Forto releases “Logistics Trend Compass 2025”

AI transforms the logistics industry: High expectations meet cautious implementation

Berlin, 11 June 2025. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are set to fundamentally transform the logistics industry in the coming years. At the same time, companies are under increasing competitive pressure and must meet growing customer expectations, particularly in terms of predictable high service quality  and sustainability. These are the key findings of the latest “Logistics Trend Compass 2025”, now published by digital freight forwarder Forto.

Experts surveyed consider AI and ML powered solutions to be the most significant future trend for their companies—40% rank them first, well ahead of sustainability solutions, which follow with a gap of over 20 percentage points. More than half (53%) of the respondents anticipate a high or very high impact on their specific industry within the next five years. In Supply Chain Management, the figure is even higher at 57%.

AI revolution as a strategic opportunity for logistics

“The potential of AI technologies is now widely recognized within our industry, despite the low tech literacy”, states Guillaume Petit-Perrin, CEO of Forto. “However, our study also reveals a significant gap between expectations and reality”.

Only 2% of the surveyed companies report a wide-scale adoption of  AI tools and solutions. Merely 3% currently consider AI powered tools as business-critical. The majority are still in the early stages: 22% are testing specific use cases, while 34% report limited use of the AI based solutions available in the market.

High barriers for AI: Costs, expertise, and security concerns

The adoption of AI in logistics often fails due to high costs—41% of respondents indicate this. Data protection and security concerns (36%), as well as a lack of technical expertise and resources (35%), also hinder progress. The figures show that successful AI deployment requires clear strategies and targeted investments.

“The future belongs to those who understand the strengths of AI, and especially Generative AI, and strategically pick the right industry problems to solve, says Kamil B. Rodoper, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Forto. “At Forto, we see the impact of AI in reducing the manual, repetitive and low value tasks in our operational workflows, which in return helps our expert operators to zoom out of daily execution and focus on providing exception and customer-tailored service experience. Flash, Forto’s transport management Copilot, even during the initial rollout, has shown that Generative AI has a great potential to assist Forto’s operations managers throughout shipment lifecycle, with timely, accurate and insightful recommendations”. 

Sustainable logistics: Important, but rarely decisive

Sustainability emerges as the second central industry trend alongside AI. 16% of respondents identify sustainable logistics solutions as the most important future trend.

However, the growing importance of sustainable logistics practices is only partially reflected in the criteria for choosing freight partners. Assuming equal costs, sustainability is a decisive factor for only 9% of respondents. More critical in choosing a provider are service quality (41%) and digital services and technologies (22%).

Challenges increase – digital maturity needs a step function change

The biggest challenges for logistics professionals remain multifaceted: Companies primarily struggle with intense competitive pressure (44%), rising customer expectations (30%), and economic uncertainty (28%). Additionally, accelerated digital transformation and ongoing disruptions in supply chains demand agility and resilience in the global logistics business.

Analysis of supply chains reveals that complexity is now a routine for many companies— 49% describe their supply chain as either “complex” or “very complex”, and an additional 37% as “somewhat complex”. Whether these percentages reflect reality or perception, the survey endorses Forto’s strategy of leveraging AI in simplifying the logistics and streamlining decision making on behalf of our customers. 

There is also room for improvement in digitalization: Just over a third consider their supply chains digitized, while nearly 30 percent see themselves only halfway through—indicating ongoing transformation processes.

Study points the way forward

“Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in logistics are evolving into key technologies for automated processes, predictive analytics, and operational efficiency”, concludes Guillaume Petit-Perrin. “The future belongs to those who do not fear change but shape it. Forto is at the forefront of that shift — bringing operational and service excellence at scale using AI-driven transformation”.

The complete “Logistics Trend Compass 2025” is now available upon request at forto.com/en/resources/trend-compass-2025/