Paulig elektrifierar en 415 km lång transportsträcka på Sveriges västkust tillsammans med Einride, en omtalad och snabbväxande svensk scale-up inom elektrifierade transporter. Satsningen väntas minska utsläppen med cirka 430 ton CO₂ per år.

Rutten används för leveranser från Pauligs bageri i Landskrona, där 400 miljoner tortillas årligen bakas för varumärket Santa Maria, till distributionscentret i Kungsbacka. Paulig strävar efter att minska utsläppen från sin globala värdekedja med 42 procent till 2030.

Elektrifiering av transporter över längre avstånd har tidigare varit en utmaning inom livsmedelslogistik. Lösningen, som utvecklats tillsammans med Einride, visar hur elektriska transporter kan användas även i storskalig livsmedelslogistik.

– Med de volymer vi producerar står transporter för en betydande del av vår klimatpåverkan. Elektrifieringen av långväga tortillatransporter är ett konkret steg för att minska utsläppen i vår värdekedja, säger Thomas Panteli, SVP Supply Chain and Sourcing på Paulig.

Transporterna sker med tre elektriska lastbilar med tillhörande släp och stöds av Einrides laddinfrastruktur längs rutten. Övergången till elektriska transporter väntas minska utsläppen med cirka 430 ton CO₂ per år.

Även om minskningen utgör en relativt liten andel av Pauligs totala logistikutsläpp visar satsningen hur elektrifierade transporter kan implementeras på långa transportrutter med höga volymer. Att successivt skala upp liknande lösningar är avgörande för att uppnå bredare utsläppsminskningar i logistikkedjan.

– Att elektrifiera långväga godstransporter var tidigare en stor utmaning. Det här partnerskapet visar att det inte längre behöver vara det. När ett livsmedelsföretag kan minska utsläppen i sin leveranskedja utan att kompromissa med kostnad eller prestanda blir argumenten svåra att bortse från, säger Roozbeh Charli, vd för Einride.

Initiativet är en del av Pauligs ambition att minska växthusgasutsläppen i hela värdekedjan med 42 procent jämfört med 2018 års nivåer och nå nettonollutsläpp till 2045. Företagets årliga logistikutsläpp uppskattas till cirka 50 000 ton CO₂e, varav vägtransporter står för omkring 40 000 ton CO₂e. Under de senaste åren har Paulig tagit flera steg för att minska utsläppen i sitt logistiknätverk, bland annat genom elektrifierade vägtransporter i Sverige och Belgien samt genom att minska växthusgasutsläppen från sjötransporter av grönt kaffe och kryddor med 40 procent. Tillsammans visar dessa initiativ hur Paulig steg för steg arbetar för att minska utsläppen från logistik inom olika transportslag.

Project44 – en av de globala ledarna för Realtime Transportation Visibility – lanserade denna vecka ”Autopilot”, en plattform som låter transportörer, speditörer och 3PL-bolag driftsätta AI-agenter i sina leveransflöden utan att behöva skriva prompter, bygga integrationer eller anlita teknikspecialister. Satsningen uppges ha kostat över en miljard dollar och är resultatet av en 18 månaders driftsättning av AI-agenter i project44s globala nätverk.

Enligt företaget har införandet av Autopilot redan lett till en minskning av fraktkostnaderna med 4 procent samtidigt som transportörernas visibilitet och punktlighet förbättrats och behovet av manuell samordning har reducerats med 70 procent. Med Autopilots AI-agenter hanteras vardagliga uppgifter som länge har behövt hanteras av människor – förseningar, avvikelser, kontroller, kontakter med partners och mottagare osv. AI-agenter förändrar detta genom att de kan ta över processer och hantera och reagera på dessa autonomt.

– Våra kunder ska inte behöva välja mellan hastighet och kontroll, med Autopilot får de både och. Agenterna är byggda. Kontexten finns där. Rikta den mot din verksamhet så börjar systemet arbeta, minskar fraktkostnader, stänger datagap och frigör bundet kapital i lager, säger Jett McCandless, grundare och CEO på project44.

