Why Most Logistics AI Projects Never Scale Beyond The Pilot: What Shippers Should Do About It

Guest commentary by Patrick van Denzel (Alpega) examining why most logistics AI initiatives never scale beyond the pilot phase and what shippers can do to overcome barriers.

Jun 23, 2026

The logistics industry has a growing AI paradox. Investment is rising, use cases are multiplying, and belief in AI’s potential is near-universal. Yet for shippers, the promise has been slow to materialize. According to a January 2026 BCG and Alpega survey of more than 180 logistics executives, only one in ten logistics service providers have embedded AI into core operations at scale. The efficiency gains, better visibility, and cost improvements that AI should be delivering are, for most companies, still on the horizon.

The industry is busy experimenting, but not yet delivering. So, what is holding logistics AI back, and what should shippers be thinking about as a result?

What Should Supply Chain Leaders Stop Doing?

Supply chain leaders spend a lot of time discussing what they should start doing to improve performance. New technologies, new strategies, new processes, new initiatives. But sometimes the bigger opportunity comes from identifying what they should stop doing.

This survey explored the practices that create the biggest obstacles to supply chain success, the activities that consume the most unnecessary time and effort, and the areas where organizations should focus their improvement efforts over the next few years.

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