Still Early Days for Complete Automation of Logistics

Opening the first session of TLME’s Future-Proof Technologies Conference held recently in Dubai, conference moderator and industry thought leader Lars Jensen asked the panel where transport and logistics operations stand today in terms of automation and digitalisation? And what would be a realistic outlook for automation in the industry over the next two or three years?

Ronald Philip, formerly Sr Director, Strategic Planning at Agility Logistics Parks, said it was still early days for automation although their logistics park in Saudi Arabia has many new tenants from the e-commerce fulfilment space who are rapidly automating their warehouses.

Agility, for its part, said Mr Philip, was investing heavily in digitalisation at strategic places in the industry value chain like digital trade platforms (like Agility’s Shipa platform), customs’ modernisation and warehousing.

Mr Philip went on to add that automation of operations largely depended on the interplay between capital expenditure, labour arbitrage and technology with some countries being more favourable to adopting and using the latest automation technologies than others.

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