I dag finns cirka 40 arbetsflöden i Autopilot, inklusive orsakskoder för sena leveranser, saknade PRO-nummer och kontakt med transportörer för bekräftelse av beräknad leveranstid (ETA), och fler arbetsflöden tillkommer varje vecka. I sitt pressmeddelande säger project44 att Autopilots arbetsflöden körs på samma kontextuella grund som driver project44s agentportfölj: en logistikdatagraf – dvs. en en avancerad datastruktur och databasmodell – som används för att koppla samman komplex och spridd logistikinformation i ett nätverk av noder i ett nätverk med fler än 259 000 transportörer och 1,5 miljarder leveranser årligen i över 186 länder och territorier.

project44 är en plattform för beslutsintelligens i moderna supply chains. Med kontext-baserad AI omvandlas fragmenterad logistikhantering till enhetlig data, vilket ger säkerhet till globala försörjningsflöden. Med intelligent transporthantering, visibilitet end-to-end och sista milen-lösningar sammankopplas 1,5 miljarder leveranser årligen för över 1 000 ledande varumärken inom en läng rad branscher.

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs in February, the U.S. administration responded by imposing new tariffs on top of the old ones. Now, however, the U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that President Trump and his administration did not have the authority to impose new global tariffs following the Supreme Court’s decision in February.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump’s attempt to impose a new 10 percent tariff on goods from virtually every country—by invoking Section 122 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974—was invalid. In a 2-1 ruling, the court found that the president’s broad 10 percent tariff does not meet the criteria set forth in the Trade Act for when import surcharges are permitted. In a statement, the court found that the proclamation Trump signed to impose the tariff is invalid and that the tariffs themselves are unlawful, and that the administration’s own interpretation of the law is overly “expansive.” The immediate impact of the ruling may prove limited, as the additional 10 percent tariff expires in July, and the administration intends to impose other tariffs thereafter.

Enligt en studie av Gartner används AI än så länge endast i begränsad omfattning för att driva förändring i företags processer och arbetsflöden. I samband med Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/XPO i Orlando 4-6 maj konstaterades att orsaken till detta är ett antal utmaningar som försvårar och begränsar möjligheterna att införa AI.

I Gartners studie om AI-strategier i supply chain deltog 140 ledande beslutsfattare i supply chain. Resultaten visade att endast 17 procent av de deltagande företagen strävar efter att här och nu transformera sina processer och arbetsflöden i supply chain, och att resterande 83 procent antingen tillämpar ett stegvis införande av specifika case och piloter eller gradvis skalar upp sin AI-användning genom att integrera tekniken i sina befintliga processer.

– Ihållande volatilitet driver intresset för att utvärdera AI-orkestrerade förmågor, men investeringarna begränsas fortfarande av att det finns luckor i de grundläggande förutsättningarna. Även bland företag som är ledande inom supply chain och som har lyckats att förbättra sina prestationer med AI, så är det få som verkligen har införlivat AI i sina kärnprocesser, konstaterar Caleb Thomson, Senior Director Analyst på Gartners Supply Chain-verksamhet.

Typiska brister i de grundläggande förutsättningarna är tekniska brister, behov av kompetensutveckling av personal samt ett fragmenterat landskap av teknikleverantörer, vilket sammantaget begränsar ett framgångsrikt införande och användning av AI-teknik.

– Dagens tekniska och organisatoriska utmaningar borde inte vara ett skäl till att försena utvecklingen av de underliggande funktioner som behövs för en AI-driven orkestrering av supply chains. Vår forskning visar att affärsvärdet kommer att vara transformativt, eftersom det lägger grunden för framtida agentisk orkestrering i hela supply chain-nätverk, förklarar Caleb Thomson, som under Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/XPO i sammanfattning presenterade följande faktorer som försvårar ett bredare införande av en AI-driven transformation i supply chain:

• Fragmenterade leverantörslandskap – flera verktyg för planering, visibilitet och analys.
• Datagap begränsar anpassningsförmågan – bristande datakvalitet, där många organisationer kämpar med kvaliteten på grundläggande masterdata.
• Inkonsekvent partnerdata – utmaningar med datakvalitet sträcker sig över hela leveransnätverket, eftersom information från handelspartner ofta är ofullständig eller felaktig.
• Mänsklig expertis är fortfarande avgörande – för en ökad beslutsautonomi krävs kontinuerlig kompetensutveckling och gradvis implementering, där AI förstärker, inte ersätter, det mänskliga omdömet.
• Processmognad är grundläggande – tydliga processer, roller och standardiserade datamodeller är avgörande för att möjliggöra orkestrering och effektiv beslutsstyrning.

