A majority (81%) of the shippers and logistics services providers (LSP) surveyed by Descartes view transportation management as a differentiator or competitive weapon, according to the Global Transportation Management Benchmark Survey.
This is a record high in the nine years of the study, underscoring transportation management's rising role in fueling business growth and customer value.
Similarly, those viewing transportation as a basic service or not important dropped to a 19%, an all-time low since the inception of the study.
While transportation management systems (TMS) are increasingly recognized as an essential solution in modern technology environments for shippers and LSPs, significant gaps remain in automation and digital maturity. Only 17% of respondents report being fully automated, with over one-third heavily or mostly reliant on manual processes. This digital gap is especially pronounced between companies with industry leading financial performance (51% fully automated processes) and those with below average financial performance (5% fully automated processes) who trail significantly in automation, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and growth expectations.
In terms of adopting generative AI specifically, an overwhelming 96% of overall respondents indicated they are using it within their operations, with the top three use cases cited as data entry (41%), route/load optimization (39%), and AI-driven freight forecasting and automated load matching/capacity sourcing (both 35%). The 4% of respondents not using generative AI were much more likely to view transportation management as a necessary evil and more likely to expect limited to no growth over the next two years.
Other key findings include:
■ TMS investment increasing: 80% of respondents plan to increase TMS IT spending, with top priorities in performance management, visibility, and fleet routing.
■ Fraud and theft prevention rising: Carrier monitoring (i.e., insurance, safety, fraud) emerged as a top three TMS capability, with North American respondents prioritizing the capability 7% higher than European counterparts.
■ Strong growth outlook: 72% of respondents expect at least 5% annual revenue growth in the next two years
"This year's survey shows a sector making meaningful progress in elevating transportation from a cost center to a strategic driver of customer value and business growth," said Mike Hane, Director, Product Marketing, Transportation Management at Descartes. "This transition is backed by greater investment in TMS technology, according to study findings, as companies seek to more fully embed automation and AI in transportation management operations to enhance performance and generate value."
Methodology: Descartes and SAPIO Research surveyed 616 participants evenly split between logistics services providers (LSPs) (i.e., brokers, forwarders and third-party logistics providers) and shippers (i.e., manufacturers, distributors and retailers) from a wide variety of industries. Respondents were based in the United States, Canada and in Western Europe.
