As AI and automation reshape warehouse operations, one question keeps surfacing: What parts of 3PL work should remain distinctly human?
The answer isn’t about resistance to technology—it’s about understanding where human intelligence creates value that machines simply can’t replicate.
AI’s Blind Spot: Context and Intuition
AI excels at processing data, identifying patterns, and presenting options. But as Chipper Farlery, President of 3PL Solutions at Made4net notes, “AI can take existing content and existing data to produce something useful, but it’s not necessarily innovative. It’s not necessarily creative.”
More importantly, AI lacks the experiential wisdom that comes from years on the warehouse floor.
Consider this scenario: Your AI solution detects a production drop in aisles 1 through 7 and suggests shifting 3 workers to bring production back up to speed. The data says it’s the logical move.
But your seasoned floor manager knows something the system doesn’t—another customer has a critical shipment deadline that afternoon. Missing those orders could cost you the contract. The manager’s intuition, built from years of practical experience, catches what the data misses.
As Farley explains: “The experience, the intuition, the instincts of seasoned operators to recognize that something is going to happen because I just have the experience to know that—it’s not necessarily represented in some data set that an AI could have digested.”
This is especially critical when handling exceptions. AI can flag the anomaly, but humans understand the “why” behind it and the broader business implications.
People Still Want to Talk to People
Here’s a simple truth: customers prefer human interaction for complex issues. While AI can handle routine inquiries, nothing replaces a knowledgeable account manager who understands your business, anticipates your needs, and solves problems creatively.
As Farley points out, “Nobody enjoys navigating through automated phone menus when they call their bank.” The same holds true for 3PL customers dealing with urgent issues—they want human expertise, not a chatbot.
The Real Promise of AI: Freeing Humans to Be Human
The goal isn’t to replace people—it’s to liberate them from mundane, repetitive tasks. AI and automation should handle the “pick this up and put it down over there” work, freeing your team to focus on what humans do best:
- Building client relationships
- Solving complex, nuanced problems
- Making contextual decisions
- Driving innovation and continuous improvement
- Managing exceptions that fall outside standard processes
Smart Implementation: Keeping Humans in the Loop
Leading 3PLs are implementing AI thoughtfully. For example, Taylor Logistics uses drones for cycle counting—but the drone doesn’t make inventory adjustments. It identifies the locations that need checking, and humans verify and make the final inventory adjustments.
The Bottom Line
AI and automation aren’t about eliminating the human element—they’re about amplifying it. The systems analyze data and surface insights. Humans provide the context, intuition, and judgment that turn those insights into smart business decisions.
The warehouses that thrive won’t be the ones that chase full automation. They’ll be the ones that strategically deploy technology to enhance human capabilities, creating operations that are both efficient and adaptive.
Because at the end of the day, your competitive advantage isn’t just in your systems—it’s in the experienced people who know when to override what the data suggests.
For more information on integrating AI into your 3PL operations, watch: Redefining 3PL Efficiency: AI, Automation, and Smarter WMS Solutions.