There is no doubt that AI is the most significant transformative technology of our time. Nor is there any doubt that various forms of artificial intelligence are already proving beneficial in many industries and work processes—not least in supply chain and logistics. However, the implementation and use of AI vary greatly across different segments of the supply chain. And even where AI has been implemented, it is often difficult to realize the expected benefits and business value. 

BY STEFAN KARLÖF

A widely cited study from MIT,“The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025,”finds that as many as 95 percent of all AI projects fail to deliver the intended business value. In other words, even if the technology works, it often fails to impact productivity and financial metrics. This is reportedly due to poor integration into workflows and a lack of well-thought-out collaboration between technology, people, and business processes. In short: AI is layered on top of existing processes, lacking a “human-machine mindset,” and so far, most AI initiatives are pilot projects and experiments that are not scaled up or driving broader transformation. The MIT study highlights insufficient learning as the cause of this. 

So far, AI projects have largely been isolated pilot projects that are not scaled up and therefore rarely result in significant value creation. The five percent that actually succeed focus on specific problems, integrate AI technology into their workflows, have clear KPIs, and utilize external solutions and partners to ensure value creation, according to the MIT study. 

The whole thing brings to mind a quote from Hemingway’s *The Sun Also Rises*, in which the character Mike Campbell is asked, “How did you go bankrupt?” and he replies, “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

—

Stefan Karlöf is the editor-in-chief of Supply Chain Effect

Arvid Nordquist, a leading importer of wine and beer in the Swedish market, has chosen Nowaste Logistics as its logistics partner. As a result, Nowaste has quickly gained another major client in the beverage logistics sector.

To the general public, Arvid Nordquist is best known as Sweden’s leading coffee producer, but the company is also one of the largest importers of wine and beer in the Swedish market, representing a wide range of quality wines and beers from leading producers around the world. The business is characterized by a long-term perspective, quality, and a strong focus on sustainability. The partnership with Arvid Nordquist means that Nowaste Logistics will continue to grow at its new terminal in Jordbro, south of Stockholm, and strengthen its position in beverage logistics.   

“With a strong tradition of long-term thinking and quality, we look forward to beginning our partnership with Nowaste. They have clearly demonstrated that they share our approach and operate based on common values. The fact that we also have the opportunity to help shape logistics within the industry is very exciting and something we look forward to,” says Wilhelm Nordquist, CEO of Arvid Nordquist. 

Arvid Nordquist is one of the largest importers in the Swedish market and offers a wide selection of wines and beers from some of the world’s leading producers. The company supplies Systembolaget, as well as grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels throughout the country.  

“Quality, sustainability, and a long-term perspective are factors that matter a great deal to us at Nowaste, and when we meet partners and customers who share these same ambitions, it usually leads to very successful collaborations. We are incredibly proud to be launching this partnership with the family-owned company Arvid Nordquist,” says Johan Kallin, CEO of Nowaste Logistics. 

With Arvid Nordquist as a new client, Nowaste continues to grow in the beverage logistics segment and as an employer in the field. Values, culture, and leadership are key factors for success as a logistics partner, emphasizes Johan Kallin:

– We own and develop many of our systems in-house, including our WMS, and we have in-depth knowledge and extensive experience with most of the automation solutions on the market. But it’s people who make the difference. The fact that we have long-standing partnerships and strong relationships with our customers is thanks to everyone—all the employees in the company who do their utmost every day to deliver on our promises.

Descartes has acquired the U.S.-based AI company Idelic, which provides AI-based solutions for driver safety and work performance monitoring. The acquisition strengthens Descartes’ position in last-mile delivery by adding an advanced solution for safety and driving behavior.

The acquisition adds data to the Descartes Global Logistics Network (GLN) and strengthens the company’s AI-based offering for vehicle fleets. Idelic’s platform consolidates vast amounts of driver data—including safety, monitoring, reporting, training, and coaching—into a single tool. The AI-based platform collects vast amounts of driving and accident data used to predict risks and help companies prevent accidents. The data consists of telemetry data such as speed, braking, and position from over 64 billion kilometers of driving, as well as information from over 400,000 accidents, making the analysis highly accurate.

