A Perspective from Forto’s Christopher Wendels
This week at Logistics Plus 2024, I had the pleasure of presenting Forto’s vision and advancements in leveraging artificial intelligence to revolutionize the logistics industry. Working with product development and seeing the hard work that goes into the innovation at Forto, it is incredibly fulfilling to share that journey with our customers. The rewarding part is to know the work we do has a positive impact and creates an amazing experience for the customer, but also to hear about the problems and challenges that are still not solved so we can keep doing it. Here are some of my highlights of the AI-focused session that we had the opportunity to share with the attendees.
The Ongoing AI-Transformation of Logistics
Our session focused on the transformative power of AI in logistics, where we also showed real examples of how Forto is at the forefront of this change. We examined several areas where Forto is leveraging AI to improve the experience of moving cargo and explored how these would benefit the audience, as well as what problems still needed to be solved..
One of the more engaging areas was automated document processing. AI enables us at Forto to automate the labor-intensive process of reading, processing, and generating documents from booking requests, confirmations, bills of lading, to invoices. The automation reduces the manual work of reading and inputting data, taking tasks from minutes to seconds. Handling times are optimized, and human error factors are reduced.
Key takeaway: Most companies involved in logistics and supply chains will benefit from these emerging tools.
The Value of Customer Interaction and Its Impact on Product Development
As I said, the rewarding part of sessions like this is the opportunity to engage directly with our customers, as well as our potential future customers. These opportunities to engage at a deep level with the experts provide valuable insights into the problems the industry is facing and how we can shape our products to be a natural fit in solving them.
Our discussions at events and summits like Logistics Plus 2024 help us better understand the specific challenges our customers face. During the session attendees exchanged experiences and challenges around document handling throughout the supply chain. The group provided direct feedback about their experiences and aspirations for AI-powered logistics management. These insights help us tailor and refine the digital aspects of the Forto service, ensuring we create effective solutions to real problems.
The conversation did not only look at what Forto, as well as the companies represented, were hoping to leverage AI for today, but also discussed what this looks like for the future. These conversations are a cornerstone in our work to continuously evaluate our investments and how we think about leveraging different tools and technologies to truly make shipping as easy as sending an email.
Looking Ahead
As we continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in logistics, the input and engagement of our customers will remain a cornerstone of our strategy. The future of logistics is exciting, with AI and other technological advances opening up new possibilities for efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share our vision and progress at Logistics Plus 2024. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their insights. Together, we are building the future of logistics.
Christopher Wendels
Director of Product Management, Forto
