Artificial Intelligence is reshaping global logistics at an unprecedented pace.      For decades, companies have sought solutions to accelerate operations, reduce errors and streamline financial and operational flows. While many challenges have persisted, AI now offers the potential to remove friction across the supply chain, delivering speed, visibility, and reliability in ways that were not possible before.
     Few companies are better positioned to drive this transformation than PayCargo. At the center of a payment network connecting over 140,000 stakeholders worldwide—and processing billions in transactions annually—PayCargo has a unique view of how financial and operational flows intersect. Its innovation team develops solutions that simplify complex logistics workflows, link financial flows to cargo movements, provide actionable insights for stakeholders, and continues to explore new AI-driven capabilities across the supply chain. At the center of this work is Dennis Monts, who leads strategy for PayCargo’s inter-modal innovation initiatives.
     AP automation offers a clear example of how intelligent systems can transform daily operations. Logistics companies often process large volumes of invoices across multiple markets, branches and time zones. Manual handling slows operations, increases errors, and ties up capital. Automating AP changes that equation.
     “AP automation is a natural example of how technology can remove friction. By digitizing invoice capture, routing approvals, and executing payments through a single, integrated platform, teams can reduce delays and errors, improve financial control, and gain real-time visibility into cash flows. It’s not just about efficiency—it’s about enabling logistics teams to act with confidence and accuracy, and freeing them to focus on higher-value tasks,” Monts says.
     Beyond AP, PayCargo is actively exploring opportunities across the full logistics ecosystem. Expansion into multimodal operations—including trucking, rail, warehousing, and cross-border trade—is a natural extension of the company’s work. By connecting payments with physical cargo movements, PayCargo aims to reduce bottlenecks, enhance visibility, and create a seamless interface between finance and operations.
     “Every handoff in logistics—whether between carriers, terminals, forwarders, or warehouses—represents both a physical and financial event. By bridging those two flows, we turn what used to be friction into a catalyst for speed, compliance, and efficiency. Our goal is to build scalable, interoperable solutions that benefit every stakeholder,” Monts said.
     Key areas of impact:

   *  End-to-End Payment Innovation – Automating AP/AR, invoicing, and settlements to speed operations and reduce errors
   *   Operational Control and Cargo Visibility – Linking financial events with cargo milestones to improve decision-making
   *   Regulatory Compliance and Fee Automation – Supporting carriers, forwarders, and terminals while automating time-sensitive fee collection
   *   Cross-Modal Expansion – Extending beyond marine and air into trucking, rail, warehousing, and cross-border trade

     “PayCargo has always excelled at removing friction in payments,” Monts concludes. “With AI and automation, we’re extending that strength across the entire supply chain—helping companies move money and cargo faster, more accurately, and with confidence. This is just the beginning of what intelligent logistics solutions can achieve, and we are actively developing new innovations that will continue to transform the industry.”
SSA

     This week LogiPharma marks 20 years as an annual meeting place for senior pharma, biotech, and medtech supply chain leaders worldwide.
     Designed for major players on both the manufacturing and provider sides, this is a most interesting gathering, where the industry’s truly pressing challenges get the once over for a few days in Boston.
     The Sheridan Boston USA LogiPharma has outlined an aggressive agenda that includes 134 speakers including blue-chip pharma companies and their supply chain experts.
     Alas only a few airlines listed, although Swiss WorldCargo and FedEx are sponsors alongside a plethora of logistics outfits and forwarders specializing in life sciences shipping.
     The speaker sessions in terms of timing offer at best a cameo for each, although there are some events spotlighting deeper dish individual offerings.
     “Laying Future Foundation” was the opening day theme Monday am with “Navigating Logistics Success: Stakeholder Centric Strategies for Supply Chain Excellence,” featuring Athanasios Fourtounas - Associate Professor and Sr. Trainer of Human Assets who lead the charge as he attempted to “Bridge the gap between theory and practice with different tools and mindset approaches”.
     Monday afternoon Victoria Willmore of Johnson & Johnson spoke on “The Critical Role of Aviation In Pharma Logistics”.
     This dynamic lady with 18 years at J&J is currently serving on Pharma.Aero's Advisory Board (87 Members, 6 Continents) “working on fostering growth, innovation, and positive change for pharma logistics.”
     “Of course, I love to talk about planes which is one of my favorite things to do,”—Victoria, we learned, is working her way to obtaining her pilot’s license.
Currently at J&J she leads a global team focused on serialization and change management with external manufacturers and pharmaceutical suppliers.
     Lots of private invitation-only events, including breakfast on Tuesday sponsored in the invite-only fashion by FedEx.
     Everyone else is invited to breakfast in “The LogiLounge” on Tuesday and Wednesday and lunch there each day as well.
     Opening Night LogiLounge hosted Oktoberfest Kick Off and on Tuesday, LogiPharma hosted an offsite Reception @ Rochambeau a French watering hole located just a short walk from the hotel.
     There doesn’t seem to be a party mounted to celebrate “20 Years” of this event, although that significant achievement is ballyhooed upfront in the events 2025 literature.
     Perhaps more airlines in pharma customer-country might build their business and trade ideas with LogiPharma on how to party?
     Victoria, as pathfinder, is invited to show the way.
     Too often dozens of earnest, hard-working event speakers get little to no follow up to share their efforts to advance the industry post conference. We really like the LogiPharma after-event reports.

     The destruction in Shanghai last week as Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the city was described as “horrific”.
     “It’s been 75 years, not since 1949 has our city been impacted like this,” was one observation.
     “Cargo operations, land, sea and air out of South China are still being impacted in various degrees this week after Typhoon Ragasa made landfall early last week, forcing the closure of factories in the manufacturing hubs, shuttering several container terminals across major seaports and grounding flights at airports.
     The storm, that claimed the lives of 17 people in Taiwan and 10 more in the Phillipines, tops the list of altercations with nature experienced in the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea region so far this year, according to the Hong Kong Observatory 香港天文台.
     Although Ragasa was downgraded quickly as the storm moved on, shipping delays across ocean and air freight at some of South China's largest logistics operations continue this week.
     Seko Logistics told reporters 'expect up to seven day delays' dating back to last Thursday when regular service staggered back across the region.
     Airport Authority Hong Kong HKIA, the busiest cargo airport in the world that handled 4.9 million metric tons of cargo during 2024, shut down all flights but reportedly came back Wednesday with some freighter services and was open for business once again last Friday.
     Cathay Pacific, HKIA's biggest carrier said Typhoon Ragasa impacted 500 flights whilst HKIA said that more than 1,000 flights, all told were affected.
     Flightradar24 said that about three-quarters of all aircraft operated by the four main airlines based in Hong Kong were relocated to other airports out of harm's way in  China, Japan, Cambodia, Europe, Australia and other locations.
     All of this upheaval comes just as much of China was focused on the upcoming "Golden Week" Holiday that takes place Oct. 1-7.
     According to data from air cargo market research firm Rotate, 30,000 metric tons of cargo across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan will have been held up through Thursday morning.
     Interestingly earlier this Summer of 2025 during the opening ceremony of the WAIC - World Artificial Intelligence Conference Artificial Intelligence on July 26, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) launched MAZU, a Joint Action for Early Warnings for All, to build an Early Warning Service Network and to share practical experience and technological achievements with global partners.
     “Climate changes (including strength of typhoons) are a critical challenge threatening humanity in the 21st century.”
GDA