Perspectives on Logistics IT: Key Insights from the Gallery Walk 2025
Requirements for modern logistics IT are changing rapidly. Topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, data integration, and cybersecurity increasingly shape the development of future logistics systems. Within the scope of the Gallery Walk 2025, experts from the »warehouse logistics« community discussed current challenges and future developments in logistics IT. The results demonstrate which requirements companies will place on logistics software in the future and which trends will sustainably impact the industry.
© Fraunhofer IML
Integration and AI Become the Foundation of Future Logistics Systems
The discussions made it clear that logistics IT must operate in a significantly more integrated manner in the future. The boundaries between Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transport Management Systems (TMS), and other IT systems will increasingly blur. Rather than isolated applications, modular platforms featuring standardized interfaces, cloud technologies, and a shared data foundation are moving to center stage.
At the same time, artificial intelligence is evolving from a supporting function into an integral component of modern logistics systems. AI is expected to control processes automatically, prepare or make decisions independently, and coordinate robotics and automation intelligently. Prerequisites for this include resilient data, high-performance system architectures, and seamless integration of all involved components.
Competitiveness Arises Through Flexibility and Security
Alongside technological advancement, usability, rapid adaptability, and sustainability were identified as key requirements for future logistics IT. Companies expect systems that can be flexibly adapted to new processes while simultaneously enabling short implementation timelines.
Similarly, cybersecurity continues to gain importance. Requirements such as NIS-2, OT security, and governance will be permanent components of modern logistics IT architectures in the future. Competitive systems must therefore not only be high-performing, but also secure, transparent, and scalable over the long term.
Figure: Participant Meeting 2025
AI Supports Decisions – But Does Not Replace Them
Another focus of the discussion was the strategic selection of logistics IT systems. Participants agreed that AI can accelerate future selection processes, for instance through the pre-selection of suitable systems or the analysis of large data volumes.
However, for resilient decisions, neutral and validated information remains indispensable. Objective assessments, standardized data, and independent market intelligence establish the necessary transparency to compare complex system landscapes reliably. As a result, neutral IT selection retains high strategic importance moving forward.
Innovation Emerges Through Collaboration and Practical Relevance
The discussions also demonstrated that technological trends do not emerge through new technologies alone. Decisive factors are continuous exchange between science and industry, the early piloting of new approaches, and a consistent orientation toward concrete use cases.
Successful innovation arises where new technologies are systematically monitored, evaluated collaboratively, and transferred into viable real-world concepts at an early stage. Openness to new ideas, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a clear benefit for the user form the foundation of future developments in logistics IT.
The Whitepaper Expands on the Results of the Gallery Walk
The whitepaper »Perspectives on Logistics IT: Results of the Gallery Walk 2025« summarizes the discussions of the 24th participant meeting of the »warehouse logistics« community. It provides detailed insight into the participants’ assessments regarding future requirements for logistics IT, the application of AI and robotics, the significance of neutral IT selection, and the management of technological trends.
