AI Starts With People

By Adnan Rajput

From Issue 4, 2026 of Breakbulk Magazine

The logistics industry knows AI is coming. The question is no longer whether to adopt it, but how to bring people along.

After 25 years moving freight across multiple verticals, and now working on AI for logistics, I have seen both worlds up close. The technology is advancing fast. The way we manage its adoption is not.

Start with the people doing the work

In organizations I have worked for, the most common mistake I saw leaders make was introducing a new system without involving the people who would use it.

Leadership selects the system, designs the workflows, and only then brings the team into the conversation. That is usually where the conflict starts.

The people managing shipments every day know where the real problems are. They know where information gets lost, which spreadsheets exist because the current system does not work, and which exceptions never appear on a process map.

Leadership still needs to lead. But asking your team to make the decision is very different from asking them to help define the problem.

The same applies to AI. If the first message employees hear is automation, efficiency and cost reduction, they will naturally wonder what it means for their jobs.

Show them instead what AI takes off their plate: chasing emails, reconciling invoices, checking documents manually and rebuilding spreadsheets.

That work consumes time that experienced professionals could spend managing relationships, resolving exceptions, negotiating and making judgment calls. AI will change logistics roles, but the shift is from processing information to acting on it.

Lead with outcomes, not AI

Externally, it is tempting to lead with the technology itself. Clients care about outcomes. “We identified where you overpaid on freight last quarter” starts a conversation. “Our platform uses advanced AI algorithms” does not.

Talk about faster RFQs, fewer documentation errors, better cost visibility and catching problems before they become expensive.

Build trust with evidence

At a recent Future Thinkers* session in Rotterdam, AI readiness across the project cargo industry was scored between 1 and 2.5 out of 10. The barriers raised were scattered data, disconnected systems and a lack of trust in digital tools.

For one oil and gas client, checking every freight invoice against the quoted rate identified more than US$258,000 in billing variances. Running every shipment through competitive quotes reduced freight costs by 13.2%, or US$1.58 million. Neither was visible while information sat in emails and spreadsheets.

Bringing the data and workflows together surfaced them, and the numbers built trust.

Getting AI right means involving your people and proving the value. But that also depends on what sits underneath: reliable data, clear ownership and knowing how the technology should respond when the real world does not follow the plan.

That is what I will be exploring at Breakbulk Asia on Nov. 18. Until then, ask your team which spreadsheet they would delete first.

Adnan Rajput is a global supply chain and logistics executive with more than 25 years of experience across multiple verticals and modes of transportation. Following senior leadership roles at GE and Bechtel, Rajput transitioned from logistics executive to technology entrepreneur as CEO of Logicsols.

Rajput will be speaking on the Breakbulk Asia AI-Ready Supply Chains: Data Maturity, Cybersecurity and Scenario Planning in Project Logistics panel on the Breakbulk Live Stage on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 3:00pm-3:50pm.