Artificial intelligence has a valuable role to play in optimizing delivery networks around the globe, says Niklas Hedin, chief executive officer of Centiro.

It seems you can’t have too many connections to delivery networks — not in a world seemingly always facing disruption of one sort or another, while customer demands keep growing at the same time. How, then, do you navigate a challenge when your network is congested, or you need a new service for your customer? “I think this is the very reason why delivery networks are rising on the scene,” Hedin says. 

The goal is to digitally link retailers and warehouses with service providers, carriers and delivery networks of whatever kind, but be prepared for complexity to grow. The more you connect with any of those, the greater the complexity. But as Hedin says, “Let's first just accept that complexity is a requirement, because you need to satisfy the customer’s demands.”  

Success lies in working with good partners and having the right architecture in your supply chain, he says. For instance, where on-boarding a new carrier or delivery network used to take a year or so, it can be done now in two weeks with the right technology. 

“So there are a lot of things going on that you need to balance, in order to get this right,” Hedin says. “But ultimately, I think the final message here is that there is a business decision to be made. It's not only a functional supply chain operation thing. It actually goes to the top line, because this connects to growth for many companies, and is the tool with which you can actually leverage and unlock growth.”

As for the role of AI in delivery networks, Hedin says it can take over some carrier selection, automating configuration, managing master data and performance analysis.