When McKinsey & Company conducted a 2023 survey of GCC countries, it found that over 84% were using artificial intelligence (AI) in at least one capacity or business system. (McKinsey, 2025) Companies, including those in logistics, are quickly adopting and adapting AI in everything from cold storage to last-mile delivery. That integration is dividing current leadership roles.
Plenty of organizations are engaging in AI processes, but 71% of business leaders report that their workforces are not ready to use such technologies. (Kyndryl, 2025) The reality is that this marks a delay. Logistics leaders who overlook the power of AI are falling behind the operational curve, shaping the future of logistics in the GCC and around the world.
AI as a Leadership Multiplier
Close to 80% of recruiters in the UAE believe AI will impact jobs in the GCC. (Khaleej Times, 2024) The truth is, AI should function as a leadership amplifier, not as a replacement. In the right hands, AI can enhance productivity, shorten decision timelines, and reveal operational insights that were often buried deep in fragmented data pools.
When executives leverage AI, they can oversee complex networks and systems without implementing complex managerial solutions. Instead of relying on human insights, which can be prone to error, an AI can perform that work in a fraction of the time and cost. That isn’t workforce replacement. It’s better informed leadership decision-making.
Put another way, imagine what would happen without an AI evaluating routing risks or how to allocate resources in real time. Global supply chains will experience a significant shift toward slower delivery times and higher costs. No one wants that.
Workflow Modernization Is the Real Transformation
The logistics leaders resisting AI are losing out on how the technology shifts procedural operations. There is no need to add complex software or onboard IT experts. The AI allows teams to rethink workflows, ensuring legacy processes built on manual reporting or reactive logistics can operate with faster, more flexible response times.
Most logistics providers see a full return on investment of such tools within 18-24 months. (Boston Consulting Group, 2025) That ROI, combined with operational efficiency from automated demand forecasting, integrated customs documentation, or smart inventory allocation, drives modern success that leaders cannot afford to overlook. It comes down to predictive intelligence over reactive business positioning. Most companies cannot afford to work with a provider who cannot make that shift.
Competitive Displacement Happens at the Leadership Level
When AI is introduced into a system, it often begins at the C-level. This disruption occurs because these leaders operate with greater transparency, identifying bottlenecks and capitalizing on market shifts ahead of competitors through the power of AI.
In AI-resistant organizations, the AI integration tends to happen from the bottom up. Here, employees or managers introduce a new tool that improves operations, but conflicts with legacy procedures leaders do not wish to change out of fear or lack of understanding. In those cases, competitors can achieve faster fulfillment cycles and higher service reliability before the company can adjust, putting customer retention at risk. Leadership obsolescence from executives unwilling to consider AI-driven capabilities risks losing strategic ground.
The Human Element Still Defines Success
Even with the rush to AI integration, there is no denying the power of the “human” element. A recent report from Fortune (Fortune Education, 2022) outlines how crucial it is to have humans add context, nuance, and interpretation to any AI-based actionable strategies. Long-term performance should be a combination of AI’s ability for pattern recognition and repetitive analysis, human judgment, relationship building, and contextual decision-making.
An AI might assume one period is more important to have diverse shipping vehicles, whereas a human understands it’s really because of a holiday spike or a short-term construction project causing traffic. Context matters. The evolution of AI strengthens only when human leadership is involved.
A leader can demonstrate value with AI by offering supplier negotiations, partnership development, risk assessment, and crisis management. Logistics executives should view the future of such an operating model as augmentation, not as a substitution. Balancing human and AI tools future-proofs a business, whether operating in the GCC or anywhere else.
Consumerism Is Accelerating AI Adoption
One of the primary external drivers of AI acceleration is consumerism. (Medill Spiegel, 2025) Customer expectations have evolved in the wake of modern AI tools and integrations. Same-day delivery, easy-to-use shipment tracking, and real-time timelines are now the base expectations. When the delivery experience directly influences brand loyalty, an AI is required to maintain such expectations.
The problem then becomes not about AI, but more about scaling to modern needs. Being able to anticipate surges, routing pressures, or maintain service consistency when ordering volumes fluctuate. When AI is leveraged, logistics leaders suddenly unlock visibility into unknown buying patterns, seasonal spikes, or regional fulfillment trends.
Failing to adapt to these consumer demands forces a company to develop workarounds. The hard truth is that those stopgap measures cannot equal the power of AI. The AI-related industry is growing by 40% to 55% annually (Harvard Business School, 2025), with a global worth approaching USD 1 trillion by 2027. This is a clear, undeniable flag that integrating such tools is necessary to future operational growth in logistics.
How This Leadership Divide Is Reshaping Logistics
From a practical standpoint, the AI-driven leadership advantage is clear. Those adopting such tools for operation across the GCC experience:
- Better demand forecasting with AI analyzing historical sales, seasonal cycles, and macroeconomic signals
- Real-time route optimization and last-mile modeling for dynamic routing systems
- Warehouse automation with modern inventory systems, including cold storage
- Customs documentation automation to reduce clearance delays
- Predictive distribution management for weather, port congestion, or geopolitical issues
With AI adoption, leaders achieve better speed, cost control, and operational visibility. Without it, transit times and fulfillment accuracy begin to lag behind other providers, directly impacting customer satisfaction metrics.
Leadership Readiness Will Define the Future of Logistics
The more AI adoption accelerates, the more it will influence the future of logistics. Fleet size and infrastructure will always play a role, but leadership’s readiness to operate within intelligent systems will also be a significant factor in logistics growth. Those delaying such adoption risk trying to overcome operational stagnation, rising costs, and declining service competitiveness.
AI isn’t replacing the logistics professional. It is reshaping what effective leadership looks like, even inside complex supply chains. At Transcorp International, we have seen the writing on the wall and are adapting our systems to include AI tools. From forecasting to warehousing to cross-border coordination and last-mile delivery, our team empowers businesses to operate with the clarity, speed, and scalability required for a modern customer base.
If you’re looking to better prepare your operations or supply chain for the wave of AI solutions, connect with our team at Transcorp today. We will adapt our tools, decades of experience, and human assets to ensure you have the solutions needed now and into the future of logistics.
References:
- McKinsey & Company. (2025). The State of AI in GCC Countries: In Pursuit of Scale and Value. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-in-gcc-countries-in-pursuit-of-scale-and-value
- Kyndryl. (2025). AI Workforce Impact Report. Retrieved from https://www.kyndryl.com/us/en/about-us/news/2025/05/ai-workforce-impact-report
- Khaleej Times. (2024). UAE: 80% of Recruiters Believe GCC Jobs Will Be Affected by AI. Retrieved from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-80-of-recruiters-believe-gcc-jobs-will-be-affected-by-ai
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG). (2025). AI in Logistics: A Strategic Imperative. Retrieved from https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/ai-in-logistics-a-strategic-imperative
- Fortune Education. (2022). How Important Is the Human Element Behind Business Analytics? Retrieved from https://fortune.com/education/articles/how-important-is-the-human-element-behind-business-analytics/
- Medill Spiegel Research Center. (2025). Adoption of AI Search. Retrieved from https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/adoptionofaisearch/
- Harvard Business School. (2025). Perplexity & Aravind Srinivas. Retrieved from https://www.hbs.edu/bigs/perplexity-aravind-srinivas
