Moving stuff from point A to point B shouldn’t be this hard. But anyone who’s worked in supply chains knows the headaches: tracking problems, paperwork nightmares, and costs that never seem to make sense. After a decade in the logistics tech space, Nilanjan Mitra Thakur has seen enough broken systems to know what needs fixing. As head of technology at Bluspark, he’s now putting AI to work solving real problems that have plagued the industry for years.
What Digital Transformation Actually Means
Talk to most tech vendors and you’ll hear plenty about “digital transformation” without much substance. Nilanjan cuts through the noise: “Digital transformation in logistics means shifting from siloed manual processes to connected data-driven systems that enable real-time decision making.” For companies drowning in logistics headaches, this matters. “It’s about creating a responsive, resilient and intelligent supply chain by integrating AI, automation and analytics across the ecosystem,” he explains. This isn’t about fancy tech for its own sake – it’s about making supply chains work the way they should have been working all along.
The Problems AI Actually Solves
When you strip away the hype, AI in logistics delivers its biggest wins in specific areas. “The biggest opportunity lies in predictive and prescriptive analytics – optimizing freight movement, demand forecasting, freight allocations, smarter booking management and exception management,” Nilanjan says. The most valuable shift? Moving from constantly putting out fires to preventing them in the first place. “AI helps us anticipate disruptions, automate repetitive tasks like freight audit, and drive smarter routing and inventory decisions,” he notes. Companies stuck in firefighting mode know the cost all too well. As Nilanjan puts it, AI “transforms logistics from reactive to proactive.”
A Real-World AI Win at Bluspark
Bluspark didn’t just theorize about AI – they built solutions that solve genuine headaches. Take freight allocation, which Nilanjan describes as one of the “significant challenges in today’s volatile logistics landscape.” Their fix wasn’t simple, but it works: “We introduced multi-agent reinforcement learning as a transformative framework to optimize freight allocation by modeling the shippers, carriers and routes as agents interacting within a dynamic market.” In simple words, their system handles the chaos of shipping rates and space availability that drive logistics managers crazy. “Bluspark’s solution offers scalable and adaptive solutions to tackle fluctuating rates, unpredictable space allocation, and to combat external disruption,” he says.
Then there’s the paperwork problem. Anyone who’s dealt with shipping invoices knows the mess of checking whether charges match what actually happened. Bluspark tackled this head-on: “We implemented an AI-based platform that validates container movement, checks invoices and charges in real time.” The results speak for themselves. “This reduced disputes by over 90% and eliminated manual audit steps,” Nilanjan reports. “It saved both time and operational cost while giving finance and logistics teams full visibility.”
While competitors talk about AI as something coming soon, Nilanjan’s message is clear: “AI in logistics is not just the future – it’s already here.” Companies still running supply chains on spreadsheets and phone calls are falling behind fast. “If you’re ready to modernize your operations and gain a competitive advantage, now is the time to act,” he advises. The gap between AI-powered logistics and manual processes grows wider every month.
For companies ready to make the jump, Nilanjan offers a straightforward invitation: “Let’s talk about how Bluspark can help you lead the way in digital transformation.” No buzzwords, just solutions that work. Want to connect or learn more? Find Nilanjan Mitra Thakur on LinkedIn and start the conversation today.
