Congratulations. You Played Yourself.
I’ve harassed my children more than once with the above phrase. I take perverse joy in them groaning about their old Dad quoting DJ Khaled (How do you do fellow kids!). Little do they know I’m so old I’m really quoting Ice T. Maybe this just confirms it’s a timeless truism. Hubris gets its comeuppance.
The deluge of logistics marketing available on LinkedIn is truly outstanding. We continue to bounce around from the hottest new thing or tool, wrapped in the latest verbiage so as to be part of the collective narrative’s catchiest buzzword. This cycle revolves heavily on Artificial Intelligence: how companies are using it and what it means for their clients. I am not a luddite, nor am I dismissive of the productivity gains available. I’m not so proud that I can’t admit that I don’t know what I don’t know. Our team uses it to automate non-value add tasks and will continue to adopt it where it can lower our cost to serve and increase said productivity. HOWEVER: I personally find it maddening to see AI hyped as *the* differentiating factor in delivering client value.
There are a multitude of thoughts regarding AI: will it replace personnel wholesale or does it free them from the mundane in order to focus on value-add tasks? I personally lean towards the latter. I don’t know if I’m right or not, it’s probably too early in the game to tell. Maybe the only job that will matter in 15 years is writing AI prompts. But I am sick of watching companies mass enroll employees to regurgitate “HoW AI MaKEs uS DifF3nT” posts. Often these posts come from industry carpetbaggers who talk a good game until the Series Z funding runs out. Potentially worse are existing providers who drink the Kool-Aid, focusing on the platform but turning around to fire their top salespeople and account managers to save costs. In each example: who is left to glean the insights? Who will manage exceptions expeditiously and judiciously? Who provides thought leadership? In the words of David Goggins: “Who is going to carry the (curses redacted) boats?” For some strange reason you can’t get your logistics providers data scientists on the phone.
We don’t live in a day and time where a logistics provider can expect to go full John Henry. But I’d rather be or rely on a provider who sells me on developing their PEOPLE and their tools (of which AI is one). I’d rather be or rely on a provider who hammers the message on their CULTURE. I’d rather be or rely on a provider showcasing their partnerships with other clients which are built on RELATIONSHIPS (As my colleague Dave Broering has written across the top of his whiteboard: they’re all that matter). Logistics is not a product industry: it is a service industry. People, culture and relationships are still the things moving the needle when it comes to adding value. They are not easy, and they can’t be bought off the shelf. They cannot be developed in a lab. So please don’t gas me with how AI is being used today in a transformative way for logistics and/or Transportation Management. It’s a disservice to potential clients and a way to set everyone up for underwhelming failure.