To Bot or Not to Bot
May 2025
Shannon Minehan
Assembly lines, customer service chatbots, AI, robots, digital platforms, software, and apps - technological innovations are dominating the world. According to StartUs Insights, the Industry 4.0 market was worth USD102.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to triple by 2032. With innovations blossoming, companies are increasingly incorporating these technologies into their supply chains. AI is being used to analyse data and inform decision-making, while robots are being used to perform repetitive and dangerous tasks with high efficiency. We’re in the midst of a technical revolution. But while companies raise efficiency and productivity, and cut costs, what happens to displaced workers?
The answer to this question is entirely dependent on where you fall in the technological development debate: on the pessimistic or optimistic side. Pessimistically, many argue that technology will have devastating effects on jobs, with machines and AI capable of performing tasks faster and more efficiently than humans. With one robot capable of replacing three human workers on average, Goldman Sachs anticipates that AI and automation could replace 300 million full-time jobs globally. With robotics applications likely to impact lower skilled jobs first, economic inequality may be exacerbated, widening pay gaps while also lowering human wages. Further, human workers may be left without relevant skills to find new jobs.
Optimistically, however, technical advancements often lead to the emergence of new industries, each of which create new job opportunities for those previously displaced. For example, the development of the internet transformed information availability. While it displaced traditionally manual workers, receptionist jobs, and fax-based communication roles, it led to the development of industries like cybersecurity, e-commerce, and data analytics. Consequently, any rises in technological unemployment are likely to subside with the emergence of new roles and opportunities.
Technological developments can also improve worker safety. Processes in the supply chain like manufacturing, stock taking, hazardous materials handling, and moving stock around warehouses can be unsafe for humans, presenting ideal applications for technology. Further, technology can alleviate tedious and repetitive tasks. Analysing Aurora Insights’ archives, we have found that 27.3% of robotics applications in warehouses were to replace unsafe processes and address labour shortages. Finally, as technological innovations tend to be implemented in industries which rely on low-skilled workers, technological transformations create opportunities for these workers to up- or re-skill, gaining new competencies that make them valuable in a constantly changing market. Long-term, this could even decrease economic inequality.
So, are robots stealing jobs? Are we rapidly heading towards a future where people beg for money and robots run the world? In my opinion, probably not. Technological disruptions in the past have made way for new systems and opportunities. MIT has even found that 60% of US workers in 2018 were in occupations that were non-existent in 1940, demonstrating historical emergence of new job opportunities. Ultimately, the pessimistic view doesn’t consider one fundamental component: human ingenuity.
Mind the Gap
April 2025
Xinchen Li
Global supply chains are evolving in response to shifting pressures such as regulatory changes, technological advancements, and even US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose higher tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union. Each of these shifts disrupt global supply chains, forcing businesses to rethink their strategies. While different countries have different strategies, common trends reflect a broader transformation toward more efficient, sustainable, and technologically advanced supply chain operations. Understanding these patterns is crucial for businesses to stay competitive and agile in an ever-evolving landscape.
To explore different trends across the UK and US in 2024, we analysed 119 case studies of projects in the supply chain sector to identify differences in challenges and technologies.
We found that efficiency and environmental sustainability are key challenges for both countries. In the UK, environmental sustainability was the most frequently reported issue, with 44.6% of our case studies citing it as a major challenge. Inefficiency was the next most common challenge, reported by 27.2% of case studies. In contrast, US supply chains struggled equally with both inefficiency and sustainability (44.4%). This similarity in findings suggests, despite President Trump’s shift away from global climate commitments, supply chain sustainability is likely to maintain its momentum in the US, driven by growing consumer demand and a global push for sustainable products and responsible practices. However, with the introduction of new US regulations, it remains uncertain how these dynamics will evolve in the coming years.
The UK and US also vary in regard to their technological adoption. Data analytics, AI, and robotics are the top three technologies shaping supply chains in both countries, however, prevalence of each technology varies by region. In the US, 37.0% of supply chains implemented AI, compared with only 19.6% in the UK. In comparison, UK supply chains prioritised data analytics, with 43.5% of case studies reporting its use compared to 29.6% of US case studies. Machine learning was also big in the US with 14.8% of case studies highlighting its application, contrasting low adoption in UK case studies (4.4%). These findings suggest the US is prioritising research and development and imputing self-learning systems despite high upfront costs and potential short-term profitability impacts. Meanwhile, the UK is prioritising data collection and analysis, crucial for supply chain visibility, efficiency, and sustainability. It's worth noticing that, with technologies like AI, robots, and data analytics becoming integral to modern supply chains, it’s also important for businesses to continue developing worker talent to ensure the best use of emerging technologies.
Ahead of the Curve
March 2025
Xinchen Li
As the backbone of the modern economy, supply chains play a crucial role in ensuring goods and services flow seamlessly from manufacturers to consumers. Over the past decade, the UK supply chain has undergone significant transformation, driven by shifting global trends, the rise of e-commerce, technological advancements, and unprecedented disruptions like Brexit and Covid-19 pandemic. As we step into 2025, these shifts show no signs of stopping. Thus, it remains pivotal that organisations stay informed on the latest trends to remain competitive in this rapidly changing landscape.
