2026: A digitalization turning point for transport & logistics organizations

In 2026, the challenge is no longer digitalization itself, it is orchestration.

As markets become more volatile, regulations more demanding and customer expectations continue to rise, even highly digitized organizations are reaching a new inflection point. Value is now added by connecting intelligence, security, governance and execution into a coherent operational model.

In this context, AI, cybersecurity, real-time data and operational insights form the strategic foundation for resilience, compliance and competitiveness in an environment shaped by geopolitical tension, regulatory pressure, and continuous disruption.

Organizations that pull ahead are will not be those that innovate the most, but those that integrate technologies in the most effective way, embedding intelligence, security, governance and visibility directly into daily operations and decision-making.

AI at the heart of decision-making

The role of AI within logistics operations increases fast. What once started as analytical support with forecasting demand, predicting delays or analyzing performance is now moving closer to the core of execution and operational decision-making.

Advanced LLMs and machine-learning models are already increasingly used for demand and volume forecasting, capacity planning, ETA predictions, exception management and network optimization. But the real shift is in how they are being connected.

With the emergence of Agentic AI, organizations are moving beyond optimization in isolated environments. Decision-making is no longer limited to narrow, predefined scenarios. Instead, modern applications enable continuous adjustment of decisions, within predefined guardrails, balancing operational conditions, financial trade-offs and strategic objectives, all at the same time.

However, AI is not a replacement for human judgment; it is an extension of it. AI can compare scenarios, surface trade-offs and act at a speed and scale no human team can match. Accountability however remains human. Commercial considerations, contractual obligations, legal risks and compliance requirements demand context, responsibility and judgment that cannot be automated away.

When Agentic AI is firmly embedded in business-critical applications and operating processes, organizations move from reacting to events after they happen, to proactively steering operations, continuously refining decisions as conditions evolve and scaling that decision-making across complex networks.

Cybersecurity: enabling scale and growth with trust

As logistics operations become more digital and more interconnected, a new reality emerges: scale without security is no longer an option.

Cloud platforms, real-time integrations, IoT and OT environments and AI-driven automation dramatically increase operational capability but they also expand the attack surface. Cybersecurity is now inseparable from business continuity.

At the same time, EU frameworks such as NIS2, the Cyber Resilience Act and evolving AI legislation are raising expectations around it. Transparency, accountability, and governance are key across both IT and operational environments.

In this context, organizations that embrace ‘security-by-design’ create room to grow. They can scale safely, protect trust within their ecosystem and ensure that security enables innovation instead of slowing it down.

From visibility to operational control

Real-time operational insights have become a standard requirement. Logistics organizations need continuous, accurate insight into the location and status of goods, as well as the performance of the IT assets and networks that support their operations. This visibility underpins everything: operational control, customer transparency and regulatory compliance.

More importantly, it changes how organizations respond to disruption. Incidents are detected earlier. Scenarios can be evaluated before decisions are made. Trade-offs between cost, service and sustainability become explicit instead of reactive.

Automation, once limited to isolated use cases, is evolving into coordinated, end-to-end orchestration across transport, terminals and warehouses. The result is not instant perfection, but a steady shift from reactive logistics toward a predictive and adaptive operational model.

From transformation to scalable operations

Given the complexity of orchestrating all these moving parts, progressing intelligently starts with getting the fundamentals right: an integrated digital platform rather than fragmented point solutions, event-driven, integration-ready architectures, and security, data governance, and compliance embedded by design.

Equally important is the human side. As processes change and decision models shift, training, reskilling and change management become critical. Without these foundations, digital initiatives remain stuck at the edges. Value stays local. Scale never arrives.

As processes change and decision models shift, training, reskilling and change management become critical.

Business impact

When these changes are implemented in a coordinated and structural way, the impact is clear:

• Faster and better decision-making across complex logistics networks
• Greater resilience to disruption and market volatility
• Improved cost control, higher service reliability and stronger overall performance
• Stronger compliance and increased trust in the IT and partner ecosystem
• And most importantly: the ability to anticipate and act in near real time, instead of responding only after disruptions have already occurred.

 Conclusion

2026 marks a clear turning point for the sector. Digitalization is now an end-to-end operational capability that connects applications, infrastructure, data & AI, security and execution.

Organizations that align technology with a clear operational model will build a sustainable competitive advantage.

The question is no longer whether to adopt new technology, but whether your organization is ready to turn it into true operational transformation.

 

Author:
Jaap Broekers
jaap.broekers@noesis.co.nl
Head of Benelux, DACH and Nordics at Noesis