Is logistics at a crossroads? According to Petr Jalůvka, Managing Director of DYNAMIC FUTURE, there are several challenges ahead. In addition to the changes in human resources, it faces the specifics of automation for individual industries, the ability to properly use available data or to incorporate AI. “I’m a practical skeptic and an optimistic visionary,” says Jaluvka. In the interview, he also reveals how DYNAMIC FUTURE intends to respond to the changing world of logistics.

How do you perceive the current developments in logistics?

I feel that logistics is splitting into two lines. It has to do with the advent and greater availability of automation such as AutoStory or radioshuttly. On the one hand, we have traditional warehousing with forklifts and simple automations that are efficient for most companies. On the other, we have the development of high-density warehousing, much more suitable for specific types of business, such as e-commerce giants like Alza. We also see this at conferences – they either focus on classic solutions, which are often very innovative but built on traditional technologies, or they discuss new super modern technologies capable of minimizing human activity.

What is behind this division?

It will be several factors. There is a lot of discussion about the shortage of labour, which I think is key. While people are still coming into companies and I don’t expect the “volume” to run out, it’s more likely that there will be a shortage of employees willing to work in lower-level positions. That’s why many companies are investing in technology – they expect human labour to be so expensive that investing in automation may not be worthwhile in the short term, but it will make sense in a horizon of five years or more. The perceptible cheapening of technology is also playing a role. When Amazon came along, these were astronomical figures that only a specific business could afford in order to increase its efficiency. Today, you can go for much smaller installations. I was recently in Košice for a conference. They were showing a really small warehouse where they had saved two handlers just by introducing two automatic trolleys. I wondered if the money for the trolleys could have been put to much better use, but then I realised that in principle it is not a no-brainer. The goal was achieved and the company is benefiting from the automation.

Are companies starting to understand that logistics is not just an isolated field, but permeates all their processes?

Every time I get a bout of optimism that better times are on the horizon, I am brought back down to earth and the reality of most domestic companies. But it’s definitely getting better. Because it is an irreversible process. The potential in the processes is so depleted that the only efficiency comes from connecting things together and making the factory breathe as one organism. Logistics is the lifeblood of any business. Want an example? If I make a production plan and hand it over to someone who plans logistics, I wasn’t just making a production plan – I was part of the logistics planning. Where they understand that logistics is an integral process, they have a huge head start. I think companies like Rohlik and Parcel Shop have helped a lot. With their arrival, we all fully realised that logistics is part of our lives and that there is a huge difference when I have to take a piece of paper out of the mailbox, run to the post office at a certain time and stand in a huge queue, and when I can pick up a package at midnight wherever I want. And if I don’t like to shop, I can pick up the goods from my living room and someone will bring them to my house on time. Times are changing. And quality is changing. That’s the good news.

Do you observe such changes in your clients as well?

Of course! Once we designed something, the client took a long time to approve it, a year or two passed, construction finally started and five years later the ribbon was cut with great glory. This year, SALSO and I did a logistics audit for our long-time customer fgFORTE. It’s a tiny company that makes batteries for forklifts or UPS systems. It has two amazing owners. We discussed what changes would be nice to make and the moment it made sense to the gentlemen, they got in touch and said they had already thought of something and wanted to implement it. Flexibility, speed and efficiency are increasing even in corporations.

What challenges do you think logistics is facing?

First, I’ll mention data and the ability to mine it and use it properly. We see that where we deploy our PREWIT software, we cannot yet see the impact that the exact numbers we get from it have on the processes. We are able to predict with 95 percent or more accuracy how shipments or orders will leave the plants in the coming days. But tied to that is a bunch of processes that could benefit from them. For example, we could add units of measure to pieces and predict how shipments will leave the shipping line. We could plan exactly how we’re going to put them in cars and how many cars we need and when. It is in the processes that belong to the last tasks, and for which there is little time, that unnecessary and significant inaccuracies arise. At the same time, we would plan exactly what the work in the warehouse will look like. Instead of operational management like “my pallet has arrived – I have to put it somewhere”, we can know exactly that in X hours I will get this pallet from point A to point B. And I can work with the capacity of the warehouse and the warehousemen. We can think of this as the hidden potential of data. But it goes much, much further.

Can artificial intelligence detect that potential?

I’m such a practical skeptic and optimistic visionary. Artificial intelligence has its place, but I’m not yet convinced that it can fully replace the human factor in decision-making. It can analyse data very well, inspire or suggest a direction, but the human brain and intuition are still irreplaceable. If every customer has structured their data differently and the principles that work in their company give the data a completely specific dimension, I am sceptical about using it for more complex analysis at this point. I think AI has a lot of potential in the realm of predicting and analyzing data – for example, it could highlight recurring patterns in customer behavior or predict what products are likely to sell based on seasonal trends. To declare something to a customer based on AI outputs at this point is too thin ice for me. For now. But development is moving forward awfully fast.

Are we even ready for this?

This is very interesting. As part of my studies, I did a little digging in the databases and found articles on last mile automation and its impact on humans. The question of whether we will be able to adopt these technologies is up in the air. Europe is limited in this respect by its dense infrastructure, and in Asia and America it is no problem to build new lanes on the roads for automated cart delivery. But can we cope with the fact that we will encounter trolleys, drones, unmanned cars on the street? And can we set up legislation to protect what is needed while not hindering development? At the moment, I feel that regulations and laws are lagging behind reality.

What is the most significant trend in logistics that you expect?

I think a revolution is coming. We’re gonna have to get comfortable with technology. In addition, we will have to reckon with the need to conserve resources in terms of the raw materials from which we produce. This will also permeate logistics. Everything will be connected, legislation will have to adapt more quickly.

What’s in store for DYNAMIC FUTURE?

We would like to continue the development of the PREWIT prediction software we have developed. This year’s user meeting was an eye-opener for us, confirming that it is truly unique, globally. We see huge potential in it. We want to look for ways to adapt to the fast-changing world of logistics and industry because we believe its unique features can be put to even better use. This year, for example, we saw that the implementation of PREWIT at some of our customers has led to significant reductions in inventory and more efficient production planning. This is exactly the direction we want to take – to look for innovations that have a real impact on our customers’ efficiency and costs.