Greenland.
It hasn’t been on my bucket list of places to go on vacation, but now that I’ve heard so much about it, I still have no interest in going.
I’m sure it’s a beautiful place, with wonderful people, but I’ve got other places to go, other people to see before I leave this world.
We’re supposedly getting a taste of Greenland — where snow and ice cover 80% of the island — here in Boston this weekend. A big storm is heading our way, with more than 20 inches of snow predicted to fall. If it actually happens (you can never be sure because these forecasters are often wrong), it would be the largest snowfall in years. And since I’m still recovering from a broken ankle, this could be the first time in many years my wife goes out to shovel — or, more likely, the first time we hire someone to plow us out.
Yeah, Greenland can wait — and after this snowy and arctic cold weekend, it will be further down my list of places to visit.
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Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- Trump says he reached Greenland deal ‘framework’ with NATO, backs off Europe tariffs (CNBC)
- EU suspends approval of US trade deal (BBC)
- Americans Are the Ones Paying for Tariffs, Study Finds (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- Echo Global Logistics Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire ITS Logistics
- PTV Logistics launches an interactive AI Agent bringing logistics intelligence to life
- Zipline Surpasses 2 Million [Drone] Deliveries, Raises More than $600M to Power Next Phase of Growth, and Expands Operations to Houston and Phoenix
- Mytra Raises $120M Series C to Scale Operating System for Supply Chain
- IBM Launches Enterprise Advantage Service to Help Businesses Scale Agentic AI
- Federal Crackdown Pulls Thousands of Foreign Truckers Off Roads (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- U.S. Postal Service Opens Bid Solicitation Platform For Entry to Last-Mile Delivery Network
- Port of Los Angeles plans for growth after ‘roller coaster’ year (LA Times)
- Japanese Automakers to Launch System for Sharing Information on Automotive Semiconductors (MarketWatch)
- C.H. Robinson Calls on Supreme Court to Clarify Federal Freight Rules (SupplyChain247)
AI Agents Are Not People (They’re Still Software)
Add Mira to the list of human names and personas given to AI agents in the supply chain and logistics realm.
Earlier this week, PTV Logistics announced “the launch of PTV Mira, a new interactive AI agent designed to fundamentally change how logistics teams plan, optimize, and make decisions. Built on PTV Logistics’ API-first, AI-powered platform, PTV Mira enables users to interact with real logistics intelligence through natural, human-like conversation.”
Who is PTV Mira? “She” tells you in this short video:
“I’m NOT another dashboard,” PTV Mira explains on the website. “I’m NOT another tool you need to learn. I’m NOT just another interactive AI agent. I am a logistical expert built to help you understand what’s happening in your logistics network — and what the best next decision is.”
PTV Mira was “born” (announced) on January 19, 2026 and is already a logistics expert.
I would call PTV Mira — like other AI agents in the market — a new software user interface, not a logistics expert.
As the press release notes, “While optimization technology has become increasingly powerful, accessing it often still requires expert users, long workflows, and manual scenario analysis. PTV Mira changes this dynamic…PTV Mira interprets intent, launches real optimization runs across PTV Logistics’ routing, network, and constraint engines, compares scenarios in parallel, and explains the results clearly — all in seconds.”
PTV Mira and other AI agents are still software, a more advanced version of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which companies have been using (knowingly or unknowingly) for a long time already. As I wrote last May in Agentic AI 007, The Supply Chain Intelligence Officer, “Eventually, the noise and hype surrounding Agentic AI will die down, the market will become better educated about what it is and isn’t, and more companies like Colgate-Palmolive will share their success stories. And when that happens, Agentic AI will just be software again.”
However, an open question remains: Where do we draw the line with these AI agents? How much of the work done by supply chain professionals today do we hand over to these agents that can supposedly analyze situations, develop strategies, and execute tasks independently? Will there be anything left for us humans to do other than sit, watch, and eat processed foods all day?
And with that food for thought, have a great weekend!
Song of the Week: “Electric Blue” by Icehouse
