerating decision-making processes.
“The challenge for us is trying to anticipate where this market is going from a technological standpoint and trying to stay a step ahead of it, whether that’s in emerging technology, security and compliance, it’s all around us.”
Combining advancements
One of the key benefits of AI lies in its ability to enhance accuracy and efficiency. AI’s capability to analyse vast datasets enables businesses to anticipate risks and optimise operations proactively.
Tinney explained: “In terms of how it’s matured from 15 years ago, AI gives users the ability to tie together different variables and dependencies. “For example, in logistics, if there is a weather event, what does that do to my inventory that is sitting in my warehouse?”
The synergy between AI and quantum computing in this field is undeniable. “By combining these two technologies, now you can drive that enterprise-grade artificial intelligence that has been somewhat elusive in this space.” Looking ahead, Unisys sees immense promise in the ability of technology to shape the future of logistics with AI and quantum computing at its core.
Tinney envisions a paradigm shift towards digitisation and optimisation, stating: “By increasing this efficiency and bringing these seemingly disparate supply chains together, the commercial experience is going to mirror that of what we’re experiencing in our personal lives”
