Transportation plays a leading role in global logistics; at the moment, a digital revolution is taking place in this area, the speed of which is increasing due to the epidemic that has arisen in the world. Digitalization is the factor that opens up new opportunities in logistics such as acceleration, restructuring of the business model, provision of an expanded range of services. The speed of change is such that logistics does not have time to rebuild and entails disruption of the supply chain. The activity of transport companies consists in continuous cargo flow. In order to avoid the suspension of global cargo traffic, it is necessary to digitalize the five existing modes of transportation. Although it is difficult to imagine a completely new type of transportation in the foreseeable future, the impact of new technologies (especially of AI) on the Big Five opens up many logistics opportunities.
The attributes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – machine learning and artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things – laid the foundation for a new approach to supply chain management – Supply Chain 4.0 (Klumpp & Zijm, 2019). The point of growth was the initial development of AI-based cargo routing technologies by companies. Supply chains consist of links; the company has many such logistics links: suppliers of components (raw materials), manufacturers, logistics companies, distributors, warehouses, carriers, retail chains, etc (Bowersox, 2019). The business efficiency of all participants in the supply chain depends on the speed of this exchange and the quality of the transmitted data. With the advent of the Supply Chain 4.0 era, the logistics of companies has become more predictable — facts, not a subjective vision of a person, have come to the fore (Klumpp & Zijm, 2019). Moreover, AI finds such interdependencies that a person cannot build, because there is no direct connection between the data, and the amount of data is huge.
One of the most striking examples of the use of AI in the field of logistics is predictive analytics systems. The traditional approach to route planning is based on a limited number of factors that are largely static and do not take into account current changes. Using AI, the model can include data on traffic, weather, waiting time, loading and unloading speeds at specific points and at certain suppliers, the influence of specific company and customer personnel on the speed of delivery. Focusing on the data coming in real time, such a model will be able to build the optimal route with much higher accuracy and calculate the ideal delivery time. This means that at the same time it is possible to reduce costs and delivery times and increase customer satisfaction with quality service.
At the moment, the global market is dominated by the unique model that looks like a combination of sales channels. The omnical model’s policy is set up so that the consumer should not feel the difference between an online store and an offline store (Wang et al., 2019). In this regard, the number of small orders is increasing, as well as the functions of stores that combine both a place to sell goods and a warehouse are changing. Therefore, it is vital for a logistics company to ensure timely delivery of goods, transparency of the supply chain, transparency of the product life cycle and the quality of services provided. To do this, new technologies are regularly applied to the Big Five supply chain management: drones and artificial intelligence. This digitalization allows the consumer to control the delivery process without leaving the home digital device, increasing confidence in the manufacturing company.
Due to the use of new transportation technologies, the supply range is also increasing. For example, drones are able to transport cargo by air; since the absence of a pilot and other maintenance personnel facilitates border crossing, the range of supplies is expanding (Klumpp & Zijm, 2019). The introduction of smart roads, which represent a single concept that includes various technologies for managing ground transport, also creates conditions for the growth of supply ranges. They contain many elements that help to ensure a safer delivery of cargo in the shortest possible time in the most convenient way.
Digitalization of the Big Five transportation modes has also had a significant impact on transportation cost. Robotics takes on responsibilities for the distribution of goods and the implementation of logistics supply chains. A variety of high-tech designs are able to replace people, which saves most of the money needed for salary payment. Even taking into account the maintenance of new technologies and the financing of their development, the resulting profit fully covers the additional costs of transportation.
Modernization in terms of changing the Big Five transportation modes leads to a revolution in world trade. The observed trend of improving the existing methods of cargo transportation will lead to an expansion of cargo traffic and have a positive impact on all participants in the transportation process. At the current stage of technological development, new ways are designed to increase customer focus through the introduction of new technologies. Thus, the Big Five transportation modes will be used much more efficiently with the further development of artificial intelligence.