According to logistics company DHL, artificial intelligence (AI) - robot and other technology - is set to become a major part of the industry.

Logistics Manager reports that the company has predicted 26 trends, which span the future five to ten years of logistics, in its Trend Radar paper.

Outlining transformational trends in the paper, DHL has found that AI and personalisation have been the main drivers of these expected changes to the industry.

One of the main ones includes intelligent supply chains, which use either self-learning or machine learning systems.

As the industry becomes slowly more autonomous, there are going to be new heights of optimisation in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and last-mile delivery.

Despite the fact that this will be costly for many, DHL expects for the autonomous and AI technology to be taken up quickly.

Matthias Heutger, senior vice president strategy or marketing and innovation at DHL, said: "Key trends in this year's logistics Trend Radar could transform the global logistics industry - and with 15 of the 26 trends likely to make an impact in under five years, it is crucial that anyone involved in supply chain management and logistics understands these potentially game-changing developments."