Plenty, but not everything. Routing software can scan a map, measure a bridge and reroute a lorry in seconds. Yet the person who checks that reroute against a real load, a tight delivery window and a driver already on the road still matters. The direction of travel is clear: sectors like retail and logistics were already actively integrating AI to improve customer insights and streamline functions such as inventory management and supply chains, according to GOV.UK's AI Adoption Research.
That integration raises the bar for the people doing the hiring. When the routine checks are automated, the roles that remain are the ones that handle exceptions. A low bridge strike is an exception. So is a diverted ferry, a missing permit or an abnormal load that no algorithm has seen before. Hiring for logistics today means hiring for judgement, not just for process.
The roles growing fastest are the ones that sit between the software and the real world. As retail and logistics integrate AI to streamline functions such as inventory management and supply chains, per GOV.UK's AI Adoption Research, the demand shifts towards people who can supervise those systems and step in when they fall short.
Notice the pattern. Each role pairs sector knowledge with the ability to override a system when it gets things wrong. A bridge height check is a good test: the software flags the height, but the planner knows the load, the detour and the driver, and decides what happens next.
Start by writing the job for the exceptions, not the routine. If you describe a transport planner as someone who runs the routing software, you attract people who stop at the software. Describe them as someone who owns the decision when the route throws up a problem, and you attract the judgement you actually need.
Then test for it. Ask candidates to walk you through a real scenario: a 4.8 metre load, a flagged bridge on the fastest route, a two-hour delivery window. What do they check, who do they call, when do they reroute and when do they hold the load? The answers tell you more than any certificate. Move quickly too, because skilled planners and coordinators do not stay on the market long, and a slow process loses the best people to faster employers.
We built Reed.ai to find the people who make those calls. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface transport planners, coordinators and compliance specialists who match your role, then manage the hire from shortlist to offer. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us about the role today and see your shortlist.