– Productivity and safety are equally important for transportation companies with vehicle fleets. The acquisition adds data to our Global Logistics Network (GLN) and strengthens Descartes’ position in last-mile deliveries by providing more advanced safety systems and deep domain expertise. “With Idelic’s AI-based risk analysis combined with Descartes’ route planning system, we can offer a complete fleet management solution where driving behavior and safety data are integrated with operational data, leading to risk minimization and better driver training,” explains James Wee, General Manager of Fleet Management at Descartes.

The AI platform collects real-time data at a highly detailed event level through an integrated network with over 80 integrations to telematics, risk management, and compliance systems. The platform is built on years of experience using machine learning in models that predict accidents, based on data from more than 150 vehicle fleets. The platform’s AI capabilities have been tested in real-world operations and are used to predict risks for drivers and improve their safety training. 

– Demand for reliable real-time data on vehicle fleets and operations is growing as customers develop and implement their AI strategies. “By combining Idelic’s AI-based safety analytics and unique, critical data with Descartes’ Global Logistics Network (GLN), we are strengthening the data foundation that enables better decisions about fleet performance and safer, more efficient transportation,” says Descartes CEO Edward J. Ryan.

Idelic is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Descartes has acquired Idelic for an initial purchase price of approximately $28 million, financed with existing cash and cash equivalents, as well as a potential performance-based additional purchase price.

Over the past few decades, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) has become an integral part of how most large and medium-sized organizations operate. But even though “everyone has it,” far from everyone is able to realize the full potential of this cross-functional planning process. 

– It has been a long journey of maturation. Many companies have struggled with S&OP for decades, but today it works relatively well in most organizations. At the same time, it is clear that many have still not taken the final steps needed to truly build a competitive edge through their S&OP.

That’s according to Patrik Jonsson, a professor at Chalmers and one of the Nordic region’s most established and influential researchers in logistics, production, and supply chain planning. He believes that many companies are still in the middle of a journey that begins with a basic process and ends with a strategic management tool.

Organizations at that time, just as today, were characterized by functions that largely operated in isolation from one another, with little incentive to collaborate and limited involvement from senior management. The result was sub-optimization, where each part of the organization optimized its own operations rather than the organization as a whole. With S&OP, a process was introduced in which a business’s core functions collaborate across boundaries, coordinating their plans to arrive at “a single truth.” 

“A common problem is starting at the wrong end. People implement S&OP as a layer on top of the organization without having done the groundwork,” says Patrik, describing it as a house where S&OP is the roof. For it to work, a solid foundation is required: reliable forecasts, effective capacity planning, and, not least, high-quality underlying data.

“If the only place people meet is at S&OP meetings, then obviously they’ll talk about whatever’s pressing right now—delivery issues, backlogs, disruptions. That’s when the long-term perspective gets lost,” Patrik explains.

The solution has been to supplement this with separate forums for short-term management—often referred to as Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE)—which is now well-established in many organizations.

“I’d say we’ve settled on what the process is and how it should be used. That doesn’t mean everyone is doing it perfectly, but the basic understanding is there,” says Patrik.

But this does not mean the work is done. On the contrary, he argues that the next step in the development process is still missing in many organizations. In many companies, the process stops at balancing sales and production volumes: how much should we sell, and how much can we produce? But to become a truly powerful management tool, two additional dimensions are required: financial integration and scenario planning.

“Many people have started to grasp the financial link, where S&OP plans are compared with financial plans.” But very few work systematically to plan for different scenarios and use the process to make strategic decisions,” Patrik explains, while emphasizing that this is because many companies are simply satisfied with having reached the stage where they coordinate their plans, while others find it too difficult to take the next step. 

“This is essentially a tool for risk management and strategic planning. But many people still use it primarily to crunch the numbers,” he says.

In a world marked by uncertainty—from pandemics to geopolitical disruptions—this capability is becoming increasingly important. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were forced to supplement their S&OP processes with more frequent decision-making forums, sometimes including daily meetings. At the same time, however, the crisis also demonstrated the value of the established structure.

“With S&OP, many companies had a structured process for communication and coordination in place, and even though the process wasn’t used for quick decisions, many found the established workflow and tools to be extremely helpful during the pandemic,” says Patrik. 

