[Edaily Reporter SHIN MIN JOON ] The logistics industry is accelerating its transition to artificial intelligence (AI)-based operations. This is because seven-day-a-week delivery has become the new standard in the logistics market, creating an urgent need to control costs.

In addition to soaring labor costs driven by the increased number of operating days, on-site maintenance costs are also weighing heavily on the logistics industry. The industry is seeking to improve logistics efficiency by integrating AI technology throughout the entire logistics process—including transportation and delivery network management—while also operating autonomous trucks. In the medium to long term, the industry is also actively developing technology to directly deploy humanoid robots—which are gaining attention as “physical AI”—in logistics operations.

According to the logistics industry on the 1st, CJ LOGISTICS(000120)is taking the most proactive approach to restructuring through the use of AI. CJ LOGISTICS is enhancing operational efficiency and service competitiveness by applying AI across the entire logistics spectrum, including △transportation △logistics center operations △supply chain management △packaging.

The digital middle-mile platform “The Unban” is cited as a prime example. Through AI-based automatic dispatching and transportation optimization, The Unban reduces empty-run trips and improves transportation efficiency. CJ LOGISTICS recently expanded The Unban service to offer an integrated transportation solution for corporate customers.

In the packaging sector, CJ LOGISTICS has developed “PackCheck,” an AI-based solution for diagnosing excessive packaging, and is implementing it across its nationwide logistics centers. The company is also working with the Korea Environment Corporation to establish an AI-based verification system for appropriate packaging. Its in-house generative AI platform, “Lit.AI,” supports logistics decision-making by assisting with logistics center design, operational consulting, and network information verification.

Going beyond the application of AI across the entire logistics process, CJ LOGISTICS is also developing “Physical AI” technology, which enables AI to perceive, make judgments, and perform tasks in physical spaces. Last year, CJ LOGISTICS conducted the first-ever field demonstration of AI humanoid robots in the domestic logistics industry in collaboration with ROBOTIS. CJ LOGISTICS deployed a humanoid robot to replenish cushioning materials during the packaging process at its Gunpo Fulfillment Center, thereby verifying the technology’s practical applicability and technical maturity in a real-world logistics setting.

CJ LOGISTICS is jointly developing robotic hands equipped with tactile sensors and logistics robots with Aidin Robotics. CJ LOGISTICS is also participating in a government-funded project to develop humanoid robots equipped with robotic hands. Through strategic collaboration with RealWorld, CJ LOGISTICS is expanding the ecosystem for AI humanoid robot development. In addition to humanoid robots, CJ LOGISTICS is commercializing mobile robotic palletizers to advance automation in logistics center loading operations.

#Lotte Global Logistics operates state-of-the-art smart logistics centers equipped with automation technology at major locations nationwide, including the Central Region Mega Hub Terminal in Jincheon, as well as in Icheon and Yangsan. The Jincheon Mega Hub Terminal is a next-generation parcel terminal based on digital transformation (DT), incorporating cutting-edge logistics technologies such as big data and AI.

An AI tri-sorting system, trained through repetitive learning, automatically recognizes the size and shape of incoming shipments with 99.8% accuracy and performs an initial sorting into three categories: medium/large, small, and irregular. Through “pre-sorting”—a cargo sorting method implemented for the first time in the parcel delivery industry—the AI further pre-sorts the shipments divided into these three categories by destination and distributes the volume to ensure the fastest possible loading.

In addition, using load balancing technology, the AI automatically adjusts sorting criteria when volumes of a specific size become concentrated, thereby preventing conveyor bottlenecks. Lotte Global Logistics has deployed robotic sorters and shuttle-type autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at its Icheon Automation Center—a first in the domestic parcel delivery industry—reducing the workforce by approximately 40%.

HANJIN Logistics Corporation is applying an AI image recognition solution at its Daejeon Smart Mega Hub Terminal to automatically recognize and sort cargo based on volume and shape. HANJIN Logistics Corporation has also become the first in the domestic parcel delivery industry to introduce a generative AI chatbot, automating 24-hour customer service. HANJIN Logistics Corporation is launching South Korea’s first commercial transportation service using 25-metric-ton (t) autonomous trucks. These vehicles will operate on the trunk logistics network along a route of approximately 118 km from Gunsan Port in North Jeolla Province to the Daejeon Mega Hub.

Overseas, logistics centers where humans and robots work together are becoming increasingly common. For example, Amazon is increasing automation by deploying collaborative robots in its logistics centers for △transportation, △sorting, and △loading processes. At some of its logistics centers, Amazon is using the Vulcan robot—which has tactile sensing capabilities—to automatically pick up and move various types of products. The outlook for the logistics robotics market is very bright. According to global market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the global logistics robotics market is projected to grow from $11.3 billion (approximately 16 trillion won) last year to $45.36 billion (approximately 64 trillion won) by 2034.

A logistics industry official stated, “With seven-day-a-week deliveries, coupled with a shrinking workforce and rising labor costs, it has become difficult to maintain cost competitiveness relying solely on the existing labor-intensive model,” adding, “Since AI is now a necessity rather than an option in the logistics industry, competition in the development of related technologies is also intensifying.”