EDI has been a "glamour" subject for the last few years, but computers also have less visible and less discussed impact on international trade. The science of robotics will continue to change the way in which large cargoes can be handled and the way in which large carriers may be operated. More refined models of stock control, only possible with substantial computing facilities, will continue to change the pattern of stock replacement and, consequently, the pattern of stock movement and the international trade in goods.