To explore the evolution of the UK supply chain, we analysed data from IntraLogisteX UK, the leading exhibition for supply chain, warehousing, and logistics professionals. Spanning six years from 2018 to 2024 and excluding 2020 due to Covid-19 disruptions, the dataset captures interests and preferences from nearly 26,000 registered attendees, offering invaluable insights into evolving industry trends.
One such dominant trend is automation. Over 60% of attendees expressed interest in automation each year. Although growth rates have fluctuated throughout this period, the overall demand for automation remains strong. With growing labour shortages, the e-commerce boom, and rising expectations for same-day delivery, automation has become a critical solution for enhancing efficiency, scalability, order-picking accuracy, and long-term cost efficiency in distribution centre and manufacturing factories.
At the same time, warehouse management continues to attract interest, with an annual growth rate of 3.8% since 2022. In 2024, over half of IntraLogisteX attendees identified it as a key interest for their businesses, underscoring the evolving role of warehouses as strategic hubs for supply chain efficiency. Enhanced warehouse inventory management can streamline fulfilment processes, strengthen resilience against disruptions, and handle surging e-commerce demand.
Driven by ongoing supply chain disruptions and increasing demands for agility and cost efficiency, logistics consulting and transportation management have also gained steady attraction. Interest in logistics consulting grew at an average rate of 11.6% per show between 2019 and 2023, and while growth has slowed to 2.4% in 2024, the continued upward trend suggests companies are shifting from strategy development to execution. Overall, 25.5% of total attendees in 2024 expressed interest in logistics consulting, reflecting an ongoing need for strategic supply chain planning. Similarly, interest in transportation management has also risen, particularly since 2022, as businesses seek to optimise delivery networks in response to rising customer expectations for faster delivery. In 2024, 30.9% of attendees reported interest in this area, reflecting a strong focus on route optimisation, fleet efficiency, and last-mile delivery innovation while balancing rising logistic operational costs.
Together, these trends highlight the industry’s growing focus on agility, resilience, cost efficiency, automation, and digital transformation. Looking ahead to 2025, Aurora Insights anticipates technologies like AI are likely to see greater adoption, driving better decision-making, operational optimisation, and predictive capabilities. Meanwhile, we also predict sustainability will continue to gain greater attention, driven by changing sustainability regulations and rising consumer demand for environmentally conscious supply chains.
The Weakest Link
February 2025
Shannon Minehan
To safeguard the continuity and efficiency of a business, supply chain resilience is essential. Nearly 80% of organisations experienced supply chain disruptions in 2024 (BCI, 2024), so businesses need to be capable of anticipating, preparing for, responding to and recovering from unexpected shocks, both realised and potential.
Supply chain shocks can arise from a variety of sources. Natural disasters are one such disruption, capable of causing widespread infrastructure damage, interrupting the availability of labour and resources and causing supply shortages and imbalances. Examples of natural disasters that have devastated supply chains include Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, both of which impacted logistic operations for months.
Pandemics can also cause supply chain shocks. Covid-19, for example, led to various travel restrictions which saw raw material shortages, unprecedented demand fluctuations, price spikes and cost increases. These challenges were amplified in that pandemics are not limited to a particular region or a specific timeframe.
Geopolitical factors can also disrupt supply chains. Trade wars, elections, regional conflicts and changes in sustainability regulations can lead to sudden changes in trade policies, diplomatic relation shifts and currency fluctuations; all of which can complicate supply chain operations. Further, resulting economic shifts such as recessions or rising inflation can contribute to increasing costs and fluctuating demand.
Finally, as the world becomes more digitalised, technological disruptions such as cybersecurity threats and material shortages can also grind supply chains to a halt, jeopardising organisation’s profit and continuity. Each of these shocks have the potential to disrupt supply chains, especially as they become more interconnected. Thus, organisations must develop resiliency strategies.
Companies must consider six factors in supply chain design to plan for potential disruptions: efficiency, resiliency, ambidexterity, agility, flexibility and redundancy. Companies must ensure their supply chains are efficient, maximising throughput and operational capacity. Companies must also build resilience in how they respond to realised and potential threats to ensure continuity of operations. Further, they must pursue ambidexterity, increasing company alignment and adaptability by coordinating supply chain processes while simultaneously developing contingency plans to overcome supply disruptions. Organisations must also be agile to enable tactical responses, flexible so they can restructure existing capabilities to adapt, and redundant to ensure they have additional resources in their reserve to handle unexpected disruptions.
To accomplish these goals, companies can look to several supply chain resiliency frameworks. One such framework is the 4 Rs of resilience: retooling, repurposing, recalibrating and reconfiguring. This framework enhances organisational adaptability, enabling companies to effectively manage disruptions and operational continuity by upgrading tools, reallocating resources, aligning strategies and restructuring operations. Alternatively, companies can pursue supply chain risk management (SCRM) to improve supply chain resilience, minimising supply chain vulnerabilities from procurement and external vendors. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is another resiliency framework, expanding on SCRM to address risks across the entire organisational landscape. Other actions organisations can take to improve supply chain design and resilience include conducting regular and thorough risk assessments, forecasting demand and developing contingency plans against disruptions, optimising their networks, implementing sustainability initiatives and leveraging digital technologies where possible.