Splash247: Freight’s AI revolution still runs on copy and paste

Published by Splash247

Deep Current has warned that freight operations remain heavily dependent on manual processes despite years of investment in digitalisation and AI, with humans still acting as the “integration layer” between disconnected systems.

The company’s latest report, Levers of Digital Sophistication, found that 52% of logistics operators still re-enter the same shipment data across multiple systems, while 49% switch between five or more platforms to complete a single workflow.

The study, based on more than 24 months of logistics implementation projects, concluded that the biggest friction points remain data connectivity and workflow integration rather than visibility.

According to the report, 61% of logistics teams still rely on emails and spreadsheets for operational communication, 57% experience shipment delays caused by document errors, and only 29% have deployed digital tools across core operational workflows.

“As long as AI sits outside operational execution, teams still end up doing the integration work manually,” said Deep Current ’s Tamim Fannoush.

The report argues that many AI initiatives fail because intelligence is layered on top of fragmented workflows rather than embedded directly into them.

Deep Current said most logistics companies can already detect disruptions and delays in real time, but operational teams still manually validate and transfer information between systems, creating bottlenecks that slow execution.

The company identified five factors shaping digital sophistication in logistics, including integrated digital foundations, predictive resilience, workflow embedding of AI tools, and stronger human-AI partnerships.

Deep Current develops AI systems focused on structuring unstructured freight data and automating operational workflows across logistics networks.