– To be relevant at the executive and board levels, the process must be aligned with business strategy, financial goals, and supply chain risks. But for it to function as a management tool, you need to take those final steps, Patrik emphasizes

Here, integration with financial planning—what has come to be known as Integrated Business Planning (IBP)—is essential for S&OP to evolve from an operational planning routine into a strategic tool for management and the board. More specifically, it involves linking planning to the company’s strategic priorities, such as growth and profitability, service levels, and market initiatives, where the plan must be able to answer the question: “How do we deliver on our strategy and our business objectives?”

Another key element that Patrik believes is essential for S&OP to take the final steps toward becoming a strategic management tool is the implementation of systematic scenario planning and what-if analyses as part of the S&OP process.

“There are still many situations where data is insufficient or where the outcome is difficult to predict. That’s where human judgment is needed,” he says. 

AI can also play a role in scenario planning—for example, by identifying which scenarios are most relevant to analyze, or by more quickly assessing the consequences of various decisions.

“The potential is huge. But we’re not there yet. Many companies still don’t have a structured approach to scenario planning in place,” Patrik notes. 

At the same time, automation means that fewer people can handle larger volumes of work. This makes the planning role more specialized, placing higher demands on both technical and business expertise. 

“You need to understand both the process and the tools. Otherwise, you risk not getting the full value out of the systems you invest in,” says Patrik. 

—

Text and interview by Marika Karlöf and Stefan Karlöf

Körber Supply Chain is launching a new app that enables preventive maintenance based on real-time data. Using data, AI, and vision technology, the system can eliminate major production downtime by proactively alerting users to critical maintenance needs, Körber Supply Chain said in a press release.

For a long time, there has been a vision that digitalization and data could eliminate unplanned production stoppages. With the launch of an app and the AI- and vision-based system Predictive Eye, Körber Supply Chain has taken a step closer to realizing that vision. The service app collects information from both digital equipment and mechanical units via Predictive Eye, which monitors hard-to-reach locations using a camera solution. For example, the solution can monitor brake lines on cranes, a feature that has saved a major U.S. customer significant costs.

– Their cranes are designed to stop within six meters, but due to wear and tear, the braking distance on all seven cranes had increased to between eight and eleven meters. Normally, this type of wear is only detected during manual inspections or, in the worst case, during a collision. Now the customer receives an automatic real-time notification, so the issue can be resolved long before it becomes critical, explains Jan Kristensen, Head of R&D at Körber Supply Chain, a business unit within the global technology company Körber.

“We consolidate all service notifications in one place—from both PLCs and smart sensors—and also add a layer on top of our vision-based system that monitors non-mechanical components. The app aggregates everything, visualizes the information, and provides the customer with a history. Most importantly, it makes it easy to take action and resolve issues,” explains Jan Kristensen.

– We’re putting an end to the “run to failure” mentality. With this solution, we’re making monitoring accessible to everyone. Whether you have a large or small system, even smaller distribution centers can avoid critical failures that are often only detected when it’s too late.

MEDS is strengthening its logistics capacity through further investments in automation ahead of the launch of the company’s new logistics center in the third quarter of 2026. The new facility is nearly three times larger than the current logistics space and will lay the groundwork for sustained, efficient growth over the long term.

The investments are said to be well within the scope of the previously announced need to invest “around ten million kronor over the next few years” and are expected to contribute to increased efficiency, improved scalability, and enhanced delivery capacity.

“We are continuing to scale our operations cost-effectively using proven and efficient automation. Through carefully managed investments, we are ensuring continued deliveries throughout Sweden without financial or operational risk,” says the company’s CEO and co-founder, Björn Thorngren.

As part of this initiative, MEDS has signed an agreement to expand its existing automation solutions with additional packing machines and sorting automation. The investment increases capacity to tens of thousands of packages per day and is designed to scale up further as future needs arise. The automation solutions are supplied by Ranpak, with whom MEDS has collaborated since 2021, as well as by the Swedish automation company E-motions.

– Choosing Ranpak is a continuation of the partnership that began in 2021. They have demonstrated high quality and a good understanding of our needs. As for E-motions, we chose them because of their ability to offer an efficient automation solution capable of collecting and analyzing operational and process data. This gives us greater opportunities for optimization. The modular design enables flexible future expansion, explains Sener Özel, Logistics Manager at Meds.