Who’s Steering the Future of Moving & Storage?
AI in the driving seat? Technology promises efficiency and insight, but what is the risk of it eroding skills, reducing people, and replacing the industry’s human heart?
Nearly every article, interview and company profile in The Mover these days highlights the growing influence of artificial intelligence. Whether it’s software predicting workload peaks months in advance, automated quoting systems, digital inventory tools, or route optimisation platforms, AI has become the new buzzword that nobody can afford to ignore. The question is no longer if AI will shape our industry, but how deeply it already is - and what that means for the people who power it.
There’s of course no doubt that AI offers genuine advantages. Better planning tools are helping companies allocate crews and vehicles more efficiently, reducing wasted mileage and lowering emissions. Intelligent quoting systems are turning enquiries around faster, capturing business before competitors even pick up the phone. Data analysis is transforming decision-making, revealing trends in customer behaviour, seasonal patterns and operational performance that were previously invisible. In an industry where margins are tight and customer expectations are high, these improvements are hard to argue with. Efficiency matters. Speed matters. Insight matters.
But there is a growing conversation we must not ignore. What are the risks?
The removals business is, at its core, a human service. Customers don’t just buy a truck, they buy trust - trust that a team of real people will handle their possessions with care during one of life’s most stressful events. If technology begins to replace - rather than support - that personal connection, the industry risks losing the very thing that differentiates it.
There are also implications for employment. Apprenticeships have long been the route into the trade, building a skilled workforce that values craft and physical expertise. If the focus shifts too far toward automation, will we still invest in the next generation? Will roles become de-skilled, or worse, disappear entirely?
And perhaps the most uncomfortable question: how reliant is too reliant? When systems make decisions for us, we risk losing judgment, instinct and accountability. Technology can fail - people can adapt.
So how do we strike the right balance?
The opportunity for our industry is not to replace the human touch, but to strengthen it. AI should take away repetitive administration, freeing staff to invest more time in customers. It should support better planning, not replace planners. It should help train apprentices, not remove the need for them. Used well, AI becomes a tool - like a sack truck, like lifting straps, like a well-serviced vehicle - an extension of human capability, not a substitute for it.
The future is coming fast. Let’s make sure we’re the ones steering.