Supply-chain visibility and the IoT are the most relevant trends in the logistics industry, but many companies are not too sure about AI, according to a survey by Danish logistics giant Maersk.

Most businesses globally are faced with unseen levels of unpredictability and uncertainty at the moment with tariffs, political tensions and conflicts, inflation and recession risks, changing consumer behaviour, and underlying challenges such as digitisation and AI.

Navigating this complex environment and taking the right focus and decisions has become more difficult than ever across virtually all industries. When it comes to global supply chains, Maersk’s latest logistics trend map hopes to help companies focus on the most relevant trends and game changers for future supply-chain management.

The report is based on data analysis by Statista as well as expert interviews and insights from more than 500 logistics companies. To identify the trends, it has used AI-driven analytics to explore scientific studies, patents, earnings calls and start-up activities. With the objective of not only identifying the most important trends but also positioning them on the trend map, it assessed the data to determine the relevance and level of industry adoption of each trend.

From a list of 30 identified areas the logistics trend map offers deep-dives into the ten most relevant topics. This is how they did:

1. Supply-chain visibility 86%
2. IoT 85%
3. Supply-chain diversification 78%
4. Financial resilience in logistics 76%
5. Digital transformation 68%
6. Cyber security 64%
7. Last-kilometre innovations 61%
8. Ecommerce 48%
9. Circular economy 43%
10. AI 38%

These ten top rated topics and their impact on supply-chain management vary significantly across the geographical regions and eight industry verticals of retail, automotive, chemicals, pharma & healthcare, lifestyle & fashion, perishables, technology and FMCG.

Filtering the topics by region and industry vertical offers some surprising results: For instance, in retail the reverse logistics and return handling is by far the most pressing challenge for company logistics, said 53% of the interviewed decision-makers, mainly due to its complexity, even bigger than geopolitical disruptions which were mentioned only by a comparatively low 38% in retail versus 59% in fashion & lifestyle and pharma & healthcare.

“In an increasingly complex and challenging world, staying ahead in logistics has never been more critical,” said Karsten Kildahl, chief commercial officer at Maersk. “The question is no longer whether companies will face disruption in their supply chains, but how they can constantly and effectively navigate them. Identifying and analysing trends therefore enables businesses to stay competitive in a dynamic industry.”

The trend map is available for download at www.maersk.com/insights/logistics-trend-map/trend-map-download#contact